1973 Topps #542 Pat Corrales
About Pat Corrales
Corrales's final major-league game came on September 21, 1973, after nine seasons and 300 games. Johnny Bench's production, defense and durability limited him to 134 games in Cincinnati. In 1975 he managed and played two games for the Alexandria Aces of the Double-A Texas League before ending his playing career. His 1973 Topps card is #542, a high number from the fifth series, and lists him with the Padres.
Pat Corrales was a backup catcher who spent nine big-league seasons behind the plate, from his 1964 debut with the Philadelphia Phillies through stops with the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, and San Diego Padres, finishing his playing days in 1973. A Los Angeles native who signed with the Phillies out of Fresno High School, he was regarded as an excellent defensive catcher and a student of the game. His busiest season came in 1965, when he took Gus Triandos's place in the Phillies' catching platoon after Triandos was sold to Houston. Traded to St. Louis after that year, he later served for several seasons as Johnny Bench's backup in Cincinnati and appeared once in the 1970 World Series. After retiring as a player, Corrales moved into coaching and managing, leading the Texas Rangers, Phillies, and Cleveland Indians over parts of nine seasons, then spent decades more as a big-league coach and front-office assistant, remaining in professional baseball into his eighties.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 179 | 2 | 55 | 94 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 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: #316 San Diego Padres
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- #268 Jerry Morales
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #542 card?
It is card #542 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Pat Corrales of the San Diego Padres.
Why is #542 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.