1972 Topps #778 Twins Rookie Stars - Vic Albury / Rick Dempsey / Jim Strickland
On this card: Vic Albury, Rick Dempsey, Jim Strickland
About this card
This is one of the 29 Rookie Stars cards in the 1972 Topps set, each carrying two or three players under a club title (#724, #741 and #761 are league-wide), and all 29 are rookie cards.
The story on this card
Topps #778, from the sixth series of 1972, is a Rookie Stars card that puts three Twins together: Albury, Rick Dempsey and Jim Strickland. It is the rookie card for all three. Albury's first major league games came in 1973, when he went 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA over 23 1/3 innings. Vic Albury, a left-hander from Key West, pitched four seasons for the Minnesota Twins from 1973 to 1976, going 18-17 with a 4.11 ERA in 101 games. In 1974 he won 8 games and started 22 times.
Dempsey spent 1972 shuttling between Minnesota and the minors, appearing in 25 games for the Twins and hitting .200 with eight hits in 40 at-bats. Topps gave him a place on #778, a Rookie Stars card from the sixth series that he shares with Twins teammates Vic Albury and Jim Strickland. All three are listed with the Twins, and it is the rookie card for each. Dempsey was traded to the Yankees for Danny Walton on October 31. Rick Dempsey was a defense-first catcher who played 24 seasons between 1969 and 1992, longest with the Baltimore Orioles. He was the MVP of the 1983 World Series and is famous for his rain-delay tarp routine.
Strickland went 3-1 with a 2.50 ERA in 25 games for the 1972 Twins. He saved 3 games and struck out 30 in 36 innings. Card #778 is a Rookie Stars card from the sixth series, shared with fellow Twins Vic Albury and Rick Dempsey, and it is the rookie card for all three men. Left-handed reliever who pitched in 60 major league games, all in relief, for the Twins from 1971 to 1973 and the Indians in 1975, finishing 4-2 with a 2.68 ERA and five saves.
Sources: Wikipedia (Vic Albury) · Wikipedia (Rick Dempsey) · Wikipedia (Jim Strickland) · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 480 | 11 | 62 | 243 | 88 | 43 | 18 | 14 | 1 |
| SGC | 43 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 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: #156 Minnesota Twins
More Minnesota Twins cards:
- #28 Twins 1972 Rookie Stars
- #51 Harmon Killebrew
- #52 Harmon Killebrew In Action
- #66 Ray Corbin
- #86 1971 A.L. Batting Leaders
- #88 1971 A.L. R.B.I. Leaders
- #131 Jim Nettles
- #201 Phil Roof
- #220 Jim Perry
- #244 Steve Braun
- #275 Cesar Tovar
- #301 George Mitterwald
- #302 George Mitterwald In Action
- #352 Dave LaRoche
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #778 card?
It is card #778 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Vic Albury, Rick Dempsey and Jim Strickland. This is one of the 29 Rookie Stars cards in the 1972 Topps set, each carrying two or three players under a club title (#724, #741 and #761 are league-wide), and all 29 are rookie cards.
Is 1972 Topps #778 a rookie card?
Yes - #778 is a rookie card for every player pictured on it: Vic Albury, Rick Dempsey and Jim Strickland.
Why is #778 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.