1979 Topps #690 Buddy Bell
About Buddy Bell
Card #690 shows Bell with Cleveland, but 1979 was his first season in Texas. He played all 162 games and led the league with 670 at-bats. He hit .299 with 18 home runs and a career-best 42 doubles. He also scored 89 runs, another career best.
Buddy Bell was a third baseman for 18 seasons with Cleveland, Texas, Cincinnati and Houston, a five-time All-Star who won six consecutive Gold Gloves from 1979 to 1984. The son of Reds outfielder Gus Bell, he was drafted by Cleveland in 1969 and debuted on April 15, 1972, in right field before settling at third. Cleveland traded him to Texas for Toby Harrah after the 1978 season, and in 1979 he drove in a career-high 101 runs; in 1980 he hit .329. On August 31, 1984, he hit a two-out, walk-off grand slam against Milwaukee, the 16th ultimate grand slam in major league history. He added a Silver Slugger in 1984, reached 2,000 hits in 1985, and finished with 2,514 hits, 201 home runs and 1,106 RBI in 2,405 games. The Lou Gehrig Memorial Award came in 1988. He later managed Detroit, Colorado and Kansas City for three seasons each, and his sons Mike and David both reached the majors; David became manager of the Reds.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 201 | 34 | 116 | 42 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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: #96 Cleveland Indians / Jeff Torborg
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- #77 Dan Briggs
- #79 Ted Cox
- #122 Mike Paxton
- #146 Duane Kuiper
- #150 Wayne Cage
- #168 Dave Freisleben
- #226 Ron Pruitt
- #253 Rick Wise
- #280 Andre Thornton
- #307 Larvell Blanks
- #332 Gary Alexander
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #690 card?
It is card #690 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Buddy Bell of the Cleveland Indians.
How many cards are in the 1979 Topps Baseball set?
726 cards, numbered 1 through 726 with none skipped and issued as a single series, tracked as 727 collectible states: #369 Bump Wills comes with a Rangers or a Blue Jays team banner, and the master set counts both.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA, 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.