1977 Topps #21 Ken Forsch
About Ken Forsch
Forsch pitched in 42 games in 1977, five of them as a starter. He finished 5-8 with a 2.72 ERA and 8 saves. Topps issued him twice. #21 is his own Astros card; #632 is a Big League Brothers card pairing him with his younger brother Bob, born in January 1950 and lettered with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Ken Forsch was a 6-foot-4 right-hander who pitched 16 seasons in the majors, most of them with the Houston Astros and the last five with the California Angels, and who moved between the rotation and the bullpen more than once. Houston drafted him in the 18th round in 1968 out of Oregon State, and he debuted on September 7, 1970, with a 10-5 complete-game win at San Diego. After starting in the early seventies he spent roughly five years as the Astros' closer, then returned to the rotation, where he no-hit the Atlanta Braves 6-0 at the Astrodome on April 7, 1979. His brother Bob Forsch threw two no-hitters for the Cardinals, making them the only brothers to pitch no-hitters in the majors. Forsch started Game 1 of the 1980 NLCS against Philadelphia, was traded to the Angels for Dickie Thon in April 1981, and made his second All-Star team that year. A dislocated shoulder limited him to two games in 1984. He finished 114-113 with a 3.37 ERA and 1,047 strikeouts, and later worked for the Angels as assistant general manager until 2011.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 77 | 10 | 33 | 25 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 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 Ken Forsch in this set: #632 Big League Brothers
Team card: #327 Houston Astros Team
More Houston Astros cards:
- #42 Jose Cruz
- #67 Joaquin Andujar
- #90 Cesar Cedeno
- #116 Joe Niekro
- #143 Ed Herrmann
- #184 Bo McLaughlin
- #209 Rob Andrews
- #227 Joe Sambito
- #248 Wilbur Howard
- #260 J.R. Richard
- #283 Jerry DaVanon
- #308 Gene Pentz
- #350 Larry Dierker
- #429 Ken Boswell
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1977 Topps #21 card?
It is card #21 of the 660-card 1977 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ken Forsch of the Houston Astros.
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.