1978 Topps #6 Nolan Ryan
About this card
Cards #1-7 are the Record Breakers subset, one record-setter per card: Lou Brock, Sparky Lyle, Willie McCovey, Brooks Robinson, Pete Rose, Nolan Ryan and Reggie Jackson. All but Brooks Robinson also have a regular card in the set.
About Nolan Ryan
Ryan's 1977 season with the Angels produced a 19-16 record, a 2.77 ERA and 22 complete games. He struck out 341 batters in 299 innings and was an All-Star and The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year. As in 1974, he walked at least 200 batters. Topps gave him three cards in 1978: #6 in the Record Breakers subset, #206 in the League Leaders subset for strikeouts, shared with Phil Niekro of the Braves, and #400.
Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr., born January 31, 1947, in Refugio, Texas, and raised in Alvin, near Houston, was drafted by the Mets in the 12th round in 1965. He pitched a record 27 major league seasons (1966, 1968-1993) for the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers. He retired with a 324-292 record, a 3.19 ERA and 5,714 strikeouts, the most in major league history. He also holds the career records for walks (2,795) and no-hitters (seven, three more than any other pitcher). He struck out 300 batters in a season a record six times and made eight All-Star teams. Nicknamed "the Ryan Express" and known for a fastball clocked above 100 mph, he helped the 1969 Mets win the World Series before a December 1971 trade sent him to California for Jim Fregosi. He signed with Houston as a free agent before the 1980 season, then finished with Texas, where he threw his sixth and seventh no-hitters at ages 43 and 44. Ryan was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 in his first year of eligibility with 98.8 percent of the vote, and is one of three players to have his number retired by at least three teams.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 3,276 | 23 | 432 | 1,289 | 656 | 403 | 249 | 223 | 1 |
| SGC | 567 | 1 | 56 | 176 | 154 | 79 | 51 | 49 | 1 |
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
More Nolan Ryan in this set: #206 League Leaders, #400
Team card: #214 California Angels Team
More California Angels cards:
- #18 Bob Grich
- #48 Don Baylor
- #71 Terry Humphrey
- #115 Gary Nolan
- #150 Bobby Bonds
- #178 Dave Chalk
- #206 1977 Strikeout Leaders
- #207 1977 ERA Leaders
- #239 Dyar Miller
- #268 Gil Flores
- #291 Gary Ross
- #313 Andy Etchebarren
- #339 Mario Guerrero
- #368 Balor Moore
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #6 card?
It is card #6 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Nolan Ryan of the California Angels. Cards #1-7 are the Record Breakers subset, one record-setter per card: Lou Brock, Sparky Lyle, Willie McCovey, Brooks Robinson, Pete Rose, Nolan Ryan and Reggie Jackson. All but Brooks Robinson also have a regular card in the set.
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.