1974 Topps #40 Jim Palmer
About Jim Palmer
Palmer's 22-9 record in 1973 came with an American League-leading 2.40 ERA. His 1974 Topps Orioles card was #40, while ERA leaders card #206 paired him with the Mets' Tom Seaver. Elbow trouble interrupted his 1974 season; he went on the disabled list on June 20 and missed eight weeks.
James Alvin Palmer pitched all 19 of his major league seasons with the Baltimore Orioles (1965-1967, 1969-1984) and finished as the winningest pitcher of the 1970s with 186 wins. A right-hander whose best pitch was a high fastball, he worked on three World Series champions (1966, 1970, 1983) and six American League pennant winners, and he is the only pitcher to win a World Series game in three different decades. His Game Two shutout of Los Angeles in the 1966 Series, thrown nine days before his 21st birthday, made him the youngest man to pitch a complete-game shutout in a Series and sent Sandy Koufax off in his final appearance. Palmer won three Cy Young Awards (1973, 1975, 1976), four straight Gold Gloves (1976-1979), two ERA titles and six All-Star selections. He won 20 or more games eight times and finished 268-152 with a 2.86 ERA and 53 shutouts. Arm trouble cost him most of 1967 and all of 1968, but he came back in 1969 with the only no-hitter of his career. He was nicknamed Cakes for the pancakes he ate on the mornings he pitched. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990, his first year of eligibility.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 1,432 | 1 | 117 | 556 | 381 | 161 | 99 | 116 | 1 |
| SGC | 188 | 0 | 8 | 52 | 52 | 32 | 16 | 26 | 2 |
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
More Jim Palmer in this set: #206 League Leaders
Team card: #16 Baltimore Orioles
More Baltimore Orioles cards:
- #68 Grant Jackson
- #92 Paul Blair
- #109 Bob Grich
- #137 Al Bumbry
- #160 Brooks Robinson
- #187 Don Baylor
- #206 1973 Earned Run Average Leaders
- #235 Dave McNally
- #259 Bob Reynolds
- #282 Doyle Alexander
- #306 Orioles Field Leaders
- #329 Mark Belanger
- #334 All-Star Third Basemen
- #353 Rich Coggins
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1974 Topps #40 card?
It is card #40 of the 660-card 1974 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Palmer of the Baltimore Orioles.
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.