1985 Topps Gary Pettis Error Card #497: The Full Story

Baseball cards have delivered plenty of printing blunders over the decades, but one of them is so wholesome it feels more like a family memory than a mistake. The 1985 Topps Gary Pettis error card, number 497 in the set, does not actually show the California Angels outfielder it claims to. The face smiling back from the cardboard belongs to his 14-year-old brother, Lynn Pettis, and neither of them knew about it until the cards hit packs months later.

If you ever pulled this card as a kid and thought Gary looked suspiciously baby-faced, you were right. It really was a baby face.

The 1985 Topps Gary Pettis #497 card. The player pictured is actually his 14-year-old brother, Lynn.

By Cards Mania. Published April 2026. Cards Mania covers sports cards, TCGs, and trading card history for modern and vintage collectors.

The 1985 Topps Gary Pettis #497 is an uncorrected error card from the 1985 Topps baseball set that mistakenly features the player’s 14-year-old brother, Lynn Pettis, instead of Gary Pettis himself. The photo was taken during an Angels Family Day at the ballpark, printed in the set’s 792-card run, and never corrected by Topps.

Key Facts: 1985 Topps Gary Pettis #497

Card number: 497 of 792 in the 1985 Topps baseball set
Team: California Angels
Actual person pictured: Lynn Pettis, Gary’s 14-year-old brother
Photographer: Owen C. Shaw
Error type: Uncorrected photo misidentification
Print era: Junk wax (high print run)
Typical value (2026): $0.50 raw to $50+ PSA 10

Quick Answer: What Makes the 1985 Topps Gary Pettis Card Famous?

The 1985 Topps Gary Pettis card (#497) is one of the most beloved error cards in baseball history because it features Gary’s teenage brother Lynn instead of Gary himself. Photographer Owen C. Shaw snapped Lynn during an Angels Family Day, mistaking the tall 14-year-old for the actual Major Leaguer. Topps printed the entire run without catching the mix-up, making it an uncorrected error card from the junk wax era. Values stay modest, usually between a few dollars and $50 for graded copies, but the story is what keeps collectors coming back.

Who Was Gary Pettis?

Before we unpack the error, a quick refresher on the actual player. Gary Pettis was a California Angels center fielder who made his Major League debut on September 13, 1982. By 1984 he had locked down the starting center field job, and he would go on to play 11 seasons across four teams: the Angels, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, and San Diego Padres.

Pettis was not a slugger. His career line of a .236 average, 21 home runs, and 855 hits tells the story of a glove-first player. What made him a star was his defense. He won five Gold Glove Awards, earned the nickname “Pac Man” for his speed chasing down fly balls, and was famously described around the league as the man who made center field look easy.

In other words, he was a real, legitimate big-league talent. Which makes the identity mix-up on his 1985 card even funnier.

How the Mix-Up Happened at the Ballpark

The year was 1984. Gary Pettis was a full-time starter for the California Angels. Like many teams at the time, the Angels held Family Day events where relatives of players could wear team uniforms, run around the field, shag fly balls, and enjoy a taste of big-league life.

Lynn Pettis, Gary’s younger brother, loved tagging along on Sundays. He was only 14 but already built like his big-league sibling, tall, athletic, and comfortable in a uniform. That particular Sunday, Lynn was hanging around the dugout with a teammate’s son when a Topps photographer walked up and asked if he could take his picture.

Lynn said yes. Why wouldn’t he?

Here is how Gary later described the moment in a 2018 interview with MLB.com:

“My brother would come out to the ballpark on Sundays, and they’d dress up in uniforms and they’d go out on the field and shag fly balls and run around. I guess this happened to be one Sunday where they were taking the pictures for the Topps baseball cards. I had no idea that was going on that day.”

The photographer, later identified as Owen C. Shaw, apparently thought Lynn was someone else entirely. According to reports, Shaw assumed he had been photographing outfielder Devon White, who had also been around the Angels system at the time. Only later did everyone realize the real name attached to the photo was Gary Pettis, and the teenager in the picture was not.

Nobody Caught It Until the Cards Shipped

The real Gary Pettis. Now scroll back up and compare faces. The teenager on the 1985 card is clearly not this guy.

