1975 Topps #279 Milt May
About Milt May
Milt May broke into the majors with the Pittsburgh Pirates in September 1970, converted from infielder to catcher after the Pirates drafted him out of a Florida high school. A steady handler of pitchers and a left-handed line-drive hitter who rarely chased bad pitches, he was reputedly one of the slowest runners in the game. At 21, he shared in the Pirates' 1971 World Series title, delivering a pinch-hit single that drove in the winning run in Game Four. Traded to Houston for Jerry Reuss in October 1973, May became the Astros' starting catcher, the role shown on his 1975 Topps card (#279). He led NL catchers with a .993 fielding percentage in 1974, then topped NL catchers in 1975 with 70 assists and 47 runners caught stealing; that May 4th, his RBI single drove in Bob Watson with baseball's one-millionth run. He later played for Detroit, Chicago, San Francisco and Pittsburgh again before retiring in 1984 with 971 hits, then spent two decades as a big-league hitting coach.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 566 | 42 | 283 | 205 | 25 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 14 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-08-19. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted. 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: #487 Houston Astros
More Houston Astros cards:
- #25 Lee May
- #49 Larry Dierker
- #73 J.R. Richard
- #96 Mike Cosgrove
- #119 Tommy Helms
- #143 Cliff Johnson
- #165 Doug Rader
- #188 Tom Griffin
- #218 Jerry Johnson
- #227 Bob Watson
- #252 Fred Scherman
- #301 Dave Roberts
- #334 Greg Gross
- #357 Ken Forsch
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1975 Topps #279 card?
It is card #279 of the 660-card 1975 Topps Baseball set, picturing Milt May.
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 2026-10-05.