1973 Topps #537 Bill Slayback
About Bill Slayback
Slayback's debut came on June 26, 1972, against the Yankees, and he held them hitless through seven innings without knowing it until Al Kaline told him. Johnny Callison singled in the eighth, and Slayback went 8 1/3 innings in all, allowing four hits, as Detroit won and moved into sole possession of first place. He finished 5-6 with a 3.20 ERA, and 13 of his 23 games were starts. Card #537 with the Tigers is his rookie card, a high number from the fifth series.
Bill Slayback was a 6-foot-4 right-hander who pitched for the Detroit Tigers from 1972 to 1974, going 6-9 with a 3.84 ERA in 42 games, 17 of them starts. A Hollywood native who pitched at California State University, Northridge, he was drafted by Detroit in the seventh round of the 1968 draft. He threw a fastball at 90-plus mph and paired it with a slider-curve that manager Billy Martin liked to call for with two strikes. After three straight complete games in July 1972, he came out of the bullpen for Martin against Texas on short rest, and the arm gave way; his days as an effective major-league pitcher were over. Outside baseball he was a singer, guitarist and songwriter, a painter and sketch artist, and a photographer and woodworker. In 1973 he recorded "Move Over Babe (Here Comes Henry)," co-written with Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell, about Hank Aaron's chase of Babe Ruth's home run record. Harwell stayed a lifelong friend. Slayback later worked in pharmaceutical sales and released a 2006 CD, "Lady Dancing on Fire." He died in Los Angeles on March 25, 2015.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 213 | 6 | 70 | 115 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 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
Team card: #191 Detroit Tigers
More Detroit Tigers cards:
- #5 Ed Brinkman
- #29 Tony Taylor
- #51 Chuck Seelbach
- #88 Mickey Stanley
- #120 Joe Coleman
- #146 Woodie Fryman
- #168 Jim Northrup
- #218 Aurelio Rodriguez
- #256 Chris Zachary
- #280 Al Kaline
- #304 Duke Sims
- #323 Tigers Field Leaders
- #349 Dick McAuliffe
- #369 Lerrin LaGrow
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #537 card?
It is card #537 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bill Slayback of the Detroit Tigers.
Is 1973 Topps #537 a rookie card?
Yes - #537 is the 1973 Topps rookie card of Bill Slayback.
Why is #537 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.