The strange part is that Topps had photographed the correct Gary Pettis for his 1984 Traded card. They knew what he looked like. But in the pre-digital era, photo tagging, labeling, and routing inside a massive card company was all done by hand. Once Lynn’s photo got attached to Gary’s name, nobody questioned it.

Cards began shipping in early 1985. At first, nobody noticed. Gary himself did not see the card right away, and when a friend finally told him he looked really young on his baseball card, he laughed it off.

As Gary told MLB.com’s Cut4 in August 2018:

“Lo and behold, when I finally saw the baseball card later that year I couldn’t help but laugh and go, yeah, I do look pretty young because it’s not me. It’s my brother.”

Topps never issued a correction, which is why this card is classified as an uncorrected error card. Every copy in circulation shows Lynn. There is no “fixed” version to chase, no variation to hunt down. What you pull is what you get.

The Practical Joke Theory That Never Quite Went Away

There is a fun wrinkle in the story. In June 1985, Topps spokesperson Norman Liss told USA Today that the whole situation was actually a prank engineered by Gary Pettis himself, calling it the kind of practical joke ballplayers had been pulling on each other for years.

Gary has consistently denied the prank theory. In his 2018 telling, it was just a coincidence of timing and an honest misidentification. For what it is worth, the Associated Press reported back in October 1985 that the photo was taken during Angels Family Day while Lynn was wearing Gary’s uniform, which lines up with Gary’s version rather than the prank claim.

Either way, the outcome is the same. A 14-year-old kid ended up with his face on a Major League Baseball card, and decades later he is still trading card famous because of it.

What Is the 1985 Topps Gary Pettis Card Worth Today?

Let’s set expectations. This is a junk wax era card, meaning Topps printed millions of copies to meet the booming 1980s collecting demand. Supply is massive, demand is modest, and that keeps prices grounded.

1985 Topps Gary Pettis #497 Value Guide (2026)

Condition or Grade	Typical Price (USD)	Notes
Raw, commons bin	$0.50 to $3	Easy to find, high supply
Raw, sleeved and top-loaded	$5 to $15	Seller-curated copies
PSA 9 graded	$15 to $30	Common grade for this card
PSA 10 graded	$40 to $50 and up	Scarce but not rare
Signed by Gary Pettis	Rare on the market	Gary refuses to sign it
Signed by Lynn Pettis	Premium, scarce	The prize autograph

Gary will politely decline if you ask him to autograph this one. He has explained that fans trying to get it signed usually plan to flip it online, and he does not want to fuel that market. If you want a genuine signed version, the move is to chase a Lynn Pettis autograph instead. Those are the unicorns in this story.

You can browse current listings and completed sales for this card on eBay right here to get a feel for the market before you buy.

Why Collectors Love This Card Anyway

Money is not the point of the 1985 Topps Gary Pettis card. The point is the story. In an era when sports cards feel increasingly like stocks, this one reminds you why people fell in love with the hobby in the first place.

Think about what makes it work:

A kid gets to be on a big-league baseball card without ever playing a pro inning
Two brothers share a bond that became permanent cardboard history
A giant corporate product accidentally became deeply personal
Forty years later, the story still makes collectors grin

That is why you will find the 1985 Gary Pettis sitting in more Angels Family Day anecdotes and baseball card history videos than almost any other card from the set. It is cheap, it is funny, and it has heart. Those three things are a rare combination in modern collecting.

How This Card Fits Into the Bigger Error Card Story

If you enjoy cards where something went hilariously wrong at the printing stage, you are in good company. The 1980s produced a whole gallery of famous baseball card mistakes. A few favorites worth knowing:

1987 Donruss Opening Day Barry Bonds: features teammate Johnny Ray instead of Bonds. PSA 10 copies have sold for over $8,000.
1988 Topps Al Leiter: shows teammate Steve George after someone confused a glove marking for a jersey number.
1989 Upper Deck Dale Murphy: reverse negative error flipped the Braves logo backward.
1990 Topps Frank Thomas “No Name on Front”: a Hall of Fame rookie with no name on the card, one of the most expensive modern errors.
T206 Sherry Magee “Magie”: a simple spelling mistake that turned an old tobacco card into a five-figure collectible.

The Gary Pettis card is the warmest of the bunch. No controversy, no obscenity, no printing defect that ruined the card itself. Just a teenage brother in the wrong place at the right time.

