1978 Topps #494 Chuck Tanner
About this card
This is one of the 25 manager cards. Team cards and manager cards are separate cards this year: every club has a team card, and every club except the Milwaukee Brewers has a manager card - George Bamberger was hired in late January 1978, too late to be included.
About Chuck Tanner
In his first Pittsburgh season, Tanner managed the Pirates to a 96-66 record and second place in the National League East in 1977. First-base coach Al Monchak and third-base coach Joe Lonnett followed him from Oakland. His 1978 Topps manager card was #494.
Chuck Tanner was a left-handed outfielder from New Castle, Pennsylvania, who signed with the Boston Braves in 1946 and hit over .300 in the minors every year from 1947 through 1954. He reached Milwaukee in 1955 and homered on the first major-league pitch he saw, as a pinch-hitter on Opening Day. Over eight seasons with the Braves, Cubs, Indians and Angels he hit .261 with 21 home runs in 396 games. His larger fame came as a manager. After eight years leading Angels farm clubs, he managed the White Sox from 1970 through 1975. He then managed Oakland for a season before Pittsburgh acquired him in an unusual trade, sending Manny Sanguillen and cash to the Athletics. There the 1979 Pirates, adopting We Are Family as their theme, rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat Baltimore in the World Series. He finished with 1,352 wins over 19 seasons and was known as baseball's Mr. Sunshine for his optimism.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 120 | 35 | 63 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 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
Team card: #606 Pittsburgh Pirates Team
More Pittsburgh Pirates cards:
- #28 Ed Ott
- #53 Phil Garner
- #84 Kent Tekulve
- #138 Larry Demery
- #165 Rennie Stennett
- #190 John Candelaria
- #201 1977 Batting Leaders
- #204 1977 Stolen Base Leaders
- #207 1977 ERA Leaders
- #223 Bruce Kison
- #255 Jerry Reuss
- #283 Omar Moreno
- #308 Jim Rooker
- #323 Jim Fregosi
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #494 card?
It is card #494 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Chuck Tanner of the Pittsburgh Pirates. This is one of the 25 manager cards. Team cards and manager cards are separate cards this year: every club has a team card, and every club except the Milwaukee Brewers has a manager card - George Bamberger was hired in late January 1978, too late to be included.
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.