1978 Topps #634 Len Barker
About Len Barker
On April 16, 1978, in his third appearance of the year, Barker threw a pitch at Fenway Park that landed on the backstop screen below the press box. Sent to Tucson, he went 4-0 with a 1.04 ERA, but back in Texas he finished 1-5 with a 4.82 ERA and four saves. Card #634 shows him with the Rangers.
Len Barker was a 6-foot-5 right-handed power pitcher who threw the tenth perfect game in major league history on May 15, 1981, beating Toronto 3-0 at Cleveland. Texas drafted him out of Neshaminy High School in Pennsylvania in the third round of 1973, and he reached the majors in September 1976. Wildness slowed him, and he did not stay in the big leagues until 1979, after a trade with Bobby Bonds sent him from the Rangers to Cleveland on October 3, 1978. He led the American League in strikeouts in 1980 with 187 while winning 19 games, led again in the strike-shortened 1981 season, and pitched two scoreless innings in that year's All-Star Game at Cleveland. Atlanta acquired him on August 28, 1983 and signed him to a five-year contract, but elbow bone spurs sapped his fastball and he had surgery in 1984. He finished with Milwaukee in 1987 at 74-76 with a 4.34 ERA and 975 strikeouts, then coached at Notre Dame College in Ohio.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 99 | 9 | 53 | 27 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 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
Team card: #659 Texas Rangers Team
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- #146 Doyle Alexander
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #634 card?
It is card #634 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Len Barker of the Texas Rangers.
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.