1973 Topps #50 Roberto Clemente
About Roberto Clemente
On October 3, 1972, in his last regular-season game, Clemente tied Honus Wagner's record of 2,433 games played as a Pirate. He went 4 for 17 in the NLCS against Cincinnati. In the deciding fifth game at Riverfront Stadium he singled in the first inning and drew an intentional walk in the eighth, his final plate appearance, before the Reds won in the bottom of the ninth. Card #50 pictures him with the Pirates.
Roberto Clemente spent all 18 major-league seasons with Pittsburgh, primarily in right field. A native of Carolina, Puerto Rico, he played winter baseball for Santurce before signing with Brooklyn in 1954. After a season at Triple-A Montreal, he joined the Pirates through the Rule 5 draft. Clemente won 4 National League batting titles and 12 consecutive Gold Gloves, from 1961 through 1972. He earned the 1966 NL Most Valuable Player Award and played for Pittsburgh's 1960 and 1971 World Series champions, winning the Series MVP award in 1971. He was selected for 15 All-Star Games across 12 seasons. His career produced a .317 average, 240 home runs and 1,305 RBI. A double off Jon Matlack on September 30, 1972, made him the 11th player to reach 3,000 hits. Away from Pittsburgh, Clemente played and managed in Puerto Rico and planned a Sports City where children could play, read and learn. He organized shipments of food and medicine after Nicaragua's December 1972 earthquake and died accompanying a relief flight. A special election waived the usual five-year waiting period in 1973, making him the first player from Latin America elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · National Baseball Hall of Fame (1) · National Baseball Hall of Fame (2) · SABR · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 9,551 | 8 | 230 | 1,668 | 1,929 | 1,774 | 1,326 | 2,609 | 7 |
| SGC | 3,435 | 0 | 16 | 172 | 528 | 782 | 749 | 1,133 | 55 |
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 #50 card?
It is card #50 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Roberto Clemente of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Is #50 Roberto Clemente's last card as an active player?
Yes. The 1973 set holds the last Topps cards of Roberto Clemente (#50) and Willie Mays (#305) as active players.
What are the key cards in the 1973 Topps set?
#615 1973 Rookie Third Basemen, which carries Mike Schmidt's rookie card beside Ron Cey and John Hilton, is the headline card of the set. The other key cards are #50 Roberto Clemente and #305 Willie Mays, the last Topps cards of both as active players, #174 Rich Gossage, his rookie card, and #220 Nolan Ryan. The high numbers, #529-660, are 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.