1978 Topps #509 Brent Strom
About Brent Strom
The Padres released Strom in March 1978, and he sat out that season. He became the second person to undergo Tommy John surgery, performed by Frank Jobe and Robert Kerlan, and the Houston Astros signed him in March 1979. Topps still printed him on #509 with the San Diego Padres. He went 11-6 for Tucson in 1980 and finished in the Dodgers organization in 1981.
Brent Strom was a left-handed pitcher from San Diego who pitched in the majors for the Mets, Indians and Padres in 1972, 1973 and 1975 through 1977, going 22-39 with a 3.95 ERA over 100 games. He had won two NCAA championships at USC and was the third overall pick of the 1970 draft. Strom's longer career was in coaching. He was Houston's pitching coach in 1996 and again from 2014 to 2021, a stretch that included the Astros' 2017 World Series championship and Cy Young Awards for Dallas Keuchel and Justin Verlander. He then coached Arizona from 2022 to 2024, reaching a fifth World Series as a pitching coach in 2023, and for over thirty years he was a co-director of the San Diego School of Baseball.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 85 | 13 | 47 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #509 card?
It is card #509 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Brent Strom of the San Diego Padres.
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.