1972 Topps #637 Preston Gomez
About this card
Every club has a manager card of its own this year, separate from the 24 team cards, and every one of the 24 manager cards pictures the manager alone. Nine of them are Hall of Famers, and #510 Ted Williams manages the Texas Rangers in their first season after the move from Washington.
About Preston Gomez
Nate Colbert led Gomez's 1971 Padres with 27 home runs. Over his San Diego tenure, his clubs won 180 games and lost 316. Dismissing Gomez in 1972 was the first time Buzzie Bavasi had ever fired a manager. #637 in the fifth series is his 1972 Padres manager card.
Preston Gomez, born Pedro Gomez Martinez in Central Preston, Cuba, took his professional name from his birthplace. A right-handed infielder, he played eight major league games at shortstop and second base for the 1944 Washington Senators, batting .286 in seven at-bats with two RBI and two runs. He spent the next two decades in the minor leagues as a player and then a manager, winning an International League title and Junior World Series with the 1959 Havana Sugar Kings and a Pacific Coast League title with the 1960 Spokane Indians. He joined the Los Angeles Dodgers as third-base coach in 1965 under Walter Alston, working two pennant-winning clubs and a World Series champion. In August 1968 Padres president Buzzie Bavasi named him the first manager in San Diego Padres history. He managed the Houston Astros in 1974 and 1975, coached for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Dodgers again, and managed the Chicago Cubs in 1980. He then coached for the California Angels, where he finished his career in the front office as a special assignments scout.
Sources: Baseball-Reference · National Baseball Hall of Fame
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 217 | 9 | 53 | 115 | 21 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 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: #262 San Diego Padres
More San Diego Padres cards:
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- #39 Bob Barton
- #40 Bob Barton In Action
- #78 Steve Arlin
- #91 1971 N.L. E.R.A. Leaders
- #123 Ed Acosta
- #143 Garry Jestadt
- #173 Clay Kirby
- #174 Clay Kirby In Action
- #194 Fred Norman
- #238 Leron Lee
- #274 Al Severinsen
- #288 Johnny Jeter
- #384 Dave Campbell
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #637 card?
It is card #637 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Preston Gomez of the San Diego Padres. Every club has a manager card of its own this year, separate from the 24 team cards, and every one of the 24 manager cards pictures the manager alone. Nine of them are Hall of Famers, and #510 Ted Williams manages the Texas Rangers in their first season after the move from Washington.
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.