1971 Topps #130 Denis Menke
About Denis Menke
Menke's 1971 was a step down from the year before, with a .246 average, 1 home run and 43 RBI. He appeared in 146 games, 101 of them at first base and 32 at third. Topps #130, from the first print series, lists him with the Astros.
Denis John Menke was born July 21, 1940, on a 480-acre farm outside Bancroft, Iowa, and signed with the Milwaukee Braves in May 1958 for a bonus reported at between $125,000 and $175,000, a sizable sum in the years before the draft began. After Pacific Coast League Rookie of the Year honors at Vancouver in 1961, he debuted on April 14, 1962, and played 13 major-league seasons for the Braves, Houston Astros and Cincinnati Reds, playing shortstop, second base, third base and first base. He batted .250 with 101 home runs and 606 runs batted in over 1,598 games, and was picked for the National League All-Star team as a shortstop in 1969 and 1970. In November 1971 Houston sent him to Cincinnati in the deal built around Joe Morgan. He started at third base for the 1972 pennant winners, homering off Catfish Hunter in Game Five of the World Series and setting a Series record with 29 chances at third without an error. He played his last game July 10, 1974, managed in the minors, then coached in the majors with the Blue Jays, Astros, Phillies and Reds, serving as Philadelphia's hitting coach from 1989 to 1996. He died December 1, 2020, in Tarpon Springs, Florida, at 80.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 341 | 2 | 21 | 139 | 139 | 26 | 10 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 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: #722 Houston Astros
More Houston Astros cards:
- #18 Norm Miller
- #44 Johnny Edwards
- #79 Wade Blasingame
- #102 Astros 1971 Rookie Stars
- #148 John Mayberry
- #162 Jack Billingham
- #222 Bob Watson
- #237 Cesar Cedeno
- #242 Jim Ray
- #264 Joe Morgan
- #291 George Culver
- #312 Harry Walker
- #337 Jesus Alou
- #371 Jack Hiatt
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #130 card?
It is card #130 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Denis Menke of the Houston Astros.
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.