1967 Topps #172 Bill Heath
About Bill Heath
1967 Topps #172 shows Heath with the Houston Astros in the set's second series. He opened the season as Bateman's backup but lost playing time to prospects Dave Adlesh and Bob Watson, appearing in only 22 games for Houston before being sold to the Detroit Tigers on May 8 for $40,000. He finished 1967 with a combined .116 average across stops with Houston and Detroit.
Bill Heath was a left-handed hitting catcher from Yuba City, California, who starred at USC before turning pro with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1960. After several seasons developing in the minors alongside fellow prospect Pat Corrales, he reached the majors in 1965 with the Chicago White Sox and went on to appear for the Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs through 1969. His best big-league season came in 1966 with Houston, when he hit .301 in a backup role behind John Bateman. Used mainly as a reserve catcher and pinch hitter, Heath finished his four-year major-league career with a .236 average, 47 hits and one stolen base in 112 games. His final appearance came on August 19, 1969, when he caught Ken Holtzman's no-hitter for the Cubs before a broken hand ended his season. After baseball he earned an accounting degree and built a career as a financial advisor in Houston.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 248 | 7 | 38 | 120 | 52 | 17 | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 12 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-09-04. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted. PSA registers a row for every one of the 624 states; SGC lists no separate row for the #149 white-streak state.
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Related cards
More Houston Astros cards:
- #8 Chuck Harrison
- #28 Barry Latman
- #51 Astros 1967 Rookie Stars
- #73 Rusty Staub
- #97 Mike Cuellar
- #136 Carroll Sembera
- #166 Ed Mathews
- #190 Turk Farrell
- #212 Chris Zachary
- #231 John Bateman
- #234 National League 1966 ERA Leaders
- #274 Bob Aspromonte
- #298 Ron Davis
- #318 Dave Giusti
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1967 Topps #172 card?
It is card #172 of the 609-card 1967 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bill Heath of the Houston Astros.
How many cards are in the 1967 Topps Baseball set?
609 cards, tracked as 624 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 609 without a gap - no number was skipped and none was used twice - and 15 cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, Baseball Almanac, BaseballCardPedia, Baseball-Reference, the SABR BioProject and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, PSA & SGC population reports. Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-10-12.