1972 Topps #636 Bill Lee
About Bill Lee
Red Sox card #636 is one of the fifth-series numbers. Lee did not start a game in 1972, working all 47 of his appearances in relief, and finished 7-4 with 5 saves. He also hit one of his two major-league home runs that year.
Bill Lee was a left-handed pitcher who worked for the Boston Red Sox from 1969 to 1978 and the Montreal Expos from 1979 to 1982, finishing 119-90 with a 3.62 ERA. A USC product on the 1968 College World Series winner, he lacked a good fastball and leaned on off-speed pitches, including his own slow, arcing take on the eephus that he called the Leephus pitch. Used almost entirely in relief for four seasons, he moved into the rotation in 1973, went 17-11 and made the American League All-Star team, then won 17 games in each of the next two years. He started two games of the 1975 World Series against Cincinnati. He was nicknamed Spaceman by former Red Sox infielder John Kennedy, and his outspoken, countercultural opinions were frequently recorded in the press. A feud with manager Don Zimmer led to his trade to Montreal after 1978, and he was released by the Expos in 1982 after a one-game walkout over the release of Rodney Scott. He was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2008.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 267 | 3 | 53 | 135 | 49 | 21 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 12 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 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: #328 Boston Red Sox
More Boston Red Sox cards:
- #2 Ray Culp
- #30 Rico Petrocelli
- #37 Carl Yastrzemski
- #38 Carl Yastrzemski In Action
- #79 Red Sox 1972 Rookie Stars
- #88 1971 A.L. R.B.I. Leaders
- #113 Rogelio Moret
- #144 Marty Pattin
- #199 Mike Fiore
- #218 Eddie Kasko
- #259 Sparky Lyle
- #266 Bobby Bolin
- #290 Sonny Siebert
- #313 Luis Aparicio
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #636 card?
It is card #636 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bill Lee of the Boston Red Sox.
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.