Gaylord Perry (born 1938) was a pitcher in MLB for eight different teams from 1962 to 1983.
Over his career, Perry had a 314-265 win-loss record, a 3.11 ERA, and 3,534 strikeouts. This led to five All Star appearances and two Cy Young Awards. Perry was the first player to win the Cy Young in both the NL and AL. He was also the wins leader in 1970, 1972, and 1978.
Perry was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991 on 77.2% of the vote on the third ballot. Additionally, the San Francisco Giants retired his number 36 jersey, and the Cleveland Indians inducted him into their Hall of Fame.
Born in Williamston, North Carolina, Perry was raised by farmers. His father, Evan, was well respected locally for his athleticism. His father raised his two sons to play baseball, and all three of them eventually played on the same semi-pro team.
After averaging 30 points and 20 rebounds in basketball, Perry turned down several basketball scholarships to pursue baseball. He was 33-5 as a high school pitcher.
Perry spent a few years in semiprofessional baseball until he was signed by the San Francisco Giants in 1958. He made consistent
improvement in the farm system, and after a brief call up, he joined the Giants as a relief pitcher in 1963. He made the starting rotation in 1964.
His first two seasons garnered little admiration with a 24-30 record. But, the next year in 1966, he started off with a 20-2 record. Perry formed the “1-2 punch” with Juan Marichal which rivaled the Koufax and Drysdale combination in Los Angeles.
Struggle followed the hype. Perry finished the season with a 20-8 record, and he followed the next year with a 15-17 record and a 16-15 record the next year. He pitched a no hitter on September 17, 1968.
Perry struggled with hitting as well, which has always been common for pitchers. In 1963, the Giants’ manager quipped, “There will be a man on the moon before Gaylord Perry hits a home run.” Well, about an hour after Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, Perry hit the first home run of his career.
33 year old Perry was traded to the Cleveland Indians in 1972 along with Frank Duffy for Sam McDowell. McDowell would win 24 more games in total. Perry would go on to win another 180.
With a 24-16 record, 1.92 ERA, and 1 save, Perry won his first Cy Young in 1972. Perry started Opening Day games, went 70-57, and accounted for 39% of the Cleveland Indians’ wins.
Perry was traded to the Texas Rangers due to feuds with the struggling Cleveland Indians manager. He continued to thrive as the ace, and the Rangers definitely won that trade as Perry had 80 more wins than the other players combined.
He was traded again to the San Diego Padres. The Padres absolutely won that trade, as Perry won the Cy Young that year with a 21-6 record. He became the third pitcher to strike out 3,000 people.
After another solid year in 1979, Perry threated to retire unless he was traded. He was sent back to the Rangers.
Finally, in 1980, as he turned 42 years old, Perry began to show signs of decline. He had short stints with the Yankees, the Atlanta Braves, the Seattle Mariners, and the Kansas City Royals. Since he was the oldest player in MLB, he was nicknamed the Ancient Mariner in 1982.
In his final season in 1983, he reached 3,500 strikeouts. In one game, he took a no hitter to the eighth inning.
Perry retired to his peanut and tobacco farm in North Carolina. He stayed busy in local baseball and business.
Below are a few details on his cards. The best cards come from Topps and are from earlier in his career. This article does not cover every Perry card, but it covers several of the best.
1962 Topps Gaylord Perry Rookie Card
There are 598 cards in the set, and each card has standard dimensions (2 ½” x 3 ½”). Perry sits at #199. A few keys include Hank Aaron,
Willie Mays, and Sandy Koufax.
For reference, PSA has over 230,000 cards registered from the set, and 2,000 cards are Perry copies.
PSA Mint 9’s were selling for $4,000 to $6,000 since 2013, but more recently a Mint copy sold for $13,530.00.
1963 Topps Gaylord Perry
Perry sits at #169 in this standard size set of 576 cards. Perry sits on a card titled “1963 Rookie Stars” with three other players. A few of the keys to the set include the rookie cards of Pete Rose, Willie Stargell, Rusty Staub, and Tony Olivia.
For reference, PSA has over 220,000 cards registered from this set, and over 1,200 cards are Perry copies.
The most recent sale of a PSA Mint 9 copy is $960. PSA 8’s will drop to around $100 as of June 2021.
1964 Topps Gaylord Perry
Perry sits at #468 in this standard size set of 587 cards. A few keys of the set include the rookie cards of Tommy John, Richie Allen, Mickey Lolich, and Tony LaRussa.
For reference, PSA has over 200,000 cards registered from the set, and over 500 cards are Perry copies.
PSA Gem Mint 10 copies sold for between $1,665 and $2,340 since 2017, and while PSA Mint 9 copies were selling for between $300 and $400 since 2016, a Mint copy has sold for $1,358.66.
1965 Topps Gaylord Perry
Perry sits at #193 on this 598 card set of standard size. A major rookie for the set is Steve Carlton.
For reference, PSA has over 240,000 cards registered from this set, and over 800 cards are Perry copies.
PSA Mint 9’s have sold for around $100 to $150. PSA 8’s will drop to about $50.
1966 Topps Gaylord Perry
There are 598 cards in this standard size set, and Perry sits in the back at #598. Since Perry is at the back of the set, collectors would handle his card more, the card would touch surfaces more, and rubber bands would wear the card down. Prices adjust to the scarcity.
For reference, PSA has over 190,000 cards, and over 1,000 cards are Perry copies.
In 2019 and 2020, PSA Mint 9’s sold for $1,525, $1,954, $1,380, and $1,674.58, but the one sale so far in 2021 was for $523 which is most likely an outlier.
PSA 8’s have risen from $200 to over $450 in 2020.
Conclusion
As Perry’s career approaches the 1980s, his cards become more affordable. It would not be hard to buy a high grade card for less if you enter his later career.
Perry was well known for doctoring baseballs. Opposing players and managers would demand that the ball be inspected, and he was often accused of throwing spitballs. This is a major part of his legacy, and upon retirement Perry openly acknowledged that he doctored baseballs. He would entice opponents to at least think that he was throwing spitballs when he was not.
However, he was only ejected one time for messing with the ball on August 23, 1982, which was his 21st season, so he was not some overt cheater. It did not stop him from being inducted, but he had the potential to be brought in on a better ballot and vote given his achievements.
Yet, in true Perry fashion, he titled his autobiography, “Me and the Spitter.”