1977 Topps #374 Kent Tekulve
About Kent Tekulve
Chuck Tanner took over the Pirates in 1977, and Tekulve went 10-1 with a 3.06 ERA in 72 games as the setup man for Goose Gossage. He said he first had to adjust to middle-inning relief, then to getting the call late, when the game is on the line. Pittsburgh won 96 games and finished second to the Phillies again, five games back. Gossage left as a free agent for the Yankees that winter. Tekulve appears on #374 with the Pirates.
Kent Tekulve was a right-handed submarine reliever who pitched 16 seasons in the majors, 1974 into 1985 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, then for the Phillies and, in his final year, the Reds. Undrafted after Marietta College in 1969, he went to a Forbes Field tryout that July, sat in the stands while others worked out, and was signed on the spot by scout Dick Coury when he finally got to throw. The Pirates moved him to relief in 1970, and he developed the low delivery after watching Ted Abernathy of the Reds. He debuted on May 20, 1974, with one inning against Montreal, and made 1,050 appearances without a single start. He led the National League in games four times, appeared in 90 or more games three times, and was an All-Star in 1980. The Pirates traded him to Philadelphia on April 20, 1985 for Al Holland, and in 1987, at 40, he pitched in 90 games. He finished 94-90 with a 2.85 ERA and 184 saves, and he holds the National League record for career innings in relief. He worked Phillies telecasts from 1991 to 1997, later served as a Pirates analyst, and had a heart transplant on September 5, 2014.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 90 | 8 | 28 | 34 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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 #374 card?
It is card #374 of the 660-card 1977 Topps Baseball set, picturing Kent Tekulve of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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.