1972 Topps #581 Wade Blasingame
About Wade Blasingame
Blasingame won the fifth starting spot in Houston's rotation after a strong spring in 1971 and worked 158 1/3 innings with 93 strikeouts. One of his losses that year ended a streak of nine straight wins over the Mets. The Astros' addition of two lefties before 1972 left him the odd man out and sent him back to the bullpen, and a June 27 start in Detroit was the last of his career. He finished the year with the Yankees, with a 5.68 ERA in 22 games for both clubs. His #581, a fifth-series card, shows him with the Astros.
Wade Blasingame was a left-hander out of Fresno, California, who signed with the Milwaukee Braves in 1961 for a $125,000 bonus after a perfect 26-0 prep career at Theodore Roosevelt High School. He debuted with the Braves in September 1963, and in 1965 he went 16-10 with 224 2/3 innings and was the National League's top-fielding pitcher, in the club's final Milwaukee season. Finger and shoulder trouble followed in 1966, and a June 1967 trade sent him to the Houston Astros, where he pitched through the 1971 season as a starter and reliever. He closed his career with the New York Yankees in 1972. Over ten major league seasons he went 46-51 with a 4.52 ERA in 222 games. In 1985 he was inducted into the Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 259 | 5 | 59 | 159 | 26 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 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: #282 Houston Astros
More Houston Astros cards:
- #20 Don Wilson
- #56 Rich Chiles
- #65 Cesar Cedeno
- #91 1971 N.L. E.R.A. Leaders
- #101 Astros 1972 Rookie Stars
- #132 Joe Morgan
- #155 Larry Dierker
- #202 Scipio Spinks
- #204 Tommy Helms
- #217 Roger Metzger
- #249 Harry Walker
- #339 Ron Cook
- #355 Bob Watson
- #360 Dave Roberts
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #581 card?
It is card #581 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Wade Blasingame of the Houston Astros.
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.