1978 Topps #686 Gaylord Perry
About Gaylord Perry
In 1977 Perry went 15-12 with a 3.37 ERA in 34 starts for Texas. His 1978 Topps #686 retained the Rangers identification. Before the 1978 season, Texas traded him to San Diego for reliever Dave Tomlin and $125,000, returning Perry to the National League.
Gaylord Perry became the first pitcher to win Cy Young Awards in both leagues: with Cleveland in 1972, when he went 24-16 with a 1.92 ERA, and with San Diego in 1978, when he finished 21-6. The right-hander pitched 22 major-league seasons for eight clubs, won 20 games five times, struck out 200 batters eight times and made five All-Star teams. He finished with 314 victories, a 3.11 ERA and 3,534 strikeouts. Perry signed with San Francisco in 1958. Teammate Bob Shaw taught him the spitball in 1964, and Perry described his use of it in the 1974 book Me and the Spitter while claiming he had stopped. His cap-touching and other gestures remained part of his pitching routine; his first ejection for doctoring a ball came in 1982. That year Seattle knew him as the Ancient Mariner, and he earned his 300th victory with a complete-game, 7-3 win over the Yankees on May 6. He and his older brother Jim both won Cy Young Awards and more than 200 games. Gaylord was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991 on his third ballot.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · National Baseball Hall of Fame · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 564 | 26 | 166 | 214 | 69 | 42 | 27 | 20 | 0 |
| SGC | 44 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 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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Team card: #659 Texas Rangers Team
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #686 card?
It is card #686 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Gaylord Perry of the Texas Rangers.
How many cards are in the 1978 Topps Baseball set?
726 cards, numbered 1 through 726 with none skipped and issued as a single series, and 728 collectible states: #23 Bump Wills comes with or without a black circle, and #374 Jose Morales with or without black stitching over the red laces, so the master set counts both states of each.
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.