1974 Topps #24 John Hiller
About John Hiller
Topps gave Hiller his own Detroit card, #24, and a League Leaders card, #208, shared with Montreal's Mike Marshall. Hiller's 1973 workload included 125 1/3 innings and 124 strikeouts; he worked more than one inning in 40 of his 65 appearances. In May 1974 the American Heart Association presented him with its Heart of the Year Award.
John Hiller, a Toronto native who grew up playing hockey before turning to baseball, pitched 15 seasons for the Detroit Tigers (1965-1980), working mostly out of the bullpen with occasional spot starts. He broke in as a September call-up in 1965. A member of the 1968 World Series champion Tigers, he struck out the first six Cleveland batters of a game that August, a major league record at the time. In January 1971 he suffered a heart attack and underwent intestinal surgery, missing the entire 1971 season; he returned to the mound in July 1972 and helped Detroit win the AL East. His comeback peaked in 1973, when he set a then-major-league record with 38 saves and posted a 1.44 ERA, earning The Sporting News' Comeback Player of the Year and Fireman of the Year honors along with the Hutch Award. He made his only All-Star team in 1974, setting an American League record with 17 relief wins. Hiller retired in 1980 with an 87-76 record, a 2.83 ERA and 1,036 strikeouts, and still holds the Tigers' club record for career games pitched.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 164 | 4 | 58 | 90 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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
More John Hiller in this set: #208 League Leaders
Team card: #94 Detroit Tigers
More Detroit Tigers cards:
- #9 Mickey Lolich
- #48 Dick Sharon
- #72 Aurelio Rodriguez
- #115 Willie Horton
- #138 Ed Brinkman
- #162 Bill Freehan
- #186 Fred Scherman
- #208 1973 Leading Firemen
- #215 Al Kaline
- #240 Joe Coleman
- #266 Jim Northrup
- #292 Chuck Seelbach
- #316 Jim Perry
- #367 Norm Cash
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1974 Topps #24 card?
It is card #24 of the 660-card 1974 Topps Baseball set, picturing John Hiller of the Detroit Tigers.
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.