1972 Topps #320 Steve Blass
About Steve Blass
Blass won 19 games and lost 8 for the 1972 Pirates, with a 2.49 ERA over 249 2/3 innings, and finished second to Steve Carlton in the National League Cy Young voting. He was named to the All-Star team. In the NLCS he went 1-0 across 15 2/3 innings, but the Reds took the series 3-2. His #320 in the third series of the 1972 Topps set shows him with Pittsburgh.
Steve Blass, a right-hander who signed with Pittsburgh out of a Connecticut high school in 1960, pitched his entire ten-season career for the Pirates, breaking in during 1964 and settling in as a rotation regular from 1966 on. He peaked between 1968 and 1972, including an 18-6 season with a 2.12 ERA in 1968. His signature moment came in the 1971 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles, where he threw two complete-game victories, including the clincher in Game Seven, finishing runner-up for Series MVP behind Roberto Clemente. After 1972 he lost his control almost overnight, a decline so sudden and unexplained that it became known as Steve Blass disease. He retired in 1975, then spent decades as a Pirates broadcaster and was later inducted into the Pittsburgh Pirates and Charleston, West Virginia baseball halls of fame. He finished with a 103-76 record and a 3.63 ERA over 1,597 1/3 innings.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 222 | 8 | 50 | 114 | 22 | 18 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 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: #1 World Champions (Pittsburgh Pirates)
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- #72 Bruce Kison
- #87 1971 N.L. R.B.I. Leaders
- #89 1971 N.L. Home Run Leaders
- #125 Dave Cash
- #152 Gene Clines
- #179 Dock Ellis
- #180 Dock Ellis In Action
- #190 Dave Giusti
- #219 Rennie Stennett
- #221 1971 N.L. Playoffs: Bucs Champs!
- #225 1971 World Series Game No. 3
- #226 1971 World Series Game No. 4
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #320 card?
It is card #320 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Steve Blass of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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.