1972 Topps #509 Don McMahon
About Don McMahon
McMahon still worked 44 games for San Francisco in 1972. He went 3-3 with five saves and a 3.71 ERA. The Giants released him, which effectively forced his retirement, and he served as their pitching coach from 1972 to 1975. They activated him for parts of 1972, 1973 and 1974 when the bullpen needed help. Card #509 is a fourth-series Giants issue.
Donald John McMahon was a right-handed relief pitcher from Brooklyn, New York, signed by the Boston Braves as an amateur free agent in 1950 and converted from third base to the mound in their farm system. He reached the majors on June 30, 1957, at age 27, after roughly five and a half years in the minors and two years in the Army, and he believed he was the first pitcher ever called up strictly as a reliever. Used almost entirely out of the bullpen, he appeared in 874 games, two of them as a starter, and struck out 1,003 batters. He finished 90-68 with a 2.96 ERA and 153 saves. He was a 1958 National League All-Star selection and won World Series rings with the 1957 Braves and the 1968 Tigers, also pitching for the Colt .45's, Indians, Red Sox, White Sox and Giants. Sold or traded repeatedly in the 1960s, he tended to pitch well in his first season with a new club. He never spent a day on the disabled list, and he threw his last big league pitch in 1974 at age 44 while serving as the Giants pitching coach.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2) · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 178 | 6 | 58 | 81 | 22 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 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
Team card: #771 San Francisco Giants
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- #165 Chris Speier
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- #232 Giants 1972 Rookie Stars
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #509 card?
It is card #509 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Don McMahon of the San Francisco Giants.
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.