1973 Topps #56 Merv Rettenmund
About Merv Rettenmund
A collision with the outfield wall in Kansas City bruised Rettenmund's chest in May 1973, and he lost his job in right field. He hit .230 before the All-Star break and finished at .262 with 9 home runs in 95 games. In the ALCS against Oakland, he went 1-for-11. Topps #56 placed him with Baltimore in the first series.
Merv Rettenmund played 13 major league seasons as a right-handed-hitting outfielder, beginning with Baltimore in 1968. He played all three outfield positions for the Orioles, who won three consecutive American League pennants from 1969 through 1971. He homered in the 1970 World Series clincher and hit a three-run homer in the opener of the 1971 Series. Traded to Cincinnati after the 1973 season, he won another championship with the 1975 Reds. Rettenmund finished his playing career with San Diego and California, retiring after 1980 with a .271 average, 66 home runs and 329 RBI. As a pinch-hitter, he went 66-for-239, a .276 average. He later worked as a major league hitting coach for Texas, Oakland, San Diego, Atlanta and Detroit.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 260 | 12 | 121 | 108 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 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
Team card: #278 Baltimore Orioles
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- #325 Boog Powell
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #56 card?
It is card #56 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Merv Rettenmund of the Baltimore Orioles.
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.