1972 Topps #189 Gene Tenace
About Gene Tenace
Tenace hit .225 with 5 home runs in 82 games in 1972 before Williams, unhappy with Duncan's bat, put him in the lineup for the last two months. On September 30 he hit the last home run in the history of Kansas City's Municipal Stadium, in a 10-5 win over the Royals. He drove in the winning run in Game 5 of the ALCS against Detroit, his only hit of the series, then homered four times against Cincinnati and drove in 9 runs. Card #189 is a second-series issue.
Gene Tenace was a catcher and first baseman who played 15 major league seasons, 1969 to 1983, for Oakland, San Diego, St. Louis and Pittsburgh. He hit .241 with 201 home runs, but his value was in getting on base: a .388 career on-base percentage and 984 walks. Born Fiore Gino Tenacci in western Pennsylvania and raised in Lucasville, Ohio, he was a 20th-round pick of the Kansas City Athletics in 1965. He became Oakland's regular catcher for the 1972 postseason, homered in his first two World Series at-bats and was named the Series MVP. He was a member of three straight Oakland champions and won a fourth ring with the 1982 Cardinals. He later coached for Houston and Toronto, went 19-14 as the Blue Jays' interim manager in 1991, and was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 303 | 11 | 82 | 177 | 21 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 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: #454 Oakland A's
More Oakland Athletics cards:
- #17 Dave Duncan
- #41 Tommy Davis
- #42 Tommy Davis In Action
- #62 Angel Mangual
- #75 Bert Campaneris
- #90 1971 A.L. Home Run Leaders
- #92 1971 A.L. E.R.A. Leaders
- #94 1971 A.L. Pitching Leaders
- #96 1971 A.L. Strikeout Leaders
- #111 Jim Grant
- #137 Dick Williams
- #169 Vida Blue
- #170 Vida Blue In Action
- #209 Joe Rudi
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #189 card?
It is card #189 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Gene Tenace of the Oakland Athletics.
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.