1971 Topps #178 Dave Duncan
About Dave Duncan
Duncan opened 1971 as Oakland's number-one catcher even though Gene Tenace had outhit him in spring training. With 11 home runs and 27 RBI at the break, he made the American League All-Star team alongside teammates Reggie Jackson and Vida Blue. He caught Blue's 24 wins and Catfish Hunter's 21. He finished at .253 with 15 home runs and 40 RBI. In Game 1 of the ALCS against Baltimore he went 2-for-3 with a double. Card #178 is a second-series issue showing him with the Athletics.
David Edwin Duncan, born September 26, 1945 in Dallas, Texas, was a catcher who played 11 major league seasons for the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Indians, and Baltimore Orioles from 1964 to 1976. Signed by the Athletics out of San Diego's Crawford High School, he debuted in 1964 as an 18-year-old, then developed through the minors alongside future stars Rick Monday and Reggie Jackson. Duncan became Oakland's primary catcher in the early 1970s, earning a selection to the 1971 American League All-Star team and helping the Athletics win the American League West in both 1971 and 1972, then the 1972 World Series championship. Known more for his defense and game-calling than his bat, he finished his career with a .214 batting average, 109 home runs, and 341 RBIs over 929 games. After retiring as a player in 1977, Duncan built a long second career as a pitching coach, spending three decades alongside manager Tony La Russa with the White Sox, Athletics, and Cardinals.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 379 | 1 | 7 | 174 | 161 | 25 | 6 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 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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Related cards
Team card: #624 Oakland Athletics
More Oakland Athletics cards:
- #20 Reggie Jackson
- #45 Jim Hunter
- #67 1970 American League ERA Leaders
- #84 Marcel Lachemann
- #109 Steve Hovley
- #135 Rick Monday
- #215 Diego Segui
- #238 Chuck Dobson
- #258 Dick Green
- #285 Sal Bando
- #317 Athletics 1971 Rookie Stars
- #338 Gene Tenace
- #356 Bob Locker
- #384 Rollie Fingers
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #178 card?
It is card #178 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Dave Duncan of the Oakland Athletics.
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.