1977 Topps #319 Rich Gossage
About Rich Gossage
#319 still has Gossage in a White Sox uniform, though Bill Veeck had sent him and Terry Forster to Pittsburgh for Richie Zisk and Silvio Martinez, a deal Chuck Tanner, by then the Pirates manager, was behind. Back in relief, he went 11-9 with a 1.62 ERA and 26 saves. He struck out a career-high 151 in 133 innings, working beside Kent Tekulve and Grant Jackson, and made the All-Star team. When the Pirates let him go as a free agent, he emptied his locker at Three Rivers Stadium, then sat in his car and cried.
Rich Gossage was one of the first modern closers, a right-hander with a rising 100 mph fastball, a bold mustache and a habit of pitching two or three innings to finish a game. Over 22 seasons, 1972 to 1994, he worked 1,002 games for nine clubs and saved 310. He went 124-107 with a 3.01 ERA, led the American League in saves three times and made nine All-Star teams. With the Yankees he saved a career-high 33 games in 1980 and finished third in both the MVP and Cy Young voting. He posted a 0.77 ERA in 1981, and in 1983 he broke Sparky Lyle's club record of 141 saves. He signed with San Diego for 1984 and saved Game 5 of the NLCS against the Cubs, sending the Padres to their first World Series, where Kirk Gibson homered off him in the deciding Game 5 after Gossage refused an intentional walk. On August 6, 1988, with the Cubs, he became the second pitcher to reach 300 saves. Later stops included the Giants, a second turn with the Yankees, the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks in Japan, Texas, Oakland and Seattle, where on August 4, 1994 he became the third pitcher to appear in 1,000 games. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2008.
Sources: SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 341 | 3 | 82 | 148 | 39 | 26 | 23 | 20 | 0 |
| SGC | 34 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
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 #319 card?
It is card #319 of the 660-card 1977 Topps Baseball set, picturing Rich Gossage 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.