1972 Topps #659 Bob Aspromonte
About Bob Aspromonte
Bob Aspromonte's final major league hit came on September 25, 1971, when he pinch-hit for Dave Marshall in the bottom of the 15th inning and drove in Tim Foli with the winning run. Needing an upgrade at third base for 1972, the Mets traded Nolan Ryan to the California Angels for Jim Fregosi and released Aspromonte. Sparky Anderson thought he could still play and invited him to spring training with the Reds. Topps issued his 1972 card, #659 in the sixth series, with Cincinnati, but he did not make the team and retired.
Bob Aspromonte, a third baseman from Brooklyn, signed with his hometown Dodgers in July 1956 and debuted that September as an 18-year-old pinch hitter; he became the last Brooklyn Dodger to appear in a major-league game, playing his final one in 1971. Houston took him third overall in the October 1961 expansion draft, and on April 10, 1962 he produced the first hit, run, walk and stolen base in Colt .45s/Astros history. He held Houston's third base for seven seasons and started every Opening Day through 1968. He hit six grand slams, then a franchise record, one of them the home run he had promised Billy Bradley, an Arkansas boy blinded by lightning and sent to Houston for eye treatment. Traded to Atlanta in December 1968, he finished with the 1971 Mets, having hit .252 with 1,103 hits and 60 home runs in 13 seasons. Known as 'Aspro,' he later managed a Coors beer distributorship and entered the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Astros Walk of Fame, its first honoree, in 2012.
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 | 266 | 12 | 78 | 138 | 24 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #659 card?
It is card #659 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bob Aspromonte of the Cincinnati Reds.
Why is #659 harder to find?
It is a high number card from the sixth and last print series, #657-787 - with the fifth series, the toughest to find, per PSA.
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.