1973 Topps #111 Dave Nelson
About Dave Nelson
With the 1972 Rangers, Dave Nelson opened the season by stealing seven bases in eight attempts over the first 13 games. He played 145 games that year, 119 of them at third base. He hit .226 and finished with 51 steals. Broadcaster Don Drysdale compared his first steps to those of Maury Wills in his prime. Card #111, from the first series, lists him with Texas.
David Earl Nelson was born June 20, 1944, in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and starred in football, baseball, basketball and track at Junipero Serra High School in Gardena, California, before playing at Compton Junior College and Los Angeles State College. Signed by Cleveland Indians scout Bob Mattick, he climbed the minor-league ladder as a prolific base stealer and reached the majors with Cleveland in 1968, earning a spot on the Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team at second base. He played for the Washington Senators in 1970 and 1971, then moved with the franchise to Texas as it became the Rangers, shifting to third base and then back to second. His best year came in 1973, when he hit .286, stole 43 bases and made his only All-Star Game appearance. He spent the 1976-77 seasons with the Kansas City Royals, reaching the postseason in the 1976 ALCS. Nelson later coached and broadcast in the majors for decades, including as Milwaukee Brewers first base coach, before his death in 2018.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 281 | 10 | 131 | 121 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #111 card?
It is card #111 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Dave Nelson of the Texas Rangers.
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.