1976 Topps #579 Clay Kirby
About Clay Kirby
Clay Kirby went 10-6 with a 4.72 ERA for the 1975 Reds, starting 19 of his 26 games. He was one of six Cincinnati pitchers with 10 or more wins. Newspapers reported that he would start against the Boston Red Sox if the World Series went beyond five games, and the Series went seven. On December 12, 1975 he was sent to Montreal for Bob Bailey, yet his 1976 Topps card, #579, shows him with Cincinnati.
Clayton Laws Kirby Jr. pitched eight major league seasons (1969-1976) for the San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, and Montreal Expos, compiling a 75-104 record with a 3.84 ERA across 261 games. The Washington, D.C. native was chosen by the Padres in the 1968 expansion draft and started 35 games as a rookie. His career totals include 1,548 innings, 1,061 strikeouts and 42 complete games. His signature moment came on July 21, 1970, when he held the New York Mets hitless through eight innings before being lifted for a pinch-hitter, a decision some fans and writers later linked to the Padres waiting until 2021 for their first no-hitter. Traded to Cincinnati after the 1973 season, he pitched two years for the Reds, working as a full-time starter in 1974 before shifting to a swingman role on the pennant-winning 1975 Big Red Machine. After baseball he became a financial securities broker and died of a heart attack in 1991 at age 43.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 178 | 28 | 97 | 45 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1976 Topps #579 card?
It is card #579 of the 660-card 1976 Topps Baseball set, picturing Clay Kirby of the Cincinnati Reds.
How many cards are in the 1976 Topps Baseball set?
660 cards, numbered 1 through 660 with none skipped and printed in equal quantities as a single series. No card carries a catalogued print variation, so the base set and the master set are the same 660 cards.
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.