1974 Topps #44 Mel Stottlemyre
About Mel Stottlemyre
Stottlemyre went 16-16 in 1973 and logged 273 innings across 38 starts. The Yankees finished fourth that year for the third straight season. Card #44 in the 1974 Topps set lists him with the Yankees. He went 6-7 with a 3.58 ERA in 1974, a year New York held first place as late as September 22 before finishing second.
Mel Stottlemyre (1941-2019) spent his entire 11-year major-league career with the New York Yankees. Born in Hazleton, Missouri and raised in the farm town of Mabton, Washington, he was signed for no bonus out of Yakima Valley Junior College by Yankees scout Eddie Taylor in 1961. He was still pitching for Triple-A Richmond when New York called him up in August 1964 to cover for the injured Whitey Ford. He went 9-3 the rest of the way, helped the club to its fifth straight American League pennant, and started three games against the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, beating Bob Gibson in Game Two before losing the decisive Game Seven. An overhand sinkerballer who kept the ball low, he became the ace of a Yankees team that fell into the second division in 1965 for the first time since 1917. He won 20 games three times, was named to five All-Star squads, and threw 40 shutouts, the same career total as Sandy Koufax. Shoulder tendinitis dogged him from 1967 onward, and a torn rotator cuff ended his pitching at age 32 in 1974; the Yankees released him before the 1975 season. He retired 164-139 with a 2.97 ERA, then coached 23 seasons in the majors and won five World Series rings with the Mets and Yankees.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 332 | 11 | 119 | 166 | 16 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1974 Topps #44 card?
It is card #44 of the 660-card 1974 Topps Baseball set, picturing Mel Stottlemyre of the New York Yankees.
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.