1972 Topps #449 Bob Lemon
About this card
Every club has a manager card of its own this year, separate from the 24 team cards, and every one of the 24 manager cards pictures the manager alone. Nine of them are Hall of Famers, and #510 Ted Williams manages the Texas Rangers in their first season after the move from Washington.
About Bob Lemon
Before the 1972 season, Lemon said, "Five clubs could win it, including ourselves." Kansas City finished 76-78 and fourth in the American League West. Owner Ewing Kauffman replaced him with Jack McKeon after the season, saying he wanted a younger manager. Lemon's Kansas City manager card was fourth-series Topps #449.
Bob Lemon converted from an infielder and outfielder to a pitcher with Cleveland in 1946, after three seasons away in the Navy during World War II. Mel Harder helped him develop his slider. Lemon finished 207-128 with a 3.23 ERA. He threw 188 complete games and 31 shutouts. He won at least 20 games seven times from 1948 through 1956 and made seven consecutive All-Star teams. In 1948 he no-hit Detroit on June 30, led the majors with ten shutouts and won twice in Cleveland's World Series victory over the Boston Braves. He went 23-7 for the 1954 pennant winners. A left-handed batter, he hit .232 with 37 home runs: 35 while pitching and two as a pinch-hitter. Lemon later managed the Royals, White Sox and Yankees, leading New York to the 1978 World Series title. He entered the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976, and Cleveland retired his number 21 in 1998.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · National Baseball Hall of Fame · SABR · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 236 | 5 | 50 | 124 | 35 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 10 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #449 card?
It is card #449 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bob Lemon of the Kansas City Royals. Every club has a manager card of its own this year, separate from the 24 team cards, and every one of the 24 manager cards pictures the manager alone. Nine of them are Hall of Famers, and #510 Ted Williams manages the Texas Rangers in their first season after the move from Washington.
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.