1972 Topps #160 Andy Messersmith
About Andy Messersmith
Surgery on his right index finger cost Messersmith nearly 2 months of the 1972 season. He finished 8-11 with a 2.81 ERA in 169 2/3 innings for California. His Angels card, #160, came from Topps' second series. After the season, the Angels traded him and Ken McMullen to Los Angeles for Frank Robinson, Bill Singer, Billy Grabarkewitz, Bobby Valentine and Mike Strahler.
Andy Messersmith was a right-handed pitcher for the Angels, Dodgers, Braves and Yankees from 1968 through 1979. He finished 130-99 with a 2.86 ERA in 2,230 1/3 innings and won Gold Gloves in 1974 and 1975. At Western High School in Anaheim, coach Dave Hernandez taught him the slider; he later attended the University of California, Berkeley, on a baseball scholarship. Messersmith and Dave McNally challenged baseball's reserve clause in 1975. Arbitrator Peter Seitz ruled that a club could renew an unsigned player's contract without his consent for one year, not indefinitely, making both pitchers free agents. Messersmith subsequently signed a 3-year, $1 million contract with Atlanta.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 342 | 16 | 95 | 198 | 24 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 9 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 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: #71 California Angels
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- #102 Lloyd Allen
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- #135 Vada Pinson
- #196 Mel Queen
- #213 Angels 1972 Rookie Stars
- #253 Sandy Alomar
- #272 Mickey Rivers
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- #354 Tom Murphy
- #379 Ken Berry
- #404 Jeff Torborg
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #160 card?
It is card #160 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Andy Messersmith of the California Angels.
How many cards are in the 1972 Topps Baseball set?
787 cards, tracked as 794 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 787 with none skipped, in six print series (#1-132, #133-263, #264-394, #395-525, #526-656 and #657-787, the high numbers); 7 cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately - four Chicago Cubs cards with yellow or green under the "C" and "S" of the team name, the #251 and #478 checklists with smaller or larger print on the front, and the #604 checklist with its copyright line aligned right or left.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, 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.