1973 Topps #234 Bill North
About Bill North
North opened 1973 as Oakland's first designated hitter, going 2-for-5 on Opening Day, after the Athletics gave up reliever Bob Locker to get him from the Cubs. On May 18 he punched Royals reliever Doug Bird, drawing an ejection and a three-day suspension. A sprained ankle on September 20 ended his year at .285 with 98 runs and 53 steals, one behind Tommy Harper, and Charlie Finley kept him out of the World Series dugout. Card #234, from the second series, is his rookie card, with the Athletics.
Bill North was a switch-hitting center fielder who played 11 seasons in the majors, 1971 to 1981, for the Cubs, Athletics, Dodgers and Giants. He stole 395 bases, won two American League stolen-base titles, and from 1973 through 1976 recorded more putouts than any other major-league outfielder. A 12th-round Cubs pick in 1969 out of Central Washington State College, he led the Texas League with 47 steals and 91 runs for San Antonio in 1971. That fall he went to the Arizona Instructional League to learn switch-hitting, because Cubs manager Leo Durocher wanted to use his speed. Batting first or second for most of his career, he finished with a .365 on-base percentage, 43 points above the league average. He earned World Series rings with the 1973 and 1974 Athletics. Local sportswriters twice voted him his team's outstanding player, and a combative streak produced several fights on the field and in the clubhouse.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 170 | 8 | 62 | 91 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 6 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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: #500 Oakland A's
More Oakland Athletics cards:
- #13 George Hendrick
- #38 Mike Epstein
- #60 Ken Holtzman
- #64 1972 Stolen Base Leaders
- #84 Rollie Fingers
- #155 Sal Bando
- #179 A's Field Leaders
- #201 A.L. Playoffs: Hendrick Scores Winning Run
- #203 World Series Game No. 1: Tenace the Menace
- #204 World Series Game No. 2: A's Make It Two Straight
- #206 World Series Game No. 4: Tenace Singles in Ninth
- #207 World Series Game No. 5: Odom Out at Plate
- #209 World Series Game No. 7: Campy Starts Winning Rally
- #210 World Champions (Oakland Athletics)
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #234 card?
It is card #234 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bill North of the Oakland Athletics.
Is 1973 Topps #234 a rookie card?
Yes - #234 is the 1973 Topps rookie card of Bill North.
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.