1972 Topps #173 Clay Kirby
About Clay Kirby
Kirby's one winning season in five years with San Diego came in 1971, when he made 36 starts and worked 267 1/3 innings. His main recreations were hunting and fishing, a love he got from his father, who bought 300 acres in the Shenandoah Mountains with two friends so they could hunt and fish there. His 1972 Topps cards, #173 and the In Action card #174, both come from the second series.
Clayton Laws Kirby Jr. pitched eight major league seasons (1969-1976) for the San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, and Montreal Expos, compiling a 75-104 record with a 3.84 ERA across 261 games. The Washington, D.C. native was chosen by the Padres in the 1968 expansion draft and started 35 games as a rookie. His career totals include 1,548 innings, 1,061 strikeouts and 42 complete games. His signature moment came on July 21, 1970, when he held the New York Mets hitless through eight innings before being lifted for a pinch-hitter, a decision some fans and writers later linked to the Padres waiting until 2021 for their first no-hitter. Traded to Cincinnati after the 1973 season, he pitched two years for the Reds, working as a full-time starter in 1974 before shifting to a swingman role on the pennant-winning 1975 Big Red Machine. After baseball he became a financial securities broker and died of a heart attack in 1991 at age 43.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 289 | 8 | 71 | 160 | 31 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 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
More Clay Kirby in this set: #174 In Action
Team card: #262 San Diego Padres
More San Diego Padres cards:
- #7 Enzo Hernandez
- #39 Bob Barton
- #40 Bob Barton In Action
- #78 Steve Arlin
- #91 1971 N.L. E.R.A. Leaders
- #123 Ed Acosta
- #143 Garry Jestadt
- #174 Clay Kirby In Action
- #194 Fred Norman
- #238 Leron Lee
- #274 Al Severinsen
- #288 Johnny Jeter
- #384 Dave Campbell
- #412 Dick Kelley
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #173 card?
It is card #173 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Clay Kirby of the San Diego Padres.
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.