Manufacturer: Topps
Set: 1974 Topps Baseball ➡️
Player Name: Bill Campbell
Position/Team: Pitcher for Twins
Card #: 26
Card Size: 2-1/2” x 3-1/2”
Card Values: See Pricing Table Below
Originally signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent in 1970, Campbell broke out as a premier relief weapon on the American League circuit by the mid-1970s.
Campbell put together a relief season for the ages in Minnesota during 1976. He appeared in 78 games—all out of the bullpen—and threw an unbelievable 167.2 innings of pure relief. He pitched his way to a 17–5 record with 20 saves and a tiny 2.15 ERA, finishing 7th in AL MVP voting and 3rd for the Cy Young.
Following his monster 1976 season, Campbell entered the newly minted MLB free-agent market. The Boston Red Sox made him the marquee signing of baseball’s first real free-agent class, handing him a groundbreaking 5-year, $1 million contract.
Campbell proved worth every penny of his historic contract in 1977, his first year in Boston. He led the American league with 31 saves, won 13 games in relief, and earned his first All-Star nod while winning the inaugural AL Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award.
He went on to pitch for the Cubs, Rockies, Tigers, and Expos, wrapping up a stellar 15-year career in 1987 with 83 wins and 126 saves.
Shop current listings for this card on ebay!
Clicking a link to eBay may result in a referral commission being paid if a purchase is made.
Pricing Data For This Rookie Card
➡️ See All 1974 Topps Rookie Card Prices
Pricing chart includes raw card price & some graded card value estimates.
These values are collated from a variety of resources including recently sold listings, sales averages and a variety of other sports card pricing data sources. Please see full disclaimer on “Terms Page” for more information. (Rookiecardprices.com only shows values for regular base set cards. No prices are shown for errors, parallels, subsets, misprints or other cards unless noted.)
DISCLAIMER: This data is not intended as financial advice and should not be used as such. Please do your own research before making any investment or selling/buying decisions.
Did You Know? Following his legendary 1976 season, Campbell etched his name into labor history. The historic Seitz decision of late 1975 had just struck down the reserve clause, introducing the very first true free-agent class in the winter of 1976.
While superstars like Reggie Jackson grabbed the headlines, Campbell became the historic first-ever free agent to sign a contract with a new team. Boston Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey coveted Campbell’s rubber arm to anchor his bullpen, signing him to a groundbreaking 5-year, $1.1 million contract.
More Rookie Cards From 1974 Topps Baseball
