1974 Topps #561 Ed Kranepool
About Ed Kranepool
First base accounted for 51 of Kranepool's appearances in 1973, with another 32 in the outfield; he drove in 35 runs for the Mets. His 1974 Topps card was #561. That season his defensive appearances tilted toward the outfield, 33 games there to 24 at first, while his 65 hits included 4 home runs.
Ed Kranepool was born November 8, 1944, in the Bronx and starred at James Monroe High School before the expansion Mets signed him on June 27, 1962 for an $80,000 bonus. He debuted that September 22 at seventeen and was still on the roster in 1979 as the last man left from the original 1962 Mets. A left-handed first baseman who also worked the outfield, he spent all eighteen of his major league seasons in New York. He remains the Mets' all-time leader in games played with 1,853, and he finished with 1,418 hits and 118 home runs. He was New York's lone All-Star representative in 1965 and homered in Game Three of the 1969 World Series, then reached the Series again with the 1973 National League champions. From 1974 through 1978 'Steady Eddie' hit .396 as a pinch hitter. His 17-for-35 in 1974 gave him a .486 mark, still the major league single-season record for pinch-hit average over 30 at-bats. He later worked as a stockbroker and restaurateur, joined the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1990, and died September 8, 2024, in Boca Raton, Florida.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · MLB.com · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 308 | 12 | 138 | 134 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 9 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 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: #56 New York Mets
More New York Mets cards:
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- #80 Tom Seaver
- #106 Harry Parker
- #132 Felix Millan
- #153 Jon Matlack
- #179 Mets Field Leaders
- #206 1973 Earned Run Average Leaders
- #207 1973 Strikeout Leaders
- #216 Ray Sadecki
- #234 John Milner
- #245 Cleon Jones
- #265 Tug McGraw
- #291 Don Hahn
- #311 Jerry Grote
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1974 Topps #561 card?
It is card #561 of the 660-card 1974 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ed Kranepool of the New York Mets.
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.