1972 Topps #738 Jim Merritt
About Jim Merritt
Merritt began 1971 at 0-8 with a 4.96 ERA and was moved to the bullpen. He stood 0-11 on August 3, won once, against Pittsburgh on August 21, and finished 1-11 with a 4.37 ERA; the slump was attributed to an elbow injury from the end of 1970. After four appearances in 1972 he was sent to Triple-A Indianapolis on May 6, and he was dealt to Texas for Jim Driscoll and Hal King once the season ended. His #738 is a sixth-series card printed with Cincinnati.
Jim Merritt was a tall, lanky left-handed pitcher who spent eleven big-league seasons, mainly with the Minnesota Twins and Cincinnati Reds. The Los Angeles Dodgers signed him out of high school, but the Twins took him in the first-year player draft before his career in the Dodgers' farm system got under way. He worked his way up through Minnesota's minor-league system and debuted in the majors in August 1965, in time to pitch in that fall's World Series. Teammates nicknamed him Bones for his rail-thin 6-foot-3 frame. In 1967 he became one of the better control pitchers in the American League, then peaked with Cincinnati in 1970, making the All-Star team and winning twenty games as the Reds reached the World Series. He spent 1971 and 1972 with the Reds before finishing his career with the Texas Rangers. He finished with an 81-86 record and 932 strikeouts.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 356 | 13 | 108 | 179 | 30 | 15 | 8 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 18 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 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: #651 Cincinnati Reds
More Cincinnati Reds cards:
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- #80 Tony Perez
- #89 1971 N.L. Home Run Leaders
- #99 Ross Grimsley
- #121 Ed Sprague
- #136 Darrel Chaney
- #157 Don Gullett
- #236 Jim McGlothlin
- #256 George Foster
- #267 Dave Concepcion
- #291 Hal McRae
- #292 Hal McRae In Action
- #311 Clay Carroll
- #312 Clay Carroll In Action
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #738 card?
It is card #738 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Merritt of the Cincinnati Reds.
Why is #738 harder to find?
It is a high number card from the sixth and last print series, #657-787 - with the fifth series, the toughest to find, per PSA.
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.