1973 Topps #624 Astros Field Leaders - Leo Durocher / Preston Gomez / Grady Hatton / Hub Kittle / Jim Owens
On this card: Leo Durocher, Preston Gomez, Grady Hatton, Hub Kittle, Jim Owens
About this card
Managers appear only on the 24 Field Leaders cards, one for each club: each pictures the manager with three or four of his coaches, and there is no solo manager card. Fifteen of the 24 come in two printings. Thirteen include a Hall of Famer, among them coaches Ernie Banks (#81 Cubs), Warren Spahn (#449 Indians) and Bill Mazeroski (#517 Pirates), and the Dodgers' Walt Alston and Tom Lasorda (#569).
About Astros Field Leaders (Leo Durocher / Preston Gomez / Grady Hatton / Hub Kittle / Jim Owens)
Houston general manager Spec Richardson believed Durocher could lead the Astros to a pennant. In 1973, his one full season there, the Astros went 82-80 and finished fourth while he dealt with intestinal problems, and Preston Gomez stepped in to manage part of the season in his absence. Card #624, a high number from the fifth series, shows the Houston staff of Durocher, Preston Gomez, Grady Hatton, Hub Kittle and Jim Owens. Leo Durocher, the outspoken shortstop and manager known as "Leo the Lip," won pennants with the 1941 Dodgers and 1951 Giants and swept the 1954 World Series. He retired with 2,008 wins and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1994.
Gomez signed four one-year contracts with San Diego. He returned to baseball in 1973 as a coach on Leo Durocher's Houston staff. Topps grouped him with Durocher, Grady Hatton, Hub Kittle and Jim Owens on #624, a fifth-series high-number manager-and-coaches card. Cuban-born infielder turned manager who was named the first skipper in San Diego Padres history in 1968 after coaching third base for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
After scouting through 1972, Grady Hatton replaced Buddy Hancken as Houston's first-base coach under Leo Durocher in 1973. Topps listed him with Durocher, Preston Gomez, Hub Kittle and Jim Owens on the Astros Field Leaders card, #624 in the fifth-series high numbers. Cincinnati third baseman Grady Hatton collected 3 singles and 2 RBI in his April 16, 1946 debut against Chicago. His bases-loaded lineout ended the Reds' 4-3 loss.
After coaching Houston in 1972, Kittle became Leo Durocher's pitching coach for 1973. Ken Forsch credited him that year with spotting and correcting a stiff wrist in his delivery. Topps included Kittle with Durocher, Preston Gomez, Grady Hatton and Jim Owens on fifth-series high-number #624. Hub Kittle worked as a pitcher, minor league manager and club executive before coaching in the major leagues. His managerial assignments ranged from the Northwest to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Owens retired as a player on July 8, 1967 to become the Astros' pitching coach, succeeding the fired Gordon Jones, and held the job through the 1972 season. Card #624, a fifth-series high number, groups Houston's staff under manager Leo Durocher with Preston Gomez, Grady Hatton, Hub Kittle and Owens. Jim Owens, nicknamed "Bear," pitched for the Phillies, Reds and Colt .45s/Astros from 1955 to 1967, posting a 12-12 record in 1959, tying the major league record with three balks in one inning in 1963 and later serving as Houston's pitching coach.
Sources: Wikipedia (Leo Durocher) · Wikipedia (Grady Hatton) · Wikipedia (Hub Kittle) · Wikipedia (Jim Owens) · SABR BioProject (Leo Durocher) · SABR BioProject (Grady Hatton) · SABR BioProject (Hub Kittle) · SABR BioProject (Jim Owens) · National Baseball Hall of Fame · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (Jim Owens) · Baseball Almanac (2) · Retrosheet · BaseballCardPedia · Trading Card Database
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 217 | 1 | 44 | 118 | 39 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 11 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #624 card?
It is card #624 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Leo Durocher, Preston Gomez, Grady Hatton, Hub Kittle and Jim Owens. Managers appear only on the 24 Field Leaders cards, one for each club: each pictures the manager with three or four of his coaches, and there is no solo manager card. Fifteen of the 24 come in two printings. Thirteen include a Hall of Famer, among them coaches Ernie Banks (#81 Cubs), Warren Spahn (#449 Indians) and Bill Mazeroski (#517 Pirates), and the Dodgers' Walt Alston and Tom Lasorda (#569).
Why is #624 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.