1978 Topps #53 Phil Garner
About Phil Garner
On September 14 and 15, 1978, Garner hit grand slams on consecutive nights against St. Louis and Montreal, only the second time a National Leaguer had done so. He hit .261 with 10 home runs and 66 RBIs that year and played 81 games each at second and third base. Card #53 shows him in a Pirates uniform.
Phil Garner was an infielder who played 16 seasons in the majors, from 1973 to 1988, for Oakland, Pittsburgh, Houston, the Dodgers and the Giants. A Tennessee product who led the NCAA with 12 home runs in 1969, he was a first-round pick of the A's in the January 1971 secondary draft. The A's converted him to second base in 1975, and he reached three All-Star Games (1976, 1980, 1981). He batted .260 with 109 home runs and 225 stolen bases in 1,860 games. He became known as Scrap-Iron, a nickname Pirates broadcaster Milo Hamilton gave him after Willie Stargell described Garner as old scrap metal that can be beaten and bent but not broken. He won the 1979 World Series with Pittsburgh. As a manager he led the Milwaukee Brewers from 1992 to 1999, the Detroit Tigers from 2000 to 2002 and the Houston Astros from 2004 to 2007, taking the Astros to the 2005 World Series. He died on April 11, 2026.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 359 | 97 | 194 | 56 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 7 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 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: #606 Pittsburgh Pirates Team
More Pittsburgh Pirates cards:
- #28 Ed Ott
- #84 Kent Tekulve
- #138 Larry Demery
- #165 Rennie Stennett
- #190 John Candelaria
- #201 1977 Batting Leaders
- #204 1977 Stolen Base Leaders
- #207 1977 ERA Leaders
- #223 Bruce Kison
- #255 Jerry Reuss
- #283 Omar Moreno
- #308 Jim Rooker
- #323 Jim Fregosi
- #383 Mario Mendoza
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #53 card?
It is card #53 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Phil Garner of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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.