1971 Topps #143 Steve Blass
About Steve Blass
Blass went 15-8 with a 2.85 ERA in 1971, the Pirates' first full year at Three Rivers Stadium, and his 5 shutouts tied Bob Gibson for the National League lead. He lost the NLCS opener to San Francisco 5-4 and struck out 11 over 7 innings in the series. His #143 is a second-series card with Pittsburgh.
Steve Blass, a right-hander who signed with Pittsburgh out of a Connecticut high school in 1960, pitched his entire ten-season career for the Pirates, breaking in during 1964 and settling in as a rotation regular from 1966 on. He peaked between 1968 and 1972, including an 18-6 season with a 2.12 ERA in 1968. His signature moment came in the 1971 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles, where he threw two complete-game victories, including the clincher in Game Seven, finishing runner-up for Series MVP behind Roberto Clemente. After 1972 he lost his control almost overnight, a decline so sudden and unexplained that it became known as Steve Blass disease. He retired in 1975, then spent decades as a Pirates broadcaster and was later inducted into the Pittsburgh Pirates and Charleston, West Virginia baseball halls of fame. He finished with a 103-76 record and a 3.63 ERA over 1,597 1/3 innings.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 339 | 0 | 4 | 159 | 121 | 31 | 14 | 9 | 1 |
| SGC | 15 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 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
- #168 Bruce Dal Canton
- #212 Rich Hebner
- #230 Willie Stargell
- #255 Bob Robertson
- #282 Jose Pagan
- #298 Jim Nelson
- #343 Pirates 1971 Rookie Stars
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #143 card?
It is card #143 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Steve Blass 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.