1970 Topps #521 Cal Koonce
About Cal Koonce
Koonce is still a Met on #521, a fifth-series card, though the club sold him to Boston in early June 1970 after 13 games and an 0-2 record with a 3.27 ERA. The Red Sox used him more than the defending World Series champions had. He started eight games for them, threw the last complete game of his career, and went 3-4 with a 3.54 ERA. His 1970 totals were 3-6 with a 3.48 ERA in 36 games.
Calvin Lee Koonce, a right-handed pitcher, was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on November 18, 1940, and grew up in Hope Mills. He played baseball and basketball at Campbell College, then a two-year school, where he earned junior college All-American honors in 1961. The Cubs signed him that year, and he reached Chicago in April 1962. Over parts of ten seasons with the Cubs, New York Mets and Boston Red Sox through 1971 he moved from the rotation to the bullpen, finishing 47-49 with a 3.78 ERA and 24 saves in 334 games. He saved 11 games for the 1968 Mets, and in 1969 he worked out of Gil Hodges' bullpen with Ron Taylor and Tug McGraw for the World Series champions. A Campbell man like Gaylord Perry, Koonce admitted while still active that he loaded an occasional pitch with perspiration. He later coached seven seasons at his alma mater, Campbell University, retiring in 1986 as its winningest baseball coach at 174-123 and as Big South Coach of the Year, and he was inducted into the Campbell Sports Hall of Fame in 1987. He scouted for the Texas Rangers, ran the minor league Fayetteville Generals, and died of lymphoma on October 28, 1993, at 52.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 168 | 2 | 29 | 89 | 30 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-10-19. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1970 Topps #521 card?
It is card #521 of the 720-card 1970 Topps Baseball set, picturing Cal Koonce of the New York Mets.
How many cards are in the 1970 Topps Baseball set?
720 cards, tracked as 726 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 720 with none skipped, issued in seven series - #1-132, #133-263, #264-372, #373-459, #460-546, #547-633 and the high numbers, #634-720; 6 cards, all of them checklists, carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, BaseballCardPedia, Cardboard Connection, Baseball Almanac, 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 2026-10-25.