1973 Topps #502 Bobby Valentine
About Bobby Valentine
Valentine opened 1973 as the Angels' shortstop after winning Caribbean Series MVP honors with Licey, and he was hitting .302 when he caught his spikes in the Anaheim outfield fence on May 17 chasing a Dick Green drive. Two days earlier he had been in center field when Nolan Ryan threw his first no-hitter. The compound leg fracture ended his year at 32 games. Card #502 is from the fourth series.
Bobby Valentine was a utility infielder and outfielder for the Dodgers, Angels, Padres, Mets and Mariners from 1969 to 1979, hitting .260 in 639 games, and later a major league manager. The Dodgers drafted him fifth overall in 1968 out of Stamford, Connecticut, where he was a three-time All-State football player. He was the Pacific Coast League MVP with Spokane in 1970, hitting .340 with 14 home runs. He managed the Texas Rangers from 1985 to 1992, with a 581-605 record and a second-place finish in 1986. With the Mets from 1996 to 2002 he went 536-467, reached the playoffs as a wild card in 1999 and 2000, and lost the 2000 World Series to the Yankees. He won the Japan Series with the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2005, managed the 2012 Red Sox to a 69-93 finish, and became athletic director at Sacred Heart University in 2013. He received the 2002 Branch Rickey Award for his work with September 11 survivors.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 183 | 6 | 60 | 99 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 7 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 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.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Shop 1973 Topps cards Live auctions Buy It Now on eBay Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
Team card: #243 California Angels
More California Angels cards:
- #18 Leroy Stanton
- #36 Steve Barber
- #67 1972 Strikeout Leaders
- #75 Vada Pinson
- #102 Rudy May
- #123 Sandy Alomar
- #154 Jeff Torborg
- #175 Frank Robinson
- #178 Don Rose
- #220 Nolan Ryan
- #267 Lloyd Allen
- #279 Mike Strahler
- #289 Bob Oliver
- #301 Billy Grabarkewitz
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #502 card?
It is card #502 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bobby Valentine of the California Angels.
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.