For the complete roundup of the hobby’s most legendary screw-ups, you can read our full guide to error cards and misprints, which covers everything from Billy Ripken’s bat knob to Pokemon’s Red Cheeks Pikachu.

Should You Buy the 1985 Topps Gary Pettis Card?

If you love error cards, yes. Absolutely. It is one of the most affordable conversation pieces in the hobby, and you can add it to a collection without thinking twice about the price.

A few smart ways to buy it:

Pick it up raw from a commons bin at a card show for a few dollars. It is almost always there.
Search eBay for a copy listed specifically as the “younger brother” or “error” version. Some sellers highlight the story in the listing, which makes them easier to find. Browse current listings here.
Grab a PSA graded copy if you want the encapsulation, the label, and the long-term protection for a memorable piece of cardboard.
Protect it properly whether raw or graded. A good penny sleeve and semi-rigid holder go a long way. See our essential gear guide for trading card collectors if you need the basics.

If you are building a full 1985 Topps set, card #497 is already on your checklist. You just now know why it is more interesting than the other 791 cards in the set.

Supplies to Protect Your Pettis Error Card

Whether you plan to keep it raw or eventually grade it, the usual storage kit applies. Penny sleeves, semi-rigid card savers, and toploaders are all you need to keep a card like this safe for decades. Most collectors stock up on these in bulk because they are cheap and disappear fast.

You can pick up reliable options on Amazon:

FAQ: 1985 Topps Gary Pettis Error Card

Who is actually pictured on the 1985 Topps Gary Pettis card?

Gary Pettis’s younger brother, Lynn Pettis, who was 14 years old at the time. A Topps photographer mistakenly photographed Lynn during an Angels Family Day event, and the image was used on Gary’s #497 card in the 1985 Topps set.

How did the 1985 Topps Gary Pettis mistake happen?

Photographer Owen C. Shaw was at an Angels home game taking photos for the 1985 Topps set. Lynn Pettis was around the dugout wearing his brother’s uniform during Family Day festivities. Shaw mistook Lynn for an actual player, snapped his photo, and the image ended up labeled as Gary Pettis. Topps never corrected the error.

Is the 1985 Topps Gary Pettis card valuable?

Not in strictly financial terms. It is a junk wax era card with massive print numbers, so raw copies sell for a few dollars and graded PSA 10s usually top out around $40 to $50. Its real value is in the story and its place in baseball card history.

Why does Gary Pettis refuse to sign this card?

Gary has said he suspects most people asking for his signature plan to flip the card for profit. Since the photo is not even him, he prefers not to play along. He has suggested that collectors seek out his brother Lynn’s autograph instead, and Lynn-signed copies are genuinely scarce.

Is the 1985 Topps Gary Pettis card an uncorrected error?

Yes. Topps never issued a corrected version of #497. Every copy in circulation shows Lynn Pettis. That makes it simpler to collect than errors with both versions floating around, like the 1987 Donruss Opening Day Barry Bonds.

Was the Gary Pettis card a practical joke?

Topps originally claimed it was a prank arranged by Gary. Gary denied that in his 2018 MLB.com interview and said it was a genuine mix-up during Angels Family Day. Multiple reporting from 1985 supports the accidental version of events.

What is the most valuable card in the 1985 Topps set?

The Mark McGwire USA Olympic rookie card (#401) is the key chase from the 1985 Topps set. In PSA 10 condition, the standard version has sold for around $3,000 to $5,000 in recent sales, and the much scarcer 1985 Topps Tiffany version of the same card has reached $30,500 at Heritage Auctions. The Gary Pettis #497 is the most famous oddity in the set, though nowhere near the most valuable.

How can I tell if my 1985 Topps Gary Pettis card is the error version?

Every single copy of 1985 Topps #497 is the error. Topps printed the full run using Lynn’s photo and never produced a corrected version, so if you have card #497 from this set, you have the famous error.

The Bottom Line

Some error cards make collectors furious. Some make them rich. The 1985 Topps Gary Pettis card makes them smile. Forty years after it shipped in wax packs, this little piece of cardboard still tells a story about family, baseball, and a teenager who accidentally became a lifetime member of the hobby.

If you do not have one yet, grab a copy. It will cost you less than lunch and it will give you something to talk about forever.

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