1972 Topps #748 Phil Hennigan
About Phil Hennigan
Shoulder trouble sent Hennigan to Los Angeles for therapy with Dodgers specialist Dr. Robert Kaplan, and he did not pitch until May 21. He then posted a career-best 2.67 ERA over 38 games with five saves. When Angels manager Del Rice accused him of throwing spitballs, he joked about hoping for as much success with a pitch he did not throw as teammate Gaylord Perry had. His Indians card is #748, from the sixth series. Cleveland traded him to the Mets for Brent Strom and Bob Rauch on November 27.
Phil Hennigan was a right-handed reliever from Jasper, Texas, who pitched for the Cleveland Indians from 1969 to 1972 and the New York Mets in 1973. Cleveland drafted him out of Sam Houston State in the fourth round in 1966, and Army service as an artilleryman in Vietnam, where he earned a medal for bravery, cost him the 1967 season. He made his major-league debut on September 2, 1969, retiring Rod Carew on one pitch, a fly ball to center. A shoulder problem that first surfaced during his rookie season took velocity off his fastball, and late in his career he joked about owning a new pitch called the nudist ball because it had nothing on it. Across five seasons he went 17-14 with a 4.26 ERA and 25 saves in 176 games. Hennigan died in Center, Texas, in 2016, a year after a lung cancer diagnosis.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 309 | 12 | 92 | 161 | 26 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 11 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 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: #547 Cleveland Indians
More Cleveland Indians cards:
- #24 Ted Ford
- #59 Fred Stanley
- #84 Vince Colbert
- #116 Ed Farmer
- #142 Chris Chambliss
- #193 Kurt Bevacqua
- #215 Alex Johnson
- #261 Steve Mingori
- #285 Gaylord Perry
- #356 Gerry Moses
- #374 Jack Heidemann
- #399 Milt Wilcox
- #422 Ray Lamb
- #470 Ray Fosse
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #748 card?
It is card #748 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Phil Hennigan of the Cleveland Indians.
Why is #748 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.