1973 Topps #543 Alan Foster
About Alan Foster
The 1972 California Angels used Foster in 8 relief appearances totaling 12 2/3 innings. He went 0-1 with a 4.97 ERA and 11 strikeouts. Topps issued him as #543 in print series 5, a high number, with the Angels. He pitched the 1973 season for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Alan Benton Foster was a right-handed pitcher born December 8, 1946, in Pasadena, California. He attended Los Altos High School in Hacienda Heights and was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second round of the 1965 draft. Foster reached the majors in 1967 and spent ten seasons in the big leagues with the Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, California Angels, St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres, retiring after the 1976 season. On August 6, 1969, at Dodger Stadium, he gave up a 507-foot home run to Pittsburgh's Willie Stargell, the first ball ever hit completely out of the seven-year-old ballpark and the longest ever hit there. Foster's best season came in 1973 for St. Louis, when he set a personal best with 13 wins in 22 decisions and a 3.14 ERA. Over his career he went 48-63 with a 3.74 ERA in 217 games. He started 148 of them and struck out 501 in 1,025 1/3 innings.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 215 | 10 | 65 | 124 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 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: #243 California Angels
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #543 card?
It is card #543 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Alan Foster of the California Angels.
Why is #543 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.