1976 Topps #459 Jim Brewer
About Jim Brewer
Brewer split 1975 between two clubs, pitching 42 games with 7 saves and a 3.46 ERA. After asking privately to be traded, he was sent by Los Angeles to the California Angels in July for a minor leaguer. Topps #459 pictures the 38-year-old left-hander with the Angels. He made 13 more appearances for them in 1976, his last season, and pitched his final game on May 24.
Jim Brewer was a left-handed pitcher who spent 17 major league seasons (1960-1976) with the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and California Angels after the Cubs signed him out of Broken Arrow High School in Oklahoma in 1956. His rookie year ended in violence: on August 4, 1960, Cincinnati's Billy Martin flung his bat toward the mound after a brushback pitch, walked out to retrieve it, then turned and punched Brewer, breaking the orbital bone under his right eye and finishing his season. Brewer sued, and after two trials a Chicago jury awarded him $10,000 in 1969. Traded into the Dodgers' organization in December 1963, he picked up a screwball grip from Braves great Warren Spahn in 1964 and built a long run as a Dodgers reliever around it. He helped Los Angeles to three pennants and the 1965 World Series title, and from 1968 through 1973 averaged roughly 20 saves a year, making the 1973 All-Star team at age 35. Brewer retired with 69 wins, more than 130 saves and a 3.07 ERA in 584 games, then spent three seasons as the Montreal Expos' pitching coach and later taught the screwball to Dodgers prospects. He was killed in a 1987 car crash in Texas, driving through a thunderstorm on his way to a pitching clinic.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 112 | 4 | 35 | 56 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-10-19. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted.
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Related cards
Team card: #304 California Angels Team
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- #198 1975 AL Stolen Base Leaders
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- #207 Andy Hassler
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1976 Topps #459 card?
It is card #459 of the 660-card 1976 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Brewer of the California Angels.
How many cards are in the 1976 Topps Baseball set?
660 cards, numbered 1 through 660 with none skipped and printed in equal quantities as a single series. No card carries a catalogued print variation, so the base set and the master set are the same 660 cards.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, BaseballCardPedia, Cardboard Connection, Baseball Almanac, Baseball-Reference, the SABR BioProject and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, PSA & SGC population reports. Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-10-25.