1977 Topps #490 Rookie Shortstops - Billy Almon / Mickey Klutts / Tommy McMillan / Mark Wagner
On this card: Billy Almon, Mickey Klutts, Tommy McMillan, Mark Wagner
About this card
Cards #472-479 and #487-494 are the sixteen four-player Rookie Prospects cards. A Rookie Prospects card is a rookie card for the players on it who had no earlier Topps flagship card - on #472, #473, #474, #475, #487, #489, #491 and #493 at least one of the four had already appeared on one, and the rookie-card answer on each card names the players it counts for.
The story on this card
Almon played all 155 Padres games at shortstop in 1977. He batted .261 with 160 hits and 20 steals. Topps gave him #490, a Rookie Prospects card shared with Mickey Klutts of the Yankees, Tommy McMillan of the Mariners and Mark Wagner of the Tigers. All four are on their rookie cards. Bill Almon, a Brown University product, was the first overall pick of the 1974 draft by San Diego and debuted with the Padres that September, then played 15 major league seasons, including a .301 year with the 1981 White Sox.
Klutts appeared in five games for the 1977 Yankees, four at third base and one at shortstop, and went 4 for 15 with a home run and four RBI. Topps gave him a place on #490, a Rookie Prospects card that was the rookie card of all four men on it: Billy Almon of the Padres, Klutts with the Yankees, Tommy McMillan of the Mariners and Mark Wagner of the Tigers. Mickey Klutts was an infielder, mostly a third baseman, with the Yankees, Athletics and Blue Jays from 1976 to 1983. He shared the 1976 International League MVP award and hit .370 with five home runs for Oakland in 1981.
With no Triple-A club of its own, Seattle sent McMillan to Rochester, an Orioles affiliate, where he hit .274 in 39 games before moving to New Orleans. In his two September games for the Mariners he played shortstop, made one assist and two putouts and committed no errors. Card #490 is a four-player Rookie Prospects card, the rookie card for each man: Billy Almon of the Padres, Mickey Klutts of the Yankees, McMillan of the Mariners and Mark Wagner of the Tigers. Tommy McMillan was a shortstop who appeared in two games for the 1977 Seattle Mariners, going 0-for-5. A Jacksonville University product and 1973 Cleveland second-round pick, he played minor league ball through 1979.
In the spring of 1977 Wagner competed with Tom Veryzer for the Tigers' starting shortstop job. He appeared in 22 games that year with seven hits in 48 at-bats. Sent back to Evansville, he batted .306 with a .377 on-base percentage in 64 games, both career highs. His card was #490, a Rookie Prospects card and a rookie card for all four players: Billy Almon (Padres), Mickey Klutts (Yankees), Tommy McMillan (Mariners) and Wagner (Tigers). Mark Wagner, a shortstop, played for the Tigers (1976-80), Rangers (1981-83) and Athletics (1984), hitting .243 with 3 home runs in 415 games, and pitched 1 2/3 innings in his final season.
Sources: Wikipedia (Mickey Klutts) · Wikipedia (Mark Wagner) · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 186 | 22 | 82 | 59 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| SGC | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 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
Team cards: #134 San Diego Padres Team, #387 New York Yankees Team, #597 Seattle Mariners Team, #621 Detroit Tigers Team
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1977 Topps #490 card?
It is card #490 of the 660-card 1977 Topps Baseball set, picturing Billy Almon, Mickey Klutts, Tommy McMillan and Mark Wagner. Cards #472-479 and #487-494 are the sixteen four-player Rookie Prospects cards. A Rookie Prospects card is a rookie card for the players on it who had no earlier Topps flagship card - on #472, #473, #474, #475, #487, #489, #491 and #493 at least one of the four had already appeared on one, and the rookie-card answer on each card names the players it counts for.
Is 1977 Topps #490 a rookie card?
Yes - #490 is a rookie card for every player pictured on it: Billy Almon, Mickey Klutts, Tommy McMillan and Mark Wagner.
How many cards are in the 1977 Topps Baseball set?
660 cards, numbered 1 through 660 with none skipped and distributed 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.