1973 Topps #558 Jerry May
About Jerry May
Card #558, a high number from the fifth series, lists May with the Royals. He caught 41 of Kansas City's games in 1972, with 1 home run and 4 RBI. On May 14, 1973, the Royals sold him to the New York Mets. He caught all 15 of his 1973 games, hit .158, and played his last major league game on June 3; the Mets released him on July 10.
Jerry Lee May was a catcher who spent ten seasons in the majors, 1964 through 1973, most of it with the Pittsburgh Pirates before finishing with the Kansas City Royals and New York Mets. Originally a pitcher and outfielder who threw six no-hitters in American Legion ball, he was signed by Pirates scout Syd Thrift in 1961 and converted to catcher. May broke in as a reserve behind Jim Pagliaroni, then held down the Pirates' regular catching job from 1967 through 1969 before Manny Sanguillen took over. He was behind the plate on June 12, 1970, when Dock Ellis no-hit the San Diego Padres. Traded to Kansas City with Freddie Patek and Bruce Dal Canton in a December 1970 deal, he closed his career with a brief stop with the Mets in 1973. He finished at .234 with 15 home runs and built his reputation on defense, throwing out better than 42 percent of attempted base stealers.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 155 | 4 | 48 | 84 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 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: #347 Kansas City Royals
More Kansas City Royals cards:
- #22 Ted Abernathy
- #48 Paul Splittorff
- #78 Richie Scheinblum
- #99 Carl Taylor
- #118 John Mayberry
- #140 Lou Piniella
- #164 Monty Montgomery
- #188 Cookie Rojas
- #233 Ed Kirkpatrick
- #251 Roger Nelson
- #282 Steve Hovley
- #306 Tom Burgmeier
- #334 Freddie Patek
- #392 Dick Drago
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #558 card?
It is card #558 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jerry May of the Kansas City Royals.
Why is #558 harder to find?
It is a high number card from the fifth and last print series, #529-660 - the scarce end of the set.
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.