1973 Topps #497 Cardinals Field Leaders - Red Schoendienst / Vern Benson / George Kissell / Barney Schultz
On this card: Red Schoendienst, Vern Benson, George Kissell, Barney Schultz
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 Cardinals Field Leaders (Red Schoendienst / Vern Benson / George Kissell / Barney Schultz)
Topps grouped Schoendienst with Cardinals coaches Vern Benson, George Kissell and Barney Schultz on fourth-series #497 in 1973, a card catalogued in two printings. His 1973 club went 81-81 and finished second in the National League East. His tenure as manager, 1965 through 1976, is the second-longest in Cardinals history. Red Schoendienst made ten All-Star teams as a second baseman, then managed the Cardinals to the 1967 World Series championship and a second pennant in 1968. He entered the Hall of Fame in 1989.
Benson coached on Red Schoendienst's Cardinals staff in 1973. Bing Devine had brought him back to the organization in late October 1969 as a minor league instructor for infielders and baserunning. Card #497 in the fourth series of 1973 Topps listed Schoendienst, Benson, George Kissell and Barney Schultz. Infielder-outfielder who hit .202 in 55 major league games for the Athletics and Cardinals, then coached the Cardinals, Yankees, Reds, Braves and Giants and managed Atlanta for one game on May 12, 1977, a 6-1 win over Pittsburgh.
Kissell served as St. Louis' third-base coach in 1972. His teaching emphasized adapting technique to each player's body and style rather than copying someone else. Fourth-series 1973 Topps #497 grouped him with manager Red Schoendienst and coaches Vern Benson and Barney Schultz. George Kissell combined teaching with minor league managing in the Cardinals organization. A former infielder with a master's degree from Ithaca, he later traveled the farm system as a field coordinator.
In 1972, Schultz was the St. Louis Cardinals' pitching coach under Red Schoendienst. He later recalled that the club had offered him work after his playing career to encourage him to report to Jacksonville in 1964. Fourth-series 1973 Topps #497 paired Schultz with Schoendienst and coaches Vern Benson and George Kissell. An older neighbor introduced Barney Schultz to the knuckleball. On his Burlington High School team, he used it as a change of pace when well ahead in the count; it later became his principal pitch.
Sources: Wikipedia (Red Schoendienst) · Wikipedia (Vern Benson) · Wikipedia (Barney Schultz) · SABR BioProject (Red Schoendienst) · SABR BioProject (Vern Benson) · SABR BioProject (George Kissell) · SABR BioProject (Barney Schultz) · BaseballCardPedia · Trading Card Database
Print variations
Two states of #497 are tracked individually: 497a - Orange Background and 497b - Pale Brown Background. The difference is on the front of the card (print color).
States catalogued by the PSA master set registry and the Trading Card Database; each is tracked here individually.
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Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 497a - Orange Background | |||||||||
| PSA | 126 | 2 | 28 | 50 | 21 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 497b - Pale Brown Background | |||||||||
| PSA | 47 | 0 | 5 | 19 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Not designated by PSA | |||||||||
| PSA | 75 | 1 | 16 | 40 | 15 | 3 | 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. Where a grader registers a variation separately its population is listed under that variation; PSA slabs whose label names no variation are listed as not designated, while SGC slabs whose label names no variation are counted under 497a - Orange Background.
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Related cards
Team card: #219 St. Louis Cardinals
More St. Louis Cardinals cards:
- #24 Al Santorini
- #47 Luis Melendez
- #64 1972 Stolen Base Leaders
- #85 Ted Simmons
- #104 Reggie Cleveland
- #128 Ted Sizemore
- #153 Al Hrabosky
- #171 Bernie Carbo
- #190 Bob Gibson
- #241 Dwain Anderson
- #269 Tim McCarver
- #292 Jose Cruz
- #320 Lou Brock
- #364 Rick Wise
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #497 card?
It is card #497 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Red Schoendienst, Vern Benson, George Kissell and Barney Schultz. 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).
Does 1973 Topps #497 have variations?
Yes. Two states are catalogued and tracked individually: 497a - Orange Background (The coaches' portraits have orange backgrounds) and 497b - Pale Brown Background (The coaches' portraits have pale brown backgrounds behind all three coaches' heads). Owning any one of them fills the #497 slot; the master set counts each state.
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.