1972 Topps #20 Don Wilson
About Don Wilson
"The next five or six years will be his best in baseball," Houston manager Harry Walker said of Wilson after the 1971 season. Wilson struck out 180 and walked 79 in 1971, the only season of his career in which he faced more than a thousand batters. His 1972 Topps cards are #20 and #91, both from the first series. The second is the NL ERA Leaders card shared with Tom Seaver and Dave Roberts, a known uncorrected error with Danny Coombs in place of Roberts.
Don Wilson was a hard-throwing right-hander who spent his entire nine-year career with the Houston Astros from 1966 to 1974. A Compton, California product signed out of junior college, he threw two no-hitters. His first, in 1967 at the Astrodome, was the first ever thrown in a domed stadium and ended with a strikeout of Hank Aaron. His second, in 1969 against Cincinnati, came one day after the Reds had no-hit Houston, only the second time in major league history that two teams traded no-hitters on consecutive days. Wilson made his lone All-Star team in 1971, a career year in which he posted a 2.45 ERA and was named Astros MVP. He finished with 104 wins, a 3.15 ERA and 1,283 strikeouts over 266 games. Wilson died in January 1975 at age 29 in a carbon monoxide accident at his Houston home.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 321 | 13 | 91 | 172 | 29 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 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 Don Wilson in this set: #91 League Leaders
Team card: #282 Houston Astros
More Houston Astros cards:
- #56 Rich Chiles
- #65 Cesar Cedeno
- #91 1971 N.L. E.R.A. Leaders
- #101 Astros 1972 Rookie Stars
- #132 Joe Morgan
- #155 Larry Dierker
- #202 Scipio Spinks
- #204 Tommy Helms
- #217 Roger Metzger
- #249 Harry Walker
- #339 Ron Cook
- #355 Bob Watson
- #360 Dave Roberts
- #394 Ken Forsch
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #20 card?
It is card #20 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Don Wilson of the Houston Astros.
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.