1973 Topps #28 Hal McRae
About Hal McRae
McRae's 1973 Topps #28 is a first-series card with the Cincinnati Reds, though he spent the season in Kansas City. He had wanted to play every day and felt the expansion Royals offered more opportunity. The American League started using the designated hitter in 1973, and McRae, batting .234 with 9 home runs in 106 games, became the Royals' most frequently used DH. Royals manager Jack McKeon said he intended to keep juggling the assignment to keep morale high.
Hal McRae was a designated hitter and outfielder for the Kansas City Royals after beginning his major league career with Cincinnati. A multiple leg fracture in Puerto Rican winter ball after the 1968 season reduced his speed. The Reds traded him and Wayne Simpson to Kansas City for Roger Nelson and Richie Scheinblum on December 1, 1972. Over 19 seasons he batted .290 with 2,091 hits. He hit 191 home runs and drove in 1,097 runs in 2,084 games. He made three All-Star teams, won a Silver Slugger in 1982 while driving in 133 runs, and received the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award three times. He won the World Series with Kansas City in 1985 and became the Royals' first African-American manager in 1991. He later managed the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. His son Brian also became a major league outfielder.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 320 | 1 | 98 | 193 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 14 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 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: #641 Cincinnati Reds
More Cincinnati Reds cards:
- #8 Tom Hall
- #52 Denis Menke
- #62 1972 Home Run Leaders
- #63 1972 Runs Batted In Leaders
- #68 1972 Leading Firemen
- #89 Jack Billingham
- #130 Pete Rose
- #156 Cesar Geronimo
- #177 Bill Plummer
- #195 Clay Carroll
- #202 N.L. Playoffs: Foster's Run Decides It
- #205 World Series Game No. 3: Reds Win Squeaker
- #208 World Series Game No. 6: Reds' Slugging Ties Series
- #230 Joe Morgan
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #28 card?
It is card #28 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Hal McRae of the Cincinnati Reds.
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.