1958 Topps #34 Bob Thurman
About Bob Thurman
Thurman stayed with Cincinnati for the whole season, mostly in a bench role: 94 games and 178 at-bats, a .230 average with four home runs and 20 RBIs, well below the power of his 1957 year. His Topps #34 lands in Series One, the first block of the set, and shows him with Cincinnati. The Reds released him in early 1959.
Robert Burns Thurman was a left-handed slugger who grew up in Wichita, Kansas, and reached the majors only at age 37 after a long detour. After Army service in the Pacific in World War II, he joined the Homestead Grays in 1946, played outfield and pitched, and helped the Grays win the last Negro National League pennant in 1948. He starred for years with Santurce in the Puerto Rican winter league, where his 120 home runs made him the league's all-time leader, and he spent two seasons in the Dominican Republic. The Yankees bought his contract in 1949, then passed him to the Cubs, who never used him in the majors. The Cincinnati Reds bought him in 1955, and he debuted on April 14 of that year. In 1957 he hit 16 home runs in only 190 at-bats, and he became one of the National League's most respected pinch-hitters. He also helped younger Black teammates settle in on the road. His major-league line was .246 with 35 home runs in 334 games. He was nicknamed "Big Swish", and he is a member of the Puerto Rican Baseball Hall of Fame. He later scouted for the Twins, Reds and Royals.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 252 | 1 | 13 | 91 | 75 | 42 | 19 | 11 | 0 |
| SGC | 18 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-07-09. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8). PSA counts are straight-graded (the +/Q qualifier rows are excluded).
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1958 Topps Bob Thurman card?
It is card #34 of the 1958 Topps Baseball set - Topps' sixth flagship issue: 494 cards numbered 1-495 (#145 was never issued), with die-cut player photos on solid-color backgrounds and the first team logos on Topps fronts. It pictures Bob Thurman, Cincinnati Reds.
How many graded copies of the 1958 Topps Bob Thurman #34 are there?
PSA has graded 252 copies and SGC 18 as of the 2026-07-09 snapshot. Population is a scarcity guide, not a price - high-grade 1958s are notoriously tough because of the set's chronic centering and print-quality issues.
How many cards are in the 1958 Topps set?
494 issued cards, numbered 1-495 - #145 (Ed Bouchee) was pulled before release and never issued, leaving a permanent gap. The PSA master census counts 534 items: the 494 base cards plus 33 yellow-letter variations, 4 numerical checklist-back team cards, the 'Herrer' #433 error, and 2 unnumbered ad cards.
Sources: PSA CardFacts, Beckett, BaseballCardPedia, Baseball-Reference, PSA & SGC population reports, and hobby press-sheet research (Topps Archives, 2026). Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-09-30.