1972 Topps #494 Willie Horton
About this card
This is one of the sixteen Boyhood Photos cards, in two runs of eight (#341-348 and #491-498); every Boyhood Photos player also has a regular card in the set.
About Willie Horton
Foot and shoulder ailments hampered Horton in 1972, when he hit .231 with 11 home runs in 108 games. He went 1-for-10 in the American League Championship Series against Oakland. Topps included him on fourth-series Boyhood Photos #494 and sixth-series base card #750, both with Detroit.
Willie Horton grew up in Detroit and signed with the Tigers out of Northwestern High School in 1961. His nickname, Willie the Wonder, dated to his high school years, when he homered at Tiger Stadium in the city championship game. He reached the majors in 1963 and spent parts of fifteen seasons with Detroit before playing for five other American League clubs. A four-time All-Star, Horton finished his eighteen-season major league career with 1,993 hits and 325 home runs. He drove in 1,163 runs and batted .273. He later coached for the Yankees and White Sox. In 2000 the Tigers retired his number 23 and dedicated a statue of him at Comerica Park.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 221 | 6 | 66 | 113 | 17 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
| SGC | 1 | 0 | 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
More Willie Horton in this set: #750
Team card: #487 Detroit Tigers
More Detroit Tigers cards:
- #6 Fred Scherman
- #33 Billy Martin
- #34 Billy Martin In Action
- #83 Dalton Jones
- #90 1971 A.L. Home Run Leaders
- #94 1971 A.L. Pitching Leaders
- #96 1971 A.L. Strikeout Leaders
- #120 Bill Freehan
- #150 Norm Cash
- #175 Tom Haller
- #176 Tom Haller In Action
- #187 Gates Brown
- #216 Joe Niekro
- #239 Tom Timmermann
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #494 card?
It is card #494 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Willie Horton of the Detroit Tigers. This is one of the sixteen Boyhood Photos cards, in two runs of eight (#341-348 and #491-498); every Boyhood Photos player also has a regular card in the set.
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.