1973 Topps #581 Steve Kealey
About Steve Kealey
Before spring training in 1973, Kealey felt something give in his throwing shoulder while throwing with a high school catcher, and the White Sox physician found nothing wrong. He bounced between Chicago and Iowa and gave up 19 earned runs in 11 1/3 innings over seven relief appearances. His last major league game came July 8, an 11-2 loss to Boston. On October 2 he went to Cincinnati as the player to be named later in the trade that had brought Jim McGlothlin to Chicago. Card #581 is a high number, with the White Sox.
Steve Kealey was a right-handed relief pitcher and spot starter who worked in the majors from 1968 to 1973 for the California Angels and Chicago White Sox. Born in Torrance, California, he grew up playing catch with his father, whose limited mobility forced Kealey to develop pinpoint control from an early age. He signed with the Angels out of Torrance High School in 1966 after choosing their three-day tryout camp over a one-day Dodgers camp. He relieved at Idaho Falls, Quad Cities and El Paso before reaching the majors for a late-season look in September 1968. Kealey pitched for manager Chuck Tanner across parts of five seasons, first in the minors and later in Chicago. His career highlight came against the Baltimore Orioles, when he threw a seven-hit shutout in his first major-league start, striking out future Hall of Famers Frank and Brooks Robinson along the way; over their careers, Frank went 0-for-9 and Brooks 1-for-11 against him. He worked almost entirely out of the bullpen, mixing a fastball, slider and occasional curve, and ended his major league career with the White Sox in 1973.
Sources: SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 156 | 1 | 27 | 90 | 23 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 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: #481 Chicago White Sox
More Chicago White Sox cards:
- #20 Stan Bahnsen
- #42 Mike Andrews
- #62 1972 Home Run Leaders
- #63 1972 Runs Batted In Leaders
- #66 1972 Victory Leaders
- #73 Ed Herrmann
- #105 Carlos May
- #129 Terry Forster
- #150 Wilbur Wood
- #174 Rich Gossage
- #194 Jorge Orta
- #238 Tony Muser
- #261 Pat Kelly
- #287 Eddie Leon
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #581 card?
It is card #581 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Steve Kealey of the Chicago White Sox.
Why is #581 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.