1973 Topps #79 Jim Willoughby
About Jim Willoughby
The Giants began 1973 with Willoughby in a five-man rotation alongside Juan Marichal, Sam McDowell, Tom Bradley and Ron Bryant, a year after he went 6-4 with a 2.36 ERA as an August call-up. He shut out the Cardinals 1-0 on April 28, the only shutout of his career. In mid-May manager Charlie Fox moved him to the bullpen, and he finished 4-5 with a 4.68 ERA. His rookie card, #79, was issued in the first of the set's five series.
Jim Willoughby was a right-handed sinker and slider pitcher who threw from a three-quarters arm slot. He worked as a starter, long reliever and short man for the Giants, Red Sox and White Sox from 1971 to 1978. He finished 26-36 with a 3.79 ERA and 34 saves. San Francisco drafted him out of Gustine High School in the 11th round in 1967, and his signing package included the Professional Baseball Scholarship Plan, which he used for engineering classes at Cal-Berkeley and other schools while in the minors.
Boston made him a full-time reliever. He arrived from St. Louis in July 1975 as the player to be named later in the Mario Guerrero trade, saved eight games with a 3.54 ERA and helped the Red Sox to the pennant. In the World Series against Cincinnati he pitched in Games 3, 5 and 7, taking the loss in Game 3. In Game 7 he retired Johnny Bench with the bases loaded to end the seventh, then was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the eighth. He was among the Red Sox dubbed the Buffalo Heads for their countercultural ways, and he pitched in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989 and 1990.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 309 | 11 | 130 | 140 | 20 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 10 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 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
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- #236 Tito Fuentes
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- #273 Chris Speier
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #79 card?
It is card #79 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Willoughby of the San Francisco Giants.
Is 1973 Topps #79 a rookie card?
Yes - #79 is the 1973 Topps rookie card of Jim Willoughby.
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.