1974 Topps #290 Vida Blue
About Vida Blue
Blue went 17-15 with a 3.25 ERA over 282 1/3 innings in 1974. In Game 3 of the ALCS he threw a complete-game 1-0 shutout of the Orioles, and Oakland beat the Dodgers in five games in the World Series. His Topps #290 pictures him with the Athletics.
Vida Blue was a left-handed power pitcher who worked for the Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals between 1969 and 1986. His fastball sat near 94 miles per hour and could reach 100. In 1971 he went 24-8 with a 1.82 ERA and 301 strikeouts and won both the American League Cy Young Award and the MVP Award. He was part of the Oakland club that took five straight AL West titles from 1971 to 1975 and three consecutive World Series, 1972 through 1974. Blue made six All-Star teams and was the first of five pitchers to start the All-Star Game for both leagues, the AL in 1971 and the NL in 1978. He finished 209-161 with a 3.27 ERA and 2,175 strikeouts. Born in Mansfield, Louisiana, he was a quarterback recruited by Notre Dame, Purdue and Houston before he signed with the Athletics in 1967. After pleading guilty to attempting to buy cocaine, he was suspended for the 1984 season, then returned to the Giants for 1985 and 1986. He died in 2023.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 442 | 11 | 171 | 170 | 43 | 24 | 12 | 11 | 0 |
| SGC | 35 | 0 | 6 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 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: #246 Oakland A's
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- #103 Sal Bando
- #130 Reggie Jackson
- #141 Pat Bourque
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- #180 Ken Holtzman
- #202 1973 Home Run Leaders
- #203 1973 Runs Batted In Leaders
- #212 Rollie Fingers
- #228 Ted Kubiak
- #264 Joe Rudi
- #312 Deron Johnson
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1974 Topps #290 card?
It is card #290 of the 660-card 1974 Topps Baseball set, picturing Vida Blue of the Oakland Athletics.
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.