1973 Topps #589 Ken Forsch
About Ken Forsch
The season split in two. Forsch stood 8-9 with a 3.83 ERA as a starter when Durocher, lacking a stopper, moved him to the bullpen on July 29. He won in relief that night against Atlanta and picked up his first two saves on August 10 and 11. He finished 9-12 with a 4.20 ERA in 46 games. #589 is a high number from the fifth series and carries the Astros.
Ken Forsch was a 6-foot-4 right-hander who pitched 16 seasons in the majors, most of them with the Houston Astros and the last five with the California Angels, and who moved between the rotation and the bullpen more than once. Houston drafted him in the 18th round in 1968 out of Oregon State, and he debuted on September 7, 1970, with a 10-5 complete-game win at San Diego. After starting in the early seventies he spent roughly five years as the Astros' closer, then returned to the rotation, where he no-hit the Atlanta Braves 6-0 at the Astrodome on April 7, 1979. His brother Bob Forsch threw two no-hitters for the Cardinals, making them the only brothers to pitch no-hitters in the majors. Forsch started Game 1 of the 1980 NLCS against Philadelphia, was traded to the Angels for Dickie Thon in April 1981, and made his second All-Star team that year. A dislocated shoulder limited him to two games in 1984. He finished 114-113 with a 3.37 ERA and 1,047 strikeouts, and later worked for the Angels as assistant general manager until 2011.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 189 | 3 | 50 | 108 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #589 card?
It is card #589 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ken Forsch of the Houston Astros.
Why is #589 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.