1972 Topps #187 Gates Brown
About Gates Brown
Tigers fans recall that Tiger Stadium sounded louder than normal when Brown was announced as a pinch-hitter, and many of his hits tied the game or put Detroit ahead. In 1972 he had 58 hits and 33 runs in 103 games. Card #187, a second-series issue, lists him with the Tigers.
Gates Brown, born William James Brown, spent his entire thirteen-season career (1963-1975) with the Detroit Tigers. He was convicted of burglary at eighteen and served time at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield. A prison coach there spotted his hitting and helped connect him to Tigers scouts Frank Skaff and Pat Mullin, who signed him for a $7,000 bonus. He debuted on June 19, 1963, hitting a pinch-hit home run at Fenway Park in his first major-league at-bat, the third player in American League history to do so. Playing left field for Detroit, Brown became a pinch-hitting specialist, retiring with American League career records of 107 pinch hits, 414 pinch-hit at-bats and 16 pinch-hit home runs. His 1968 season, a .370 average with six home runs, helped the Tigers win the World Series. He later served as Detroit's hitting coach from 1978 through 1984. His mother gave him the nickname Gates as a toddler, and he thought it might have something to do with the way he walked.
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 | 407 | 24 | 130 | 187 | 47 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 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 #187 card?
It is card #187 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Gates Brown of the Detroit Tigers.
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.