1971 Topps #256 Tony Gonzalez
About Tony Gonzalez
Tony Gonzalez appears on #256 in the second series of 1971 Topps with the California Angels. The 1970 season behind it was split between Atlanta and California, and he hit .272 with 8 home runs and 67 RBI. In 1971 he hit .245 with 3 home runs and 38 RBI for the Angels, and his last game came on September 29.
Andres Antonio "Tony" Gonzalez was a Cuban-born outfielder who spent nine of his twelve big-league seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies and was their primary center fielder for five of them. He built his strength hoisting 250-pound sacks of sugar during Cuba's cane season, signed with Cincinnati for ten dollars and a bus ticket to Havana, and reached the majors in 1960. The 5-foot-9 left-handed hitter was called "Little Dynamite" for the way the ball came off his bat. In 1962 he became the first everyday big-league center fielder to play an errorless season, and in 1967 he batted .339, second in the National League to Roberto Clemente, yet he was never an All-Star. Often hit by pitches, he wore the first big-league batting helmet with a pre-molded ear flap, made for him in 1964. Dealt to Atlanta in June 1969, he hit .357 in that year's Championship Series with a home run off Tom Seaver. His major-league line closed at 1,485 hits and a .286 average; he played on in Mexico and Japan in 1972, then coached in the Phillies' and Angels' farm systems. The Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame, run in exile in Miami, inducted him in 1985. He died July 2, 2021, at 84.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 320 | 0 | 11 | 171 | 108 | 21 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| SGC | 12 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 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
Team card: #442 California Angels
More California Angels cards:
- #15 Andy Messersmith
- #43 Steve Kealey
- #61 1970 American League Batting Leaders
- #67 1970 American League ERA Leaders
- #78 Jim Spencer
- #105 Tony Conigliaro
- #152 Angels 1971 Rookie Stars
- #174 Dave LaRoche
- #205 Gerry Moses
- #240 Clyde Wright
- #279 Lefty Phillips
- #318 Rudy May
- #360 Jim Fregosi
- #401 Tom Murphy
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #256 card?
It is card #256 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Tony Gonzalez of the California Angels.
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.