1976 Topps #490 Frank Tanana
About Frank Tanana
Named the Angels' Opening Day starter, the first of four in a row, Tanana won 19 games, a career high, and finished third in Cy Young voting. On August 27 he and Catfish Hunter of the Yankees each threw 13 scoreless innings and neither got the decision. An August 22 start against the same Yankees was one reason he missed 20 wins: two hits through eight innings, then six runs in the ninth. Card #204 is a League Leaders card shared with Bert Blyleven of the Twins and Gaylord Perry of the Rangers. His own 1976 card is #490.
Frank Tanana was a left-handed starter who pitched 21 seasons in the majors, 1973 to 1993, for the Angels, Red Sox, Rangers, Tigers, Mets and Yankees. The Angels made the Detroit Catholic Central product their first-round pick in 1971. From 1973 to 1979 he and Nolan Ryan pitched together in the California rotation, a pairing summed up as "Tanana and Ryan and two days of cryin'." He led the American League in strikeouts in 1975 and in ERA in 1977, and made three straight All-Star teams from 1976. Shoulder and elbow trouble then forced him to trade a hard fastball for changing speeds and deception, which carried him through 1993. He won playoff-clinching games for the Angels in 1979 and the Tigers in 1987, and he pitched eight seasons for the Tigers, the club he rooted for as a boy. After becoming a born-again Christian in 1983 he became a leader in baseball's Christian community. He retired at 240-236 with a 3.66 ERA and 2,773 strikeouts.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 175 | 19 | 87 | 54 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 4 | 0 | 2 | 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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Related cards
More Frank Tanana in this set: #204 League Leaders
Team card: #304 California Angels Team
More California Angels cards:
- #27 Ed Figueroa
- #52 Dave Chalk
- #85 Mickey Rivers
- #108 Don Kirkwood
- #129 Andy Etchebarren
- #152 Leroy Stanton
- #176 Dick Lange
- #198 1975 AL Stolen Base Leaders
- #204 1975 AL Strikeout Leaders
- #207 Andy Hassler
- #229 Jerry Remy
- #254 Rudy Meoli
- #276 Mickey Scott
- #330 Nolan Ryan
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1976 Topps #490 card?
It is card #490 of the 660-card 1976 Topps Baseball set, picturing Frank Tanana of the California Angels.
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.