1973 Topps #495 Tommy Helms
About Tommy Helms
As Houston's everyday second baseman, Helms hit .287 in 1973 and drove in a career-high 61 runs. He collected 156 hits in 146 games, 145 of them at second base. His .988 fielding percentage ranked fourth among National League second basemen; in 1974 his .985 led that group. His Topps card, #495 from the fourth series, has him with the Astros.
Tommy Helms played second base, third base and shortstop for Cincinnati, Houston, Pittsburgh and Boston during a 14-season major-league career. Growing up in North Carolina, he served as batboy for a semipro team managed by his father. Cincinnati signed him in 1959, and he advanced through Palatka, Topeka, Macon and San Diego before reaching the Reds in September 1964. Helms finished with 1,342 hits and a .269 average in 1,435 games. He hit 34 home runs and drove in 477 runs. His postseason appearances came with the 1970 Reds: he had three hits in 11 at-bats in the NLCS sweep of Pittsburgh and four in 18 against Baltimore in the World Series. After his playing career, he coached for Texas in 1981 and 1982 and returned to Cincinnati's staff in 1983. As interim manager he went 12-15 during Pete Rose's 1988 suspension and 16-21 after replacing Rose in 1989. The Reds inducted Helms into their Hall of Fame in 1979.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 160 | 6 | 65 | 73 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 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 #495 card?
It is card #495 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Tommy Helms of the Houston Astros.
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.