1974 Topps #197 Vicente Romo
About Vicente Romo
Romo pitched 49 games for the 1973 Padres with seven saves and a 3.70 ERA. His 1974 Topps card, #197, shows him with San Diego. It is one of fifteen Padres cards printed with Washington Nat'l Lea., alongside the common San Diego printing. In 1974 he led the team with nine saves.
Vicente Romo was a right-handed pitcher nicknamed Huevo. He grew up in Guaymas, Sonora, where his love of baseball began at the ballpark of the local Ostioneros. He broke into pro ball in the Mexican leagues, reaching the Mexico City Tigers by 1963, before Cleveland purchased his contract in 1964. After stints at Triple-A Portland, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers, made his major league debut on April 11, 1968, and was returned to Cleveland. He finished 1968 with 12 saves and a 1.60 ERA across both clubs. He later pitched for the White Sox and Padres, then returned to Mexico for several seasons before a brief 1982 comeback with the Dodgers alongside countryman Fernando Valenzuela. He finished his eight major league seasons 32-33 with a 3.36 ERA and 52 saves, and entered the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Print variations
Two states of #197 are tracked individually: 197a - San Diego (Corrected) and 197b - Washington Nat'l Lea. The difference is on the front of the card (error correction).
States catalogued by the PSA master set registry and the Trading Card Database; each is tracked here individually.
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Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 197a - San Diego (Corrected) | |||||||||
| PSA | 178 | 3 | 47 | 101 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 197b - Washington Nat'l Lea. | |||||||||
| PSA | 251 | 2 | 29 | 110 | 70 | 24 | 9 | 7 | 0 |
| SGC | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 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. Where a grader registers a variation separately its population is listed under that variation.
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Related cards
Team card: #226 San Diego Padres
More San Diego Padres cards:
- #32 John Grubb
- #53 Fred Kendall
- #77 Rich Troedson
- #102 Bill Greif
- #125 Nate Colbert
- #148 Dave Hilton
- #173 Randy Jones
- #241 Glenn Beckert
- #250 Willie McCovey
- #309 Dave Roberts
- #364 Clarence Gaston
- #387 Rich Morales
- #406 Steve Arlin
- #430 Matty Alou
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1974 Topps #197 card?
It is card #197 of the 660-card 1974 Topps Baseball set, picturing Vicente Romo of the San Diego Padres.
Does 1974 Topps #197 have variations?
Yes. Two states are catalogued and tracked individually: 197a - San Diego (Corrected) (The front carries the San Diego team name - the reprint Topps made once the Padres stayed in San Diego, and the common state of the pair) and 197b - Washington Nat'l Lea. (The front names the team "Washington Nat'l Lea." - the first printing, made while the Padres looked set to move to Washington, D.C., and the scarcer state of the pair). Owning any one of them fills the #197 slot; the master set counts each state.
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.