1974 Topps #54 Elias Sosa
About Elias Sosa
The 1973 season behind this card was Sosa's rookie year, with 71 games, 10 wins and 18 saves. Nine of those saves came in Ron Bryant's league-leading 24 wins. In 1974 he pitched 68 games for San Francisco, went 9-7 and saved six. #54 is his rookie card. Soon after that season the Giants sent him and catcher Ken Rudolph to the Cardinals for catcher Marc Hill.
Elias Sosa was a Dominican right-handed reliever who pitched 601 games over 12 major-league seasons, 1972 through 1983, for eight clubs: the Giants, Cardinals, Braves, Dodgers, Athletics, Expos, Tigers and Padres. Three of those games were starts, and he finished 59-51 with 83 saves and a 3.32 ERA. Born in La Vega and raised in Bonao, he was signed by Giants scout Horacio Martinez in 1968 for a $2,000 bonus, and he modeled his high-kicking windup on Juan Marichal, whom Martinez had also scouted. Ted Simmons said he had a good fastball and an excellent slider, and Sosa allowed 64 home runs in 918 innings. His best season came with Montreal in 1979, when he posted a 1.96 ERA and 18 saves. He pitched in the 1977 National League Championship Series and World Series for the Dodgers and in the 1981 postseason for the Expos. In 1989 he pitched for the St. Petersburg Pelicans of the Senior Professional Baseball Association.
Sources: SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 163 | 3 | 38 | 89 | 19 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 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: #281 San Francisco Giants
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- #78 Giants Field Leaders
- #104 Ron Bryant
- #129 Chris Speier
- #156 Randy Moffitt
- #178 Garry Maddox
- #205 1973 Victory Leaders
- #213 Dave Rader
- #233 Jim Barr
- #305 Tito Fuentes
- #330 Juan Marichal
- #335 All-Star Shortstops
- #344 Mike Caldwell
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1974 Topps #54 card?
It is card #54 of the 660-card 1974 Topps Baseball set, picturing Elias Sosa of the San Francisco Giants.
Is 1974 Topps #54 a rookie card?
Yes - #54 is the 1974 Topps rookie card of Elias Sosa.
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.