1974 Topps #31 Astros Field Leaders - Preston Gomez / Roger Craig / Hub Kittle / Grady Hatton / Bob Lillis
On this card: Preston Gomez, Roger Craig, Hub Kittle, Grady Hatton, Bob Lillis
About this card
Managers have their own cards this year, separate from the 24 team cards: twenty Field Leaders cards picture a manager with two to four of his coaches, and #578 Ralph Houk of the Tigers is the one solo manager card. The Athletics, Yankees and Padres have a team card but no manager card. Eight Field Leaders cards include a Hall of Famer, among them the Dodgers' Walter Alston and Tom Lasorda (#144) and coaches Bill Mazeroski (#489) and Larry Doby (#531).
About Astros Field Leaders (Preston Gomez / Roger Craig / Hub Kittle / Grady Hatton / Bob Lillis)
Gomez took over the Astros in 1974 after Leo Durocher retired, having gone 16-5 in two interim stretches in 1973 when Durocher fell ill. Houston finished 81-81, fourth in the division. On September 4, 1974, he sent a pinch hitter up for Don Wilson after eight no-hit innings. Card #31 in the 1974 Topps set is the Astros manager and coaches card, with Gomez alongside Roger Craig, Hub Kittle, Grady Hatton and Bob Lillis. Cuban-born infielder turned manager who was named the first skipper in San Diego Padres history in 1968 after coaching third base for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Craig spent 1973 as a minor-league pitching instructor for the Dodgers, a brief return to the organization after his four years as the first pitching coach in San Diego Padres history ended when former teammate Johnny Podres replaced him. He resumed big-league coaching with the Houston Astros in 1974 and stayed through 1975. The Astros manager and coaches card, #31 in the 1974 Topps set, carries him alongside Preston Gomez, Hub Kittle, Grady Hatton and Bob Lillis. Roger Craig won a World Series game for Brooklyn in 1955, then led the National League in losses for the first two Mets teams, and later became a pitching coach known for the split-finger fastball.
Kittle remained on Houston's coaching staff when Preston Gomez replaced Leo Durocher for 1974. The Astros' manager-and-coaches card, Topps #31, grouped him with Gomez, Roger Craig, Grady Hatton and Bob Lillis. The previous summer, at 56, Kittle had pitched a scoreless ninth inning against Detroit in an exhibition game. Hub Kittle managed in the minors and coached pitchers for Houston and St. Louis. His later work included teaching young pitchers in the Seattle Mariners' organization.
Grady Hatton coached for the Houston Astros under Preston Gomez in 1974 before becoming the club's director of player development in 1975. The Astros Field Leaders card, 1974 Topps #31, paired him with Gomez and fellow coaches Roger Craig, Hub Kittle and Bob Lillis. Cincinnati third baseman Grady Hatton collected 3 singles and 2 RBI in his April 16, 1946 debut against Chicago. His bases-loaded lineout ended the Reds' 4-3 loss.
Lillis returned to the Astros' coaching staff in 1973, serving under manager Leo Durocher. Houston went 82-80 and finished fourth in the National League West, 17 games behind Cincinnati. He later worked under Preston Gomez, a fellow coach on that 1973 staff, and then Bill Virdon. #31 is the Astros manager-and-coaches card, which he shares with Gomez, Roger Craig, Hub Kittle and Grady Hatton. A slick-fielding Dodgers farmhand who lost the shortstop job to Maury Wills, Bob Lillis was the fifth pick of the 1961 expansion draft, won the Colt .45s' starting shortstop job at 31, and later managed the Astros.
Sources: Wikipedia (Roger Craig) · Wikipedia (Hub Kittle) · Wikipedia (Grady Hatton) · Wikipedia (Bob Lillis) · SABR BioProject (Roger Craig) · SABR BioProject (Hub Kittle) · SABR BioProject (Grady Hatton) · SABR BioProject (Bob Lillis) · Baseball Almanac (Roger Craig) · Baseball Almanac · Baseball Almanac (Bob Lillis) · Retrosheet (1) · Retrosheet (2) · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 183 | 2 | 61 | 103 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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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Related cards
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1974 Topps #31 card?
It is card #31 of the 660-card 1974 Topps Baseball set, picturing Preston Gomez, Roger Craig, Hub Kittle, Grady Hatton and Bob Lillis. Managers have their own cards this year, separate from the 24 team cards: twenty Field Leaders cards picture a manager with two to four of his coaches, and #578 Ralph Houk of the Tigers is the one solo manager card. The Athletics, Yankees and Padres have a team card but no manager card. Eight Field Leaders cards include a Hall of Famer, among them the Dodgers' Walter Alston and Tom Lasorda (#144) and coaches Bill Mazeroski (#489) and Larry Doby (#531).
How many cards are in the 1974 Topps Baseball set?
660 cards, tracked as 678 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 660 with none skipped, issued all at once as a single series and printed in equal quantities; 17 cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately - fourteen San Diego / "Washington Nat'l Lea." pairs (thirteen Padres player cards and the #226 team card), the three-state #599 Rookie Pitchers, the #608 Apodaco misspelling and the #654 Jesus Alou front without a position.
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.