1958 Topps #178 Ted Kluszewski
About Ted Kluszewski
Topps #178, from the third series, shows Big Klu in a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform after the December 28, 1957 trade that sent Dee Fondy to Cincinnati for him. Back trouble had cut his 1957 to 69 games, .268 and six home runs. As a Pirate in 1958 he hit .292 in 100 games, and on May 9 he led off the 12th inning with a walk-off homer against Robin Roberts.
Theodore Bernard Kluszewski, known as Big Klu, was a power-hitting first baseman born September 10, 1924, in Argo, a section of Summit, Illinois. A football and baseball standout at Indiana University, he signed with Cincinnati after graduating in 1946, debuted with the Reds in April 1947 and took over first base for good early in 1948. Built like a strongman at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, he became famous for cutting the sleeves off his jersey because they restricted his swing. From 1953 through 1956 he was a four-time All-Star, averaging about 43 home runs and 116 RBI a year and topping the National League in both homers (49) and RBI (141) in 1954. He paired that power with rare contact skill: in 1955 he hit 47 home runs while striking out only 40 times. A slipped disc ended his prime, and after Cincinnati he played for Pittsburgh and the Chicago White Sox, helping the 1959 Go-Go Sox to the American League pennant and hitting three home runs in a World Series the Dodgers won. He closed out with the 1961 Angels, retired at .298 with 279 homers, and later coached the Big Red Machine. The Reds retired his number 18 and put him in their team Hall of Fame.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 572 | 1 | 12 | 114 | 165 | 132 | 79 | 69 | 0 |
| SGC | 88 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 35 | 12 | 20 | 13 | 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 Ted Kluszewski card?
It is card #178 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 Ted Kluszewski, Pittsburgh Pirates.
How many graded copies of the 1958 Topps Ted Kluszewski #178 are there?
PSA has graded 572 copies and SGC 88 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.