1977 Topps #497 Clay Carroll
About Clay Carroll
Clay Carroll's 1977 Topps card, #497, shows him with Chicago, but during spring training, on March 23, 1977, the White Sox sent him to St. Louis for Lerrin LaGrow. In St. Louis he threw 90 innings with a 2.50 ERA, and he appeared in 59 games that year between the two clubs.
Clay Carroll grew up in the cotton mill town of Clanton, Alabama, one of nine children of a mill worker, and signed with the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent in 1961 for $1,000. He reached the majors in September 1964 and became a bullpen regular by 1966, leading the National League that year with 73 appearances for the Braves. A June 1968 trade sent him to Cincinnati, where he pitched in the Big Red Machine bullpen through 1975, and teammates called him Hawk for the way his profile resembled the bird. He made the National League All-Star team in 1971 and 1972, and in 1972 he led the league with 37 saves and was named The Sporting News Fireman of the Year. Carroll worked nine shutout innings in the 1970 World Series and won the only game Cincinnati took from Baltimore, then won Game Seven of the 1975 World Series, the game that brought the Reds their first championship in 35 years. He later pitched for the Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates, making his last big-league appearance in 1978 and finishing 96-73 with 143 saves. Cincinnati elected him to the Reds Hall of Fame in 1980, and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame followed in 1992.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 86 | 20 | 39 | 19 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 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 1977 Topps #497 card?
It is card #497 of the 660-card 1977 Topps Baseball set, picturing Clay Carroll of the Chicago White Sox.
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.