1973 Topps #479 Hal Lanier
About Hal Lanier
The Yankees bought Lanier's contract from the Giants in early February 1972, adding an infielder who could play third base, shortstop and second base. His limited playing time under manager Ralph Houk that year caused a bit of friction between them. Ahead of the 1973 season Houk told him he was there to be a utility player and would have to stop griping and do his job when called on. His #479 is a fourth-series card, printed with the Yankees.
Harold Clifton "Hal" Lanier broke in with the San Francisco Giants in June 1964 and spent ten major league seasons, mostly at second base and shortstop, before finishing his playing career with the New York Yankees in 1973. The son of former big league pitcher Max Lanier, he was known as a defense-first infielder who studied opposing pitchers and hitters, and Willie Mays made him an infield captain, responsible for spotting a tiring pitcher and going out to the mound. Lanier hit .274 in his rookie year and was picked for the 1964 Topps All-Star Rookie team. His bat cooled in the seasons that followed, but his glove work at shortstop, including a league-leading fielding season, kept him in the lineup. He finished with a .228 career average, 8 home runs and 273 RBI over 1,196 games. After retiring he moved into coaching and managing. He led the Houston Astros to the 1986 NL West title and won NL Manager of the Year in his rookie season at the helm.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 226 | 3 | 85 | 121 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 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 #479 card?
It is card #479 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Hal Lanier of the New York Yankees.
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.