1974 Topps #21 Bob Gallagher
About Bob Gallagher
His first major-league hit came in his 15th game, a pinch-hit single in the Astrodome on April 27, 1973. He scored on Bob Watson's two-run single, and Houston won in the 10th. On May 22 his fourth hit was a home run off Cincinnati's Ed Sprague. A 12-game hitting streak from August 19 through September 12 lifted his average from .218 to .299, and he finished at .264. His rookie card, 1974 Topps #21, is printed with the Astros.
Bob Gallagher was a left-handed outfielder who played 213 major-league games for the Red Sox in 1972, the Astros in 1973 and 1974, and the Mets in 1975. His grandfather Shano Collins played for the White Sox and Red Sox from 1910 to 1925 and managed Boston in 1931 and 1932. Gallagher starred at Stanford, was named to The Sporting News All-America team in 1968, and was a Dodgers 17th-round pick that June. He hit .336 at Double-A Albuquerque in 1970, second in the Texas League. Left unprotected by the Dodgers, he was taken by Boston in the Rule 5 draft and reached the majors in May 1972 when Carl Yastrzemski went on the disabled list; he made his debut pinch-hitting in Milwaukee. Houston drafted him in the 1972 Rule 5 draft. With Greg Gross handed the right-field job in 1974, he still played a career-high 102 games, 62 of them in the outfield, four at first base and the rest as a pinch-hitter or pinch-runner. The Mets acquired him for infielder Ken Boswell on October 29, 1974, and in 1976 he played at Triple-A Phoenix in the Giants' system. He later taught high school social studies for 25 years in Santa Cruz, California.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 154 | 5 | 57 | 71 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 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: #154 Houston Astros
More Houston Astros cards:
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- #67 Tommy Helms
- #91 Ken Forsch
- #177 Dave Roberts
- #200 Cesar Cedeno
- #224 Roger Metzger
- #256 Tom Griffin
- #279 Jim Crawford
- #293 Milt May
- #304 Don Wilson
- #328 Skip Jutze
- #337 All-Star Center Fielders
- #370 Bob Watson
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1974 Topps #21 card?
It is card #21 of the 660-card 1974 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bob Gallagher of the Houston Astros.
Is 1974 Topps #21 a rookie card?
Yes - #21 is the 1974 Topps rookie card of Bob Gallagher.
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.