1974 Topps #609 Rico Petrocelli
About Rico Petrocelli
Petrocelli's 1973 ended on August 11, when a calcium deposit in his right elbow shelved him for the last 47 games. Boston, 2 1/2 games behind Baltimore at that point, finished eight back. Offseason surgery cleared him for 1974, when he hit .267 with 15 home runs and 76 RBI. A September 15 pitch from Milwaukee's Jim Slaton hit him in the head and ended his season after 129 games. His 1974 Topps card is #609, showing him with the Red Sox.
Americo Peter "Rico" Petrocelli was born June 27, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York, the youngest of seven children of Italian immigrant parents. He signed with the Boston Red Sox in 1961 and reached the majors for a single September game in 1963 before taking over as Boston's starting shortstop in 1965. A two-time All-Star, he set what was then a league record for home runs by a shortstop with 40 in 1969. In 1971 he moved to third base to make room for Luis Aparicio, and led American League third basemen in fielding percentage that year. Over 13 seasons, all with Boston, he hit 210 home runs and drove in 773 runs. He batted .251 in 1,553 games. He played for Boston's 1967 "Impossible Dream" pennant winners and the 1975 American League champions, appearing in the 1967 and 1975 World Series and the 1975 American League Championship Series. After his final season in 1976 he worked in broadcasting and managed in the minor leagues for the White Sox and Red Sox organizations. He was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1997, a team honor separate from the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 263 | 6 | 94 | 128 | 18 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 1 |
| SGC | 10 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
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: #567 Boston Red Sox
More Boston Red Sox cards:
- #33 Don Newhauser
- #61 Luis Aparicio
- #83 Orlando Cepeda
- #84 Rick Wise
- #105 Carlton Fisk
- #113 Dick Drago
- #118 Bill Lee
- #167 Luis Tiant
- #192 Mario Guerrero
- #204 1973 Stolen Base Leaders
- #219 Doug Griffin
- #247 Rick Miller
- #280 Carl Yastrzemski
- #301 Bob Montgomery
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1974 Topps #609 card?
It is card #609 of the 660-card 1974 Topps Baseball set, picturing Rico Petrocelli of the Boston Red Sox.
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.