1977 Topps #163 Dave Hilton
About Dave Hilton
On October 22, 1976, Peter Bavasi, who had drafted him for the Padres in 1971, bought Hilton for the expansion Blue Jays. Hilton learned in spring training that he would be Toronto's Opening Day third baseman, but the club declined his request for a major-league-only contract. It sent him to Triple-A Toledo, where he spent the season and earned the Triple-A Silver Glove for defense at third base. Topps printed his 1977 card, #163, with the Blue Jays.
John David Hilton, who played as Dave, was a third and second baseman with the San Diego Padres from 1972 to 1975, appearing in 161 games. The Padres made him the first pick of the January 1971 draft after he left Rice University for a junior college to become eligible. In 1972 he hit .315 with 16 home runs for Alexandria and was named the Texas League's Player of the Year. He made his San Diego debut on September 10 with a single off Ron Reed. His major league line was .213 with six home runs. Infectious hepatitis from spoiled seafood sidelined him on the first road trip of 1975, and an April 27 doubleheader in San Diego was his last major league action. Hilton later spent about two and a half seasons in Japan with the Yakult Swallows and Hanshin Tigers and won a championship with Yakult. The writer Haruki Murakami has credited a double Hilton hit for Yakult in 1978 with inspiring him, at 29, to become an author. Hilton later managed, coached and instructed for two decades, including two years as Milwaukee's first-base coach, and died in Scottsdale, Arizona, in 2017 at age 67.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 89 | 7 | 45 | 32 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 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 card: #113 Toronto Blue Jays Team
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1977 Topps #163 card?
It is card #163 of the 660-card 1977 Topps Baseball set, picturing Dave Hilton of the Toronto Blue Jays.
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.