1973 Topps #601 Rookie Catchers - Sergio Robles / George Pena / Rick Stelmaszek
On this card: Sergio Robles, George Pena, Rick Stelmaszek
About this card
Cards #601-616 are the sixteen three-player 1973 Rookies cards, each titled by position. A Rookies card is a rookie card for the players on it who had no earlier Topps flagship card, and the rookie-card answer on each card names the players it counts for.
The story on this card
Baltimore trailed Oakland 2-1 in the ninth inning on August 27, 1972, when Earl Weaver sent Robles up for Terry Crowley and the rookie singled to right off Darold Knowles in his major-league debut. His first start, September 9 at Memorial Stadium, went 0-for-4. Topps put him on #601, a Rookie Catchers card in the fifth, high-number series of 1973 and his rookie card, alongside George Pena of Cleveland and Rick Stelmaszek of Texas. Mexican catcher known for his throwing arm, who played 16 games for the Orioles and Dodgers across 1972, 1973 and 1976 and spent 19 winters with the Hermosillo Naranjeros; a member of the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame.
Pena played for Triple-A Syracuse and Toledo in 1972. He represented Cleveland on the 1973 Topps Rookie Catchers card, #601, his rookie card and a fifth-series high number shared with Sergio Robles and Rick Stelmaszek. He spent 1973 with Cleveland's Triple-A Oklahoma City club, batting .256 with 14 home runs in 106 games. George Pena was a catcher and outfielder whose minor-league career included Syracuse, Oklahoma City and Tacoma. He hit 22 home runs for the Syracuse Chiefs in 1971.
Stelmaszek's 1973 opened in Texas, where he batted .111 in seven games before the May 20 trade that sent him, Mike Epstein and Rich Hand to the California Angels for Lloyd Allen and Jim Spencer. He caught 22 games for the Angels and hit .154. Card #601, from the high-numbered fifth series, is a three-player Rookies card that prints him with the Rangers beside Sergio Robles of the Orioles and George Pena of the Indians. Catcher who appeared in 60 major league games for the Senators, Rangers, Angels and Cubs between 1971 and 1974, then coached for the Minnesota Twins for 32 straight seasons and was on the 1987 and 1991 World Series champion staffs.
Sources: Wikipedia (Sergio Robles) · Wikipedia (Rick Stelmaszek) · SABR BioProject · Stats Crew (1) · Stats Crew (2) · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 209 | 2 | 42 | 126 | 29 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 6 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 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 cards: #278 Baltimore Orioles, #629 Cleveland Indians, #7 Texas Rangers
More Baltimore Orioles cards:
- #9 Johnny Oates
- #34 Pat Dobson
- #56 Merv Rettenmund
- #90 Brooks Robinson
- #109 Doyle Alexander
- #136 Orioles Field Leaders
More Cleveland Indians cards:
- #11 Chris Chambliss
- #31 Buddy Bell
- #53 Steve Dunning
- #66 1972 Victory Leaders
- #86 Tom McCraw
- #134 Milt Wilcox
More Texas Rangers cards:
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #601 card?
It is card #601 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Sergio Robles, George Pena and Rick Stelmaszek. Cards #601-616 are the sixteen three-player 1973 Rookies cards, each titled by position. A Rookies card is a rookie card for the players on it who had no earlier Topps flagship card, and the rookie-card answer on each card names the players it counts for.
Is 1973 Topps #601 a rookie card?
Yes - #601 is the rookie card of Sergio Robles and George Pena. Rick Stelmaszek had already appeared on an earlier Topps card, so it is not his rookie card.
Did George Pena reach the major leagues?
No. George Pena, one of the three players on #601 1973 Rookie Catchers, never reached the major leagues.
Why is #601 harder to find?
It is a high number card from the fifth and last print series, #529-660 - the scarce end of the set.
How many cards are in the 1973 Topps Baseball set?
660 cards, tracked as 679 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 660 with none skipped, in five series of 132 - #1-132, #133-264, #265-396, #397-528 and the high numbers, #529-660, printed in lower quantities; 19 cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately - fifteen Field Leaders cards, the #20 Stan Bahnsen, #31 Buddy Bell and #504 Earl Williams border-gap pairs and the two #280 Al Kaline printings.
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.