1972 Topps #101 Astros Rookie Stars - Bill Greif / J.R. Richard / Ray Busse
On this card: Bill Greif, J.R. Richard, Ray Busse
About this card
This is one of the 29 Rookie Stars cards in the 1972 Topps set, each carrying two or three players under a club title (#724, #741 and #761 are league-wide), and all 29 are rookie cards.
The story on this card
Greif was already a Padre when this card appeared, having gone to San Diego with Derrel Thomas and Mark Schaeffer in the trade for Dave Roberts. Card #101 is a Rookie Stars card that lists him with the Astros alongside J.R. Richard and Ray Busse, and it is the rookie card for all three. His 1972 went 5-16 with a 5.60 ERA, opening with a six-hit shutout of Atlanta on April 16. Bill Greif, a Texas right-hander, pitched for the Astros, Padres and Cardinals from 1971 to 1976, going 31-67 with a 4.41 ERA and 19 saves. His knuckle-curve carried a 3.21 ERA for the 1973 Padres.
Richard's debut came on September 5, 1971, when he struck out 15 San Francisco Giants in his first start, including Willie Mays and Dick Dietz three times each. He went 2-1 with 29 strikeouts in 21 innings that month. In 1972 he spent most of the year at Oklahoma City and pitched six innings for Houston with a 13.50 ERA. Card #101, a first-series Rookie Stars issue, shows him as an Astro beside Bill Greif and Ray Busse. Right-handed Houston Astros starter, 6 feet 8 inches, who led the National League in strikeouts twice and won 18 or more games four years running from 1976 to 1979. A stroke on July 30, 1980 ended his career at 107-71.
The 1972 season brought the death of Busse's father and a shoulder injury, and he played 70 games for Oklahoma City, hitting .207 with 27 errors. His major-league record at that point was 10 games for Houston in 1971, a 5-for-34 start. His #101 card, from the first series, is a Rookie Stars issue and the rookie card for all three men on it: Bill Greif, J.R. Richard and Busse, each printed with the Astros. Ray Busse was a 6-foot-4 shortstop from Daytona Beach, Florida, who played 68 games for the Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals between 1971 and 1974 and was once rated the best shortstop in the minor leagues.
Sources: Wikipedia (Bill Greif) · Wikipedia (Ray Busse) · SABR BioProject · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 713 | 12 | 161 | 306 | 100 | 67 | 31 | 35 | 1 |
| SGC | 80 | 0 | 6 | 21 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 1 |
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: #282 Houston Astros
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- #65 Cesar Cedeno
- #91 1971 N.L. E.R.A. Leaders
- #132 Joe Morgan
- #155 Larry Dierker
- #202 Scipio Spinks
- #204 Tommy Helms
- #217 Roger Metzger
- #249 Harry Walker
- #339 Ron Cook
- #355 Bob Watson
- #360 Dave Roberts
- #394 Ken Forsch
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #101 card?
It is card #101 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bill Greif, J.R. Richard and Ray Busse. This is one of the 29 Rookie Stars cards in the 1972 Topps set, each carrying two or three players under a club title (#724, #741 and #761 are league-wide), and all 29 are rookie cards.
Is 1972 Topps #101 a rookie card?
Yes - #101 is a rookie card for every player pictured on it: Bill Greif, J.R. Richard and Ray Busse.
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.