1985 Topps GARY PETTIS "Younger Brother Photo" Funny Error Baseball Card #497 For Sale

The 1985 Topps Gary Pettis card is a fascinating oddity in the world of baseball error cards. At first glance, the 1985 Topps Gary Pettis card looks like a typical card from the set. However, a closer look reveals something unusual: Gary Pettis’s face looks rather young. That’s because the picture on the 1985 Topps Gary Pettis card isn’t Gary Pettis himselfbut his younger brother, Lynn Pettis, who somehow ended up being featured on his brother’s card.

There were several stories about how the mix-up with Gary Pettis’ 1985 Topps card happened. However, thanks to anMLB Carded episode, we have the definitive story from Pettis himself.

Gary first noticed something was off when a friend called to say he looked really young on his card. He says he was 24/25 years old at the time, so he brushed it off. It wasn’t until someone showed him the card during the season that he realized what his friend meant.Staring back at him wasn’t his face but his 14-year-old brother’s.

As for how the mix-up happened, Gary recalls the picture was taken on a Sunday afternoon. His teammate, Juan Benitez, often brought his son to the field, and Gary’s brother, who was friends with Benitez’s son, would join in. Both kids would run around the field, chasing fly balls.

Topps’s photographers must have come to grab a few photographs of the players, including Gary Pettis. Despite being only 14, his brother was as big as Gary at 24, which led the Topps photographers to mistake him for the MLB player, capturing him in the dugout. Unaware of the error,Topps used the wrong picture for the entire print run of the card.

On a side note, Gary Pettis always refuses to sign the 1985 Topps Gary Pettis card since it’s not him, and will recommend you get his brother Lynn to sign it.

Please note that this is an original card and not a reprint.Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you!