1971 Topps #509 Jim Grant
About Jim Grant
Grant's 1970 was split between Oakland and Pittsburgh: 80 relief appearances, an 8-3 record, a 1.86 ERA and 24 saves. The Pirates are the team on his #509, a fourth-series card. In 1971 he worked 57 games for Pittsburgh and Oakland, going 6-3 with 10 saves, and pitched two innings against Baltimore in the ALCS. His last game came on September 29, 1971, at age 36.
James Timothy Grant came out of the lumber town of Lacoochee, Florida, one of seven children, and lost his father when he was two. A football and baseball scholarship took him to Florida A&M, but he left in his sophomore year because the family needed the money, went to work as a carpenter's helper, and was signed for Cleveland in 1954 by bird-dog scout Fred Merkle. At the Indians' minor-league camp a man who took him for a Mississippian tagged him Mudcat, and the name stuck for life. Grant debuted on April 17, 1958 with a complete-game win over Kansas City and pitched 14 seasons for the Indians, Twins, Dodgers, Expos, Cardinals, Athletics and Pirates, finishing 145-119 with a 3.63 ERA, 53 saves and two All-Star selections. His 21-7 season for the 1965 Twins made him the first Black pitcher to win 20 games in the American League. That October he won two of his three World Series starts against the Dodgers and homered in Game Six, but Minnesota lost Game Seven to Sandy Koufax. He later broadcast for Cleveland and Oakland, wrote The Black Aces, a book on the Black pitchers who reached 20 wins, and entered the Baseball Reliquary's Shrine of the Eternals in 2012. He died in 2021 at 85.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · National Baseball Hall of Fame · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 446 | 0 | 20 | 251 | 140 | 27 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| SGC | 11 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 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: #603 Pittsburgh Pirates
More Pittsburgh Pirates cards:
- #2 Dock Ellis
- #27 Pirates 1971 Rookie Stars
- #47 Johnny Jeter
- #62 1970 National League Batting Leaders
- #68 1970 National League ERA Leaders
- #73 George Brunet
- #110 Bill Mazeroski
- #143 Steve Blass
- #168 Bruce Dal Canton
- #212 Rich Hebner
- #230 Willie Stargell
- #255 Bob Robertson
- #282 Jose Pagan
- #298 Jim Nelson
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #509 card?
It is card #509 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Grant of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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.