1972 Topps #97 Tom Kelley
About Tom Kelley
Kelley witnessed teammate Hank Aaron's 600th career home run in late April 1971. In 1972 he made 27 appearances, 14 of them starts, and went 5-7 with a 4.56 ERA and one shutout. His 1972 Topps card is #97, with the Braves.
Tom Kelley was a right-handed pitcher from Manchester, Connecticut, signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent in 1963. He reached the majors as a reliever in 1964, then went 16-3 with a no-hitter for Triple-A Portland in 1965 before returning to Cleveland for four late-season starts. He spent all of 1966 with the Indians, then underwent shoulder surgery and spent three years rebuilding in the minors. Kelley revived his career with the Atlanta Braves in 1971, posting a 9-5 record and a 2.96 ERA, and he pitched for Atlanta through 1973 before finishing his career in the minors. Over parts of seven big-league seasons he went 20-22 with a 3.75 ERA. After baseball he worked 15 years for United Parcel Service and was inducted into the Manchester Sports Hall of Fame in 1987. He died in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in 2015.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 321 | 24 | 107 | 152 | 23 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 2 | 1 | 0 | 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: #21 Atlanta Braves
More Atlanta Braves cards:
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- #85 1971 N.L. Batting Leaders
- #87 1971 N.L. R.B.I. Leaders
- #89 1971 N.L. Home Run Leaders
- #119 Marty Perez
- #149 Gary Neibauer
- #171 Darrell Evans
- #172 Darrell Evans In Action
- #195 Orlando Cepeda
- #214 Mike McQueen
- #260 Ralph Garr
- #299 Hank Aaron
- #300 Hank Aaron In Action
- #318 Sonny Jackson
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #97 card?
It is card #97 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Tom Kelley of the Atlanta Braves.
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.