1973 Topps #631 Tom Matchick
About Tom Matchick
Baltimore acquired Tommy Matchick from Milwaukee with Bruce Look on October 22, 1971, for Mike Ferraro and a prospect. He spent most of 1972 at Rochester, hitting .251 with 11 home runs and 60 RBIs, and was named the top minor league third baseman. Called up in September, he went 2-for-9 in three Orioles games, the last on October 3. Card #631 in 1973 Topps is a high number from the fifth series.
John Thomas Matchick, born September 7, 1943 in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, was a left-handed-hitting infielder. He spent six major league seasons with the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, and Baltimore Orioles from 1967 to 1972, compiling a .215 average with four home runs and 64 RBIs in 292 games. Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1962, he was drafted by Detroit that November and spent five years in the Tigers' farm system, earning a Rawlings Silver Glove and Triple-A all-star honors at Toledo in 1967 before his September call-up. His signature moment came July 19, 1968, when a ninth-inning, two-run home run off Moe Drabowsky beat Baltimore 5-4 in front of more than 53,000 fans at Tiger Stadium, a swing UPI described as the biggest blow so far in the 1968 pennant races. He appeared in the 1968 World Series as Detroit beat St. Louis, and the next year he played all four infield positions in 94 games while leading the American League in pinch-hitting.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 143 | 3 | 28 | 87 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #631 card?
It is card #631 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Tom Matchick of the Baltimore Orioles.
Why is #631 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.