1973 Topps #493 Duffy Dyer
About Duffy Dyer
Dyer was hitting .533 after a four-hit game on May 17, 1972, and Yogi Berra stayed with him after Jerry Grote came back. On July 4 he almost caught Tom Seaver's no-hitter in the opener of a doubleheader against San Diego; Seaver had one out in the ninth when Leron Lee broke his bat and looped a hit into center. On September 20, 1973, his pinch-hit double tied the game against Pittsburgh in the ninth inning. His 1973 Topps card is #493, a fourth-series number, with the Mets.
Don Robert "Duffy" Dyer caught in the majors for fourteen seasons, 1968 to 1981, half of them with the New York Mets. A converted outfielder at Arizona State, where he helped win the 1965 College World Series alongside Sal Bando and Rick Monday, Dyer debuted with the Mets in September 1968, then made the club in 1969 behind Jerry Grote. He became a fan favorite with a pinch-hit, three-run homer on Opening Day 1969 and earned a championship ring as a rookie on the Miracle Mets. In 1972 he set career highs with 94 games, eight home runs and 36 RBI, and he led National League catchers in double plays. Traded to Pittsburgh after the 1974 season, he backed up Manny Sanguillen and later caught John Candelaria's 1976 no-hitter before closing his career with Montreal and Detroit. After retiring he became a longtime coach and minor league manager, guiding Kenosha to a Midwest League title in 1985 and later returning to manage the Kenosha Kingfish.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 208 | 7 | 59 | 116 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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.
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Related cards
Team card: #389 New York Mets
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- #4 John Milner
- #30 Tug McGraw
- #55 Jon Matlack
- #87 Ken Boswell
- #107 Phil Hennigan
- #113 Jerry Grote
- #137 Jim Beauchamp
- #161 Ted Martinez
- #184 Jerry Koosman
- #223 Bud Harrelson
- #257 Mets Field Leaders
- #283 Ray Sadecki
- #305 Willie Mays
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #493 card?
It is card #493 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Duffy Dyer of the New York Mets.
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.