1971 Topps #750 Denny McLain
About Denny McLain
McLain went 3-5 with a 4.63 ERA in 14 starts in 1970, a season that ended with a suspension from Commissioner Bowie Kuhn for carrying a gun on a team flight. On October 9 Detroit sent him, Elliott Maddox, Norm McRae and Don Wert to Washington for Joe Coleman, Eddie Brinkman, Jim Hannan and Aurelio Rodriguez. His #750 in the sixth series shows him as a Senator.
Dennis Dale McLain signed with the Chicago White Sox out of Mt. Carmel High School in Chicago in 1962, only for the Detroit Tigers to claim him on waivers the following April. He reached Detroit on September 21, 1963 at the age of 19 and homered in his major-league debut, the only home run he would ever hit. He relied heavily on his fastball, and it cost him home runs: he led the American League in home runs allowed three straight years, 1966 through 1968. His signature season came in 1968, when he went 31-6 with a 1.96 ERA to become the last pitcher to win 30 games in a season, taking both the American League Cy Young Award and Most Valuable Player honors as Detroit won the World Series. A second straight Cy Young followed in 1969, shared with Baltimore's Mike Cuellar. McLain was a three-time All-Star, in 1966, 1968 and 1969. Suspensions, gambling troubles and a worn-out arm then undid him: traded to the Washington Senators in October 1970, he lost 22 games in 1971 and finished with Oakland and Atlanta in 1972, out of baseball by 1973. He retired 131-91 with a 3.39 ERA and 1,282 strikeouts over ten seasons.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 481 | 0 | 3 | 110 | 176 | 121 | 40 | 31 | 0 |
| SGC | 100 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 26 | 22 | 20 | 15 | 6 |
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: #462 Washington Senators
More Washington Senators cards:
- #11 Elliott Maddox
- #33 Del Unser
- #60 Dick Bosman
- #63 1970 American League RBI Leaders
- #65 1970 American League Home Run Leaders
- #82 Casey Cox
- #93 Senators 1971 Rookie Stars
- #139 Paul Casanova
- #167 Tom Grieve
- #217 Ed Stroud
- #241 Dave Nelson
- #261 Darold Knowles
- #283 Dick Such
- #307 Don Wert
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #750 card?
It is card #750 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Denny McLain of the Washington Senators.
Why is #750 harder to find?
It is a high number card from the sixth and last print series, #644-752 - the scarce end of the set. Some of its cards were printed in larger numbers than others, so scarcity varies card by card inside the run.
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.