1971 Topps #719 Jerry May
About Jerry May
Jerry May threw out 50 percent of the runners who tried to steal against him in 1970, best among National League catchers, while hitting .209 in 51 games for Pittsburgh. At the Winter Meetings on December 2, 1970 he went to Kansas City in the deal that brought Jackie Hernandez, Bob Johnson and Jim Campanis to Pittsburgh. Card #719 in the sixth series pictures him as a Royal.
Jerry Lee May was a catcher who spent ten seasons in the majors, 1964 through 1973, most of it with the Pittsburgh Pirates before finishing with the Kansas City Royals and New York Mets. Originally a pitcher and outfielder who threw six no-hitters in American Legion ball, he was signed by Pirates scout Syd Thrift in 1961 and converted to catcher. May broke in as a reserve behind Jim Pagliaroni, then held down the Pirates' regular catching job from 1967 through 1969 before Manny Sanguillen took over. He was behind the plate on June 12, 1970, when Dock Ellis no-hit the San Diego Padres. Traded to Kansas City with Freddie Patek and Bruce Dal Canton in a December 1970 deal, he closed his career with a brief stop with the Mets in 1973. He finished at .234 with 15 home runs and built his reputation on defense, throwing out better than 42 percent of attempted base stealers.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 410 | 0 | 18 | 158 | 159 | 61 | 9 | 4 | 1 |
| SGC | 23 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 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: #742 Kansas City Royals
More Kansas City Royals cards:
- #17 Billy Sorrell
- #35 Lou Piniella
- #71 1970 American League Strikeout Leaders
- #91 Bob Lemon
- #103 Rich Severson
- #118 Cookie Rojas
- #129 Aurelio Monteagudo
- #144 Jackie Hernandez
- #163 Buck Martinez
- #187 Ted Abernathy
- #221 Dave Morehead
- #247 Royals 1971 Rookie Stars
- #269 Gail Hopkins
- #299 Ed Kirkpatrick
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #719 card?
It is card #719 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jerry May of the Kansas City Royals.
Why is #719 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.