1978 Topps #703 Rookie Pitchers - Larry Andersen / Tim Jones / Mickey Mahler / Jack Morris
On this card: Larry Andersen, Tim Jones, Mickey Mahler, Jack Morris
About this card
Cards #701-711 are the eleven four-player Rookie Prospects cards. A Rookie Prospects card is a rookie card for the players on it who had no earlier Topps flagship card - on #702, #707, #708 and #711 one of the four is not a rookie, so those count for the other three only, and the rookie-card answer on each card names the players it counts for.
The story on this card
Andersen spent 1978 at Triple-A Portland, the Beavers club he had followed as a boy, and went 10-7 with 25 saves in 57 appearances, then a Pacific Coast League record. He had pitched in 3 games for Cleveland in 1975 and 11 in 1977. Topps #703 prints him with the Indians on a four-man Rookie Prospects card with Tim Jones of the Pirates, Mickey Mahler of the Braves and Jack Morris of the Tigers. All four have their rookie card here, and it is one of the key rookie cards of the set. Larry Andersen was a right-handed reliever for six clubs from 1975 to 1994, 40-39 with a 3.15 ERA. Houston traded him to Boston for Jeff Bagwell in 1990. He pitched in the 1983 and 1993 World Series for the Phillies.
In his only major-league start, Jones pitched 7 shutout innings on October 2, 1977, earning a win and finishing the season with 10 scoreless innings. His rookie card was 1978 Topps Rookie Prospects #703: Larry Andersen represented Cleveland, Jones Pittsburgh, Mickey Mahler Atlanta and Jack Morris Detroit. Charleston pitcher Tim Jones beat the parent Pittsburgh Pirates in a July 1, 1976 exhibition. He scattered eight hits in the 4-2 win, and Steve Williams earned the save.
Atlanta gave Mahler 21 starts among 34 games in 1978. He went 4-11 with 92 strikeouts in 134 2/3 innings. His card is the four-man Rookie Prospects #703, which pairs him as an Atlanta prospect with Larry Andersen of Cleveland, Tim Jones of Pittsburgh and Detroit's Jack Morris. Mickey Mahler was a left-handed pitcher for seven clubs from 1977 to 1986, starting with the Braves. He threw a one-hit shutout for Montreal in 1985 and later that year relieved for Detroit to beat Phil Niekro's bid for 300 wins.
Morris's 1977 debut season ended early when the Tigers shut him down at the end of August to protect his arm, and 1978 brought more arm trouble. He went 3-5 with a 4.33 ERA, most of it pitched in relief, with seven starts mixed in. He shares Rookie Prospects #703 with Larry Andersen of the Indians, Tim Jones of the Pirates and Mickey Mahler of the Braves. Jack Morris, a right-hander for the Tigers, Twins, Blue Jays and Indians, won 254 games and 162 of them in the 1980s. He threw a 1984 no-hitter, a ten-inning Game 7 shutout in 1991, and entered the Hall of Fame in 2018.
Sources: Wikipedia (Larry Andersen) · Wikipedia (Tim Jones (pitcher)) · Wikipedia (Mickey Mahler) · Wikipedia (Jack Morris) · SABR BioProject (Larry Andersen) · SABR BioProject (Jack Morris) · SABR Games Project · Baseball Almanac (Tim Jones) · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 6,444 | 116 | 1,161 | 2,432 | 1,169 | 707 | 461 | 391 | 7 |
| SGC | 889 | 1 | 58 | 249 | 253 | 148 | 84 | 91 | 5 |
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 cards: #689 Cleveland Indians Team, #606 Pittsburgh Pirates Team, #551 Atlanta Braves Team, #404 Detroit Tigers Team
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- #37 Rick Waits
- #61 Larvell Blanks
- #87 John Lowenstein
- #101 Sid Monge
- #122 Dennis Eckersley
More Pittsburgh Pirates cards:
More Atlanta Braves cards:
- #10 Phil Niekro
- #38 Willie Montanez
- #75 Dick Ruthven
- #93 Bobby Cox
- #130 Jeff Burroughs
- #156 Andy Messersmith
More Detroit Tigers cards:
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #703 card?
It is card #703 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Larry Andersen, Tim Jones, Mickey Mahler and Jack Morris. Cards #701-711 are the eleven four-player Rookie Prospects cards. A Rookie Prospects card is a rookie card for the players on it who had no earlier Topps flagship card - on #702, #707, #708 and #711 one of the four is not a rookie, so those count for the other three only, and the rookie-card answer on each card names the players it counts for.
Is 1978 Topps #703 a rookie card?
Yes - #703 is a rookie card for every player pictured on it: Larry Andersen, Tim Jones, Mickey Mahler and Jack Morris.
What are the key cards in the 1978 Topps set?
#36 Eddie Murray (his rookie card) and #707 1978 Rookie Shortstops, which carries the Paul Molitor and Alan Trammell rookies on one card, are the top cards of the set. The other major keys are #100 George Brett, #200 Reggie Jackson, #400 Nolan Ryan and #703 1978 Rookie Pitchers (the Jack Morris rookie). The set was issued as one series, so there is no high-number run.
How many cards are in the 1978 Topps Baseball set?
726 cards, numbered 1 through 726 with none skipped and issued as a single series, and 728 collectible states: #23 Bump Wills comes with or without a black circle, and #374 Jose Morales with or without black stitching over the red laces, so the master set counts both states of each.
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.