1978 Topps #240 Gene Tenace
About Gene Tenace
In his first Padres season, 1977, Tenace hit .233 with 15 home runs and drew 125 walks, a career best. His .415 on-base percentage came with the second-lowest batting average ever paired with a .400 mark. Owner Ray Kroc was unhappy anyway and complained that all Tenace wanted to do was walk. His 1978 card is #240.
Gene Tenace was a catcher and first baseman who played 15 major league seasons, 1969 to 1983, for Oakland, San Diego, St. Louis and Pittsburgh. He hit .241 with 201 home runs, but his value was in getting on base: a .388 career on-base percentage and 984 walks. Born Fiore Gino Tenacci in western Pennsylvania and raised in Lucasville, Ohio, he was a 20th-round pick of the Kansas City Athletics in 1965. He became Oakland's regular catcher for the 1972 postseason, homered in his first two World Series at-bats and was named the Series MVP. He was a member of three straight Oakland champions and won a fourth ring with the 1982 Cardinals. He later coached for Houston and Toronto, went 19-14 as the Blue Jays' interim manager in 1991, and was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 123 | 20 | 69 | 19 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 0 | 2 | 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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Related cards
Team card: #192 San Diego Padres Team
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- #164 Bob Owchinko
- #208 1977 Leading Firemen
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- #318 Tom Griffin
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #240 card?
It is card #240 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Gene Tenace 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.