1972 Topps #78 Steve Arlin
About Steve Arlin
On July 18, 1972, Arlin was one strike from a no-hitter against the Phillies when Denny Doyle singled, and he still won the game. In an eight-start run that began June 18, Arlin threw three two-hitters and a one-hitter. At the All-Star break he stood 8-11 with a 2.80 ERA, and Roger Craig said he could not believe nine pitchers in the league were better. He finished 10-21, the most losses in the majors. Card #78, from the first series, is his rookie card and lists him with the Padres.
Steve Arlin was a right-handed starter who pitched for the San Diego Padres from 1969 to 1974, with a stop in Cleveland at the end, and finished dental school in June 1970 along the way. At Ohio State he struck out 20 batters in a 15-inning, 1-0 win over Washington State in the 1965 College World Series, and in 1966 he led the Buckeyes to the title and was named the tournament's most outstanding player. The Phillies took him 13th overall in the 1966 secondary draft, and San Diego selected him in the 1968 expansion draft. He missed spring training in his early seasons for dental school and debuted on June 17, 1969, against the Dodgers. In 1971 he led the National League with 19 losses for the league's worst team, yet on July 25 he closed a three-hit shutout of Pittsburgh by striking out pinch hitter Roberto Clemente. He finished 34-67 with a 4.33 ERA, retired after 1974 and went into dentistry. His grandfather Harold Arlin called the first baseball game broadcast on radio in 1921. Arlin was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008 and died in San Diego in 2016.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 308 | 17 | 86 | 151 | 31 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #78 card?
It is card #78 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Steve Arlin of the San Diego Padres.
Is 1972 Topps #78 a rookie card?
Yes - #78 is the 1972 Topps rookie card of Steve Arlin.
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.