1971 Topps #71 1970 American League Strikeout Leaders - Sam McDowell / Mickey Lolich / Bob Johnson
On this card: Sam McDowell, Mickey Lolich, Bob Johnson
About this card
Cards #61-72 are the twelve League Leaders cards on the 1970 season - batting, RBI, home runs, ERA, pitching and strikeouts - with the American League card first and the National League card second in each pair, and three of the leaders on each card.
The story on this card
Sam McDowell's 304 strikeouts for the Cleveland Indians topped the 1970 American League board on 1971 Topps #71, a first-series League Leaders card. Mickey Lolich of the Detroit Tigers followed with 230 and Bob Johnson of the Kansas City Royals with 206 in 214 innings. McDowell also led the league with 305 innings, went 20-12 with a 2.92 ERA and was named The Sporting News AL Pitcher of the Year. It was his fifth strikeout title, after 1965, 1966, 1968 and 1969.
Sam McDowell, 'Sudden Sam,' was a hard-throwing Cleveland Indians left-hander and six-time All-Star who led the American League in strikeouts five times, capping it with a 20-win, 304-strikeout 1970 that made him The Sporting News AL Pitcher of the Year. Mickey Lolich pitched 13 seasons for Detroit and won three complete games in the 1968 World Series. His Game 7 victory over Bob Gibson secured the championship and the Series MVP award. Bob Johnson - right-hander who pitched for the Mets, Royals, Pirates, Indians and Braves between 1969 and 1977, going 28-34 with a 3.48 ERA, and a member of the 1971 World Series champion Pirates.
Sources: Wikipedia (Sam McDowell) · Wikipedia (Mickey Lolich) · Wikipedia (Bob Johnson (pitcher)) · SABR BioProject (Sam Mcdowell) · SABR BioProject (Mickey Lolich) · Baseball Almanac (Sam McDowell) · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 388 | 0 | 7 | 160 | 148 | 43 | 18 | 10 | 2 |
| SGC | 21 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
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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Related cards
Team cards: #584 Cleveland Indians, #336 Detroit Tigers, #742 Kansas City Royals
More Cleveland Indians cards:
More Detroit Tigers cards:
- #3 Dick McAuliffe
- #39 Tigers 1971 Rookie Stars
- #86 Mike Kilkenny
- #101 Les Cain
- #120 Willie Horton
- #133 Mickey Lolich
More Kansas City Royals cards:
- #17 Billy Sorrell
- #35 Lou Piniella
- #91 Bob Lemon
- #103 Rich Severson
- #118 Cookie Rojas
- #129 Aurelio Monteagudo
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #71 card?
It is card #71 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Sam McDowell, Mickey Lolich and Bob Johnson. Cards #61-72 are the twelve League Leaders cards on the 1970 season - batting, RBI, home runs, ERA, pitching and strikeouts - with the American League card first and the National League card second in each pair, and three of the leaders on each card.
How many cards are in the 1971 Topps Baseball set?
752 cards, tracked as 761 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 752 with none skipped, issued in six print series (132/131/130/130/120/109 cards), the sixth (#644-752) the high numbers; seven cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately - the #42, #265 and #306 photo pairs and the #123, #206, #369 and #619 checklists, #369 and #619 in three printings each.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA (its price guide, master set registry and set article), 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.