1970 Topps #178 Denny Lemaster
About Denny Lemaster
The newly lowered mound gave Lemaster a rough start to 1969: he was 0-5 with a 6.00 ERA on May 10, and he said his foot hit the ground so quickly it jarred him. He adjusted and finished 13-17 with a 3.16 ERA and 173 strikeouts. One of the losses was a 1-0 game in which he gave up no earned run and struck out 13 Cubs. Topps numbered his Astros card #178, in the second series.
Denver Clayton "Denny" Lemaster was a left-handed pitcher who spent eleven seasons in the majors (1962-1972) with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves, the Houston Astros and the Montreal Expos. Born in Corona, California and raised in Oxnard, he threw seven no-hitters at Oxnard High School and signed with the Braves in 1958 and was soon touted as the next Warren Spahn. He reached Milwaukee on July 15, 1962, was a 1967 National League All-Star, and moved to Houston that October. He finished 90-105 with a 3.58 ERA and 1,305 strikeouts. In 357 games he threw 66 complete games and 14 shutouts. Joe Torre, who caught him with both Braves clubs, remembered a fastball near 93 miles an hour, a super curve and no fear of working inside. Lemaster later spent more than 30 years in homebuilding, guided hunting and fishing trips, and became an accomplished carver and painter of wooden decoy ducks. He belongs to the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame in his native California. He died July 24, 2024, in Loganville, Georgia, at 85.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 210 | 13 | 45 | 122 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 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.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Shop 1970 Topps cards Live auctions Buy It Now on eBay Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
Team card: #448 Houston Astros
More Houston Astros cards:
- #15 Larry Dierker
- #32 Harry Walker
- #60 Jim Wynn
- #113 Jim Ray
- #126 Marty Martinez
- #155 Denis Menke
- #208 Fred Gladding
- #227 Astros 1970 Rookie Stars
- #248 Jesus Alou
- #272 Hector Torres
- #316 Skip Guinn
- #339 Johnny Edwards
- #355 Doug Rader
- #382 Jack DiLauro
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1970 Topps #178 card?
It is card #178 of the 720-card 1970 Topps Baseball set, picturing Denny Lemaster of the Houston Astros.
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.