1978 Topps #615 Clay Carroll
About Clay Carroll
With the White Sox in a pennant race, the Cardinals dealt Carroll back to Chicago for three players on August 31, 1977, and he finished the year 5-5 with a 2.75 ERA and 5 saves. Card #615 in the 1978 Topps set lists him with the White Sox, who released him on March 30, 1978. At 37 he signed with Pittsburgh, spent most of the season at Triple-A Columbus, and pitched twice for the Pirates late that year.
Clay Carroll grew up in the cotton mill town of Clanton, Alabama, one of nine children of a mill worker, and signed with the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent in 1961 for $1,000. He reached the majors in September 1964 and became a bullpen regular by 1966, leading the National League that year with 73 appearances for the Braves. A June 1968 trade sent him to Cincinnati, where he pitched in the Big Red Machine bullpen through 1975, and teammates called him Hawk for the way his profile resembled the bird. He made the National League All-Star team in 1971 and 1972, and in 1972 he led the league with 37 saves and was named The Sporting News Fireman of the Year. Carroll worked nine shutout innings in the 1970 World Series and won the only game Cincinnati took from Baltimore, then won Game Seven of the 1975 World Series, the game that brought the Reds their first championship in 35 years. He later pitched for the Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates, making his last big-league appearance in 1978 and finishing 96-73 with 143 saves. Cincinnati elected him to the Reds Hall of Fame in 1980, and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame followed in 1992.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 118 | 10 | 47 | 42 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #615 card?
It is card #615 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Clay Carroll of the Chicago White Sox.
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.