1973 Topps #85 Ted Simmons
About Ted Simmons
The Cardinals held first place in the N.L. East until September 12, 1973, and Simmons batted .384 from August 24 to the end of the season as the club finished second. He hit .310 with 91 RBIs, caught 153 games to lead N.L. catchers, and also led them in putouts. He made his second All-Star team. His first-series card, #85, shows him with St. Louis.
Ted Simmons was a switch-hitting catcher who played 21 seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves between 1968 and 1988. St. Louis chose him tenth overall in the 1967 draft out of Southfield, Michigan. He finished with a .285 average, 248 home runs and 1,389 RBIs. When he retired he held the major-league records for hits (2,472) and doubles (483) by a catcher. He hit .300 seven times, reached 20 home runs six times, and made eight All-Star teams. In 1980 he won the first Silver Slugger Award given to a catcher. A feud with manager Whitey Herzog over a move to first base ended with his trade to Milwaukee, with Rollie Fingers and Pete Vuckovich, on December 12, 1980. The Brewers won the 1982 American League pennant, and Simmons hit two home runs against his old club in the World Series. Atlanta used him as a utility man from 1986 to 1988. He later served as Pittsburgh's general manager in 1992 and 1993. Dropped from the Hall of Fame ballot after a 3.7 percent first-year showing in 1994, he was elected by the Modern Baseball Era Committee in December 2019, and the Cardinals retired his number 23 in 2021.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 460 | 5 | 73 | 193 | 75 | 54 | 37 | 23 | 0 |
| SGC | 59 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 16 | 18 | 11 | 4 | 1 |
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: #219 St. Louis Cardinals
More St. Louis Cardinals cards:
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- #47 Luis Melendez
- #64 1972 Stolen Base Leaders
- #104 Reggie Cleveland
- #128 Ted Sizemore
- #153 Al Hrabosky
- #171 Bernie Carbo
- #190 Bob Gibson
- #241 Dwain Anderson
- #269 Tim McCarver
- #292 Jose Cruz
- #320 Lou Brock
- #364 Rick Wise
- #383 Diego Segui
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #85 card?
It is card #85 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ted Simmons of the St. Louis Cardinals.
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.