1974 Topps #451 Tommy John
About Tommy John
Over 218 innings for Los Angeles in 1973, John struck out 116 batters and walked 50, making 31 starts. His Dodgers card, 1974 Topps #451, preceded an April in which he shut out San Diego on April 6 and beat Philadelphia 1-0 with a four-hitter on April 25. He opened that season second in the rotation behind Don Sutton.
Thomas Edward John was a left-handed pitcher born May 22, 1943, in Terre Haute, Indiana, and signed by the Cleveland Indians at eighteen in 1961 on the strength of a curveball taught to him by a friend of his father. He debuted for Cleveland in September 1963, then made his name with the Chicago White Sox from 1965 through 1971. He tied for the American League shutout lead with five in 1966, shared it again with six in 1967, and posted a 1.98 ERA in 1968, the year of his first All-Star selection. Traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Dick Allen after the 1971 season, he tore his ulnar collateral ligament in 1974; the ligament-replacement operation Dr. Frank Jobe performed that year cost him the 1975 season and has been known as Tommy John surgery ever since. He returned to win 20 games in 1977 and pitched in the 1977 and 1978 World Series, then added 21- and 22-win seasons for the New York Yankees. A four-time All-Star, he lost all three World Series he appeared in, and retired in 1989 after a record-tying 26th season with 288 wins, the second most of any pitcher since 1900 outside the Hall of Fame. He died in 2026.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 300 | 6 | 87 | 148 | 27 | 17 | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 16 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 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: #643 Los Angeles Dodgers
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- #189 Jim Brewer
- #220 Don Sutton
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- #267 Andy Messersmith
- #289 Rick Auerbach
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1974 Topps #451 card?
It is card #451 of the 660-card 1974 Topps Baseball set, picturing Tommy John of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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.