1974 Topps #490 Vada Pinson
About Vada Pinson
Pinson hit .260 with 8 home runs and 57 RBI for the 1973 California Angels, his second season with the club. On February 23, 1974, the Angels traded him to Kansas City for Barry Raziano and cash, so card #490 in the 1974 Topps set still lists him with California. He batted .276 with 6 home runs and 41 RBI for the Royals that summer. He also stole 21 bases in 115 games.
Vada Pinson was born in Memphis and raised in Oakland, where he played trumpet in the McClymonds High School band and seriously weighed music as a career until coach George Powles steered him toward baseball. The same school produced Frank Robinson, Curt Flood and Bill Russell. Cincinnati signed Pinson for a $4,000 bonus before his eighteenth birthday, and two minor league seasons later he was the club's center fielder at nineteen. A left-handed hitter who paired speed with power, he became Robinson's roommate and running mate in a lefty-righty duo that tormented National League pitching. Pinson was an All-Star in 1959 and 1960 and a Gold Glove center fielder who led NL outfielders in putouts three straight years, and he reached 200 hits four times, batting over .300 in each of those seasons. He is one of the few players with at least 250 home runs and 300 stolen bases, and he held the Reds' career hits record until Pete Rose passed him. Eighteen seasons with Cincinnati, St. Louis, Cleveland, California and Kansas City left him 2,757 hits, 256 home runs and a .286 average. The Reds elected him to their own Hall of Fame in 1977, and he coached for four clubs before a stroke killed him in 1995 at 57.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 193 | 4 | 47 | 84 | 23 | 19 | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 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: #114 California Angels
More California Angels cards:
- #20 Nolan Ryan
- #37 Dave Sells
- #55 Frank Robinson
- #76 Mickey Rivers
- #101 Bobby Valentine
- #139 Aurelio Monteagudo
- #188 Rudy Meoli
- #207 1973 Strikeout Leaders
- #210 Bill Singer
- #243 Bob Oliver
- #276 Angels Field Leaders
- #302 Rudy May
- #323 Richie Scheinblum
- #347 Sandy Alomar
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1974 Topps #490 card?
It is card #490 of the 660-card 1974 Topps Baseball set, picturing Vada Pinson of the California Angels.
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.