1971 Topps #45 Jim Hunter
About Jim Hunter
Hunter's 1971 season opened a run of five straight 20-win seasons through 1975. He finished 21-11 with a 2.96 ERA in 273 2/3 innings for Oakland. He completed 16 games and pitched four shutouts. At bat he collected 36 hits in 103 at-bats for a .350 average. His first-series 1971 Topps card is #45.
James Augustus "Catfish" Hunter pitched for the Kansas City and Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees from 1965 through 1979, finishing 224-166 with a 3.26 ERA and 2,012 strikeouts. He grew up on a North Carolina farm and signed with Kansas City in 1964, months after a hunting accident cost him a toe. Owner Charlie Finley invented the nickname "Catfish" when Hunter told him he liked hunting and fishing. His only minor-league pitching came in the fall instructional league. Hunter won three World Series championships with Oakland and two with New York. In 1974 he earned the American League Cy Young Award with a 25-12 record and a league-leading 2.49 ERA. A contract dispute over annuity payments made him a free agent that December, and he signed a five-year Yankees contract. After retiring at 33, he returned to farming near Hertford, growing soybeans, corn, peanuts and cotton. Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, he chose a plaque without a team logo to recognize both clubs. He died of ALS in 1999.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · National Baseball Hall of Fame · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 1,306 | 0 | 18 | 321 | 471 | 236 | 138 | 117 | 5 |
| SGC | 253 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 71 | 69 | 51 | 26 | 12 |
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: #624 Oakland Athletics
More Oakland Athletics cards:
- #20 Reggie Jackson
- #67 1970 American League ERA Leaders
- #84 Marcel Lachemann
- #109 Steve Hovley
- #135 Rick Monday
- #178 Dave Duncan
- #215 Diego Segui
- #238 Chuck Dobson
- #258 Dick Green
- #285 Sal Bando
- #317 Athletics 1971 Rookie Stars
- #338 Gene Tenace
- #356 Bob Locker
- #384 Rollie Fingers
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #45 card?
It is card #45 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Hunter of the Oakland Athletics.
Is #45 Jim Hunter the same player as Catfish Hunter?
Yes. The card front prints "Jim Hunter", so it is listed here as printed, with Catfish Hunter as the name he is also known by.
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.