1971 Topps #734 Rob Gardner
About Rob Gardner
Gardner led the International League with 16 wins, 192 innings and four shutouts for Triple-A Syracuse in 1970, posted a 2.53 ERA and was named the league's Most Valuable Player. Called up in late September, he pitched 7 1/3 innings to beat the Washington Senators 6-4 in his only Yankees appearance of the year. Card #734 comes from the sixth series and shows him with the New York Yankees.
Rob Gardner was a left-handed pitcher from Binghamton, New York, who signed with the Minnesota Twins in 1963 before the Mets picked him up in that winter's first-year draft. He debuted with New York in September 1965, and in just his fourth big-league start threw fifteen scoreless innings against the Phillies in a game eventually called a tie after eighteen. Elbow and shoulder trouble limited him through much of a career that ran 1965 to 1973 and touched six major league clubs: the Mets, Cubs, Indians, Yankees, Athletics, and Brewers. His busiest big-league season came in 1966 with the Mets, and he returned to regular work with the Yankees in 1972. Across parts of eight major league seasons he went 14-18 with a 4.35 ERA in 109 games. After retiring he returned to Binghamton, where he worked as a fireman and paramedic. He died in 2023.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 349 | 0 | 10 | 114 | 146 | 56 | 10 | 13 | 0 |
| SGC | 16 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 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
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #734 card?
It is card #734 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Rob Gardner of the New York Yankees.
Why is #734 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.