1974 Topps #287 Clay Kirby
About Clay Kirby
Kirby went 8-18 with a 4.79 ERA for the 1973 Padres, then was traded to Cincinnati in November for Bobby Tolan and Dave Tomlin, a day after buying a house in San Diego County. Card #287 in the 1974 Topps set lists him with the Reds. He went 12-9 with a 3.28 ERA over 230 2/3 innings that year, fourth on the club in wins behind Don Gullett, Jack Billingham and Fred Norman.
Clayton Laws Kirby Jr. pitched eight major league seasons (1969-1976) for the San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, and Montreal Expos, compiling a 75-104 record with a 3.84 ERA across 261 games. The Washington, D.C. native was chosen by the Padres in the 1968 expansion draft and started 35 games as a rookie. His career totals include 1,548 innings, 1,061 strikeouts and 42 complete games. His signature moment came on July 21, 1970, when he held the New York Mets hitless through eight innings before being lifted for a pinch-hitter, a decision some fans and writers later linked to the Padres waiting until 2021 for their first no-hitter. Traded to Cincinnati after the 1973 season, he pitched two years for the Reds, working as a full-time starter in 1974 before shifting to a swingman role on the pennant-winning 1975 Big Red Machine. After baseball he became a financial securities broker and died of a heart attack in 1991 at age 43.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 191 | 12 | 80 | 86 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 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: #459 Cincinnati Reds
More Cincinnati Reds cards:
- #10 Johnny Bench
- #34 Andy Kosco
- #59 Ross Grimsley
- #85 Joe Morgan
- #111 Clay Carroll
- #134 Denis Menke
- #158 Jack Billingham
- #181 Cesar Geronimo
- #201 1973 Batting Leaders
- #230 Tony Perez
- #248 Tom Hall
- #277 Gary Nolan
- #300 Pete Rose
- #326 Reds Field Leaders
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1974 Topps #287 card?
It is card #287 of the 660-card 1974 Topps Baseball set, picturing Clay Kirby of the Cincinnati Reds.
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.