1972 Topps #81 Mike Hedlund
About Mike Hedlund
Hedlund pitched 205 2/3 innings in 1971, with 7 complete games and a shutout. The Royals around him had narrowly avoided 100 losses the year before and finished 85-76, second in the American League West. His #81 in 1972 Topps, a first-series card, lists him with Kansas City.
Mike Hedlund was a right-handed pitcher from Dallas, Texas, who signed with the Cleveland Indians out of Arlington High School and reached the majors at eighteen. He pitched six seasons in the American League, briefly with Cleveland in 1965 and 1968 before Kansas City selected him in the 1968 expansion draft. With the Royals he worked as both a starter and reliever, his best stretch coming in 1971 when he went 15-8 with a 2.71 ERA, the league's fourth-best mark, as part of a young rotation alongside Dick Drago and Paul Splittorff. Between seasons he pitched winter ball in Venezuela, where he set a league record with 53 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run, and he later traveled to Vietnam on a hospital tour with a group of major leaguers. Cleveland reacquired him for Kurt Bevacqua after the 1972 season, and he spent 1973 with the Triple-A Oklahoma City 89ers, going 7-8 with a 4.44 ERA.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 332 | 5 | 103 | 177 | 30 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 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: #617 Kansas City Royals
More Kansas City Royals cards:
- #10 Amos Otis
- #57 Bob Oliver
- #68 Jim York
- #109 Jerry May
- #133 Joe Keough
- #177 Paul Schaal
- #178 Paul Schaal In Action
- #205 Dick Drago
- #246 Tom Burgmeier
- #273 Bobby Floyd
- #315 Paul Splittorff
- #332 Buck Martinez
- #349 Al Fitzmorris
- #372 Royals 1972 Rookie Stars
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #81 card?
It is card #81 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Mike Hedlund of the Kansas City Royals.
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.