1973 Topps #653 Joe Hoerner
About Joe Hoerner
In mid-June 1972 the Phillies traded Joe Hoerner and Andre Thornton to Atlanta for pitchers Jim Nash and Gary Neibauer. Hoerner finished the year with 31 strikeouts in 45 innings between the two clubs. Over his career he held eight Hall of Famers, among them Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Ernie Banks, to a combined .101 average (9 for 89). His Atlanta card is #653, a high number from the fifth series; the Braves sold him to the Royals in mid-1973.
Joe Hoerner was a left-handed sidearm relief pitcher who spent 14 major league seasons with seven clubs after signing with the Chicago White Sox in 1957. Drafted by the expansion Houston Colt .45's in the 1961 minor league draft, he endured nine years in the minors, which included heart-related blackouts on the mound, and pitched for Houston in 1963 and 1964. St. Louis claimed him from Houston in the 1965 Rule 5 draft, and from 1966 through 1969 he pitched in the Cardinals bullpen, helping the club to two National League pennants and the 1967 World Series title. He was later dealt to Philadelphia in the trade that sent Curt Flood to the Phillies, made the 1970 National League All-Star team, and closed his career with stints in Atlanta, Kansas City, Texas and Cincinnati. He appeared in 493 games, all in relief, and finished 39-34 with a 2.99 ERA and 99 saves.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 185 | 4 | 33 | 113 | 28 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 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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Related cards
Team card: #521 Atlanta Braves
More Atlanta Braves cards:
- #1 All-Time Home Run Leaders
- #15 Ralph Garr
- #33 Jim Breazeale
- #72 Ron Reed
- #100 Hank Aaron
- #124 Jim Hardin
- #144 Marty Perez
- #169 Ron Schueler
- #192 Pat Jarvis
- #215 Dusty Baker
- #237 Braves Field Leaders
- #266 Mike Lum
- #288 Gary Gentry
- #312 Oscar Brown
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #653 card?
It is card #653 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Joe Hoerner of the Atlanta Braves.
Why is #653 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.