1975 Topps #509 Dave Hilton
About Dave Hilton
Third baseman Dave Hilton was the Padres' No. 1 pick in the January 1971 secondary draft, signing out of Southwest Texas Junior College after starring at Rice University. Named Texas League All-Star and Player of the Year at Double-A Alexandria in 1972, he debuted with San Diego that September and won the starting third-base job in 1973, homering off future Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins that April. His 1975 Topps card, #509, arrived during what became his final big-league season: hepatitis from spoiled seafood sidelined him for three months that spring, and his last major-league game came April 27, 1975, closing a four-year Padres career (.213, 6 HR, 33 RBI). Hilton helped Hawaii win back-to-back Pacific Coast League titles, was purchased by the expansion Blue Jays without ever playing for them, and spent parts of three seasons in Japan with the Yakult Swallows and Hanshin Tigers, where a Hilton double in 1978 later inspired novelist Haruki Murakami to become a writer, by his own account.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 331 | 5 | 95 | 181 | 36 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 6 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-08-19. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8), and PSA's qualified grades are counted separately from the straight-grade rows shown here. The graders do not split the 1975 Topps Mini or O-Pee-Chee issues into this set.
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Related cards
Team card: #146 San Diego Padres
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1975 Topps #509 card?
It is card #509 of the 660-card 1975 Topps Baseball set, picturing Dave Hilton.
How many cards are in the 1975 Topps Baseball set?
660 cards, numbered 1-660, with no variations and no short prints - PSA reports the cards were printed in equal quantities. The 1975 Topps Mini and the 1975 O-Pee-Chee issues are separate products with their own checklists.
Sources: Trading Card Database, Cardboard Connection, the PSA price guide, 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 2026-08-20.