1971 Topps #381 Fred Gladding
About Fred Gladding
In 1971 Gladding reinvented himself as a finesse pitcher, striking out 17 batters in 51 1/3 innings for Houston. He worked entirely in relief, going 4-5 with a 2.10 ERA and a team-leading 12 saves. Topps issued his Astros card as #381, in the third series.
Fred Gladding was a right-handed relief pitcher who spent thirteen major league seasons, 1961 to 1973, with the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros. Born in Flat Rock, Michigan, he signed with the Tigers in 1956 and spent six seasons working through their minor league system before debuting in 1961. Teammates nicknamed him "The Bear" during his minor league days in Birmingham, after catcher Ron Witucki noticed how he stomped around the mound when angry. Detroit catcher Bill Freehan later called him "Little Monster." A sinkerball pitcher who ran the ball in on right-handed hitters, Gladding worked out of the Tigers bullpen through the 1960s until a deal made in August 1967 for Eddie Mathews sent him to Houston. With the Astros he led the National League in saves in 1969, the first year saves were officially counted. He finished his career with a 48-34 record, a 3.13 ERA, and 109 saves in 450 games. He also holds the lowest non-zero career batting average in major league history, .016.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 223 | 1 | 6 | 88 | 90 | 29 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 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
- #130 Denis Menke
- #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
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #381 card?
It is card #381 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Fred Gladding 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.