1978 Topps #512 Larry Herndon
About Larry Herndon
Herndon injured a leg playing winter ball after his rookie year and reinjured it in June 1977, which led to knee surgery and a season of 49 games and a .239 average. In late August he said he was healthy, but the Giants would not activate him; he checked out of the team hotel and stayed away until the next spring. The Giants remained his team on 1978 Topps #512.
Larry Herndon was a right-handed-hitting outfielder who played 14 major league seasons: 1974 with the St. Louis Cardinals, 1976 through 1981 with the San Francisco Giants and 1982 through 1988 with the Detroit Tigers. Born in Sunflower, Mississippi, and raised in Memphis by his grandmother, Estella, he was drafted by St. Louis in the third round in 1971 and sent to San Francisco with minor leaguer Tony Gonzalez for pitcher Ron Bryant on May 9, 1975. In 1981 he won the Willie Mac Award for spirit and leadership. Detroit acquired him on December 9, 1981 for pitchers Mike Chris and Dan Schatzeder. He hit home runs in four consecutive at-bats on May 17 and 18, 1982, tying a major league record, and finished that year with 23 home runs. In 1983 he batted .302 with 92 RBI. He homered in Game 1 of the 1984 World Series and caught the final out of Game 5, Tony Gwynn's fly ball to left field. He batted .324 in 89 games in 1987. Multiple knee surgeries brought his retirement in March 1989, and he was Detroit's hitting coach from 1992 to 1998 and later the hitting coach for the Lakeland Flying Tigers.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 96 | 11 | 37 | 37 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 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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Related cards
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #512 card?
It is card #512 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Larry Herndon of the San Francisco Giants.
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.