1978 Topps #10 Phil Niekro
About Phil Niekro
Niekro made 43 starts with a 4.03 ERA for Atlanta in 1977. His 1978 Topps cards were the individual Braves issue #10 and strikeout leaders #206, shared with California's Nolan Ryan. In 1978, Niekro won his first Gold Glove and finished sixth in the Cy Young Award voting.
Phil Niekro, the son of an Ohio coal miner who taught him the knuckleball in the backyard, signed with the Milwaukee Braves organization in 1959 and reached the majors on April 15, 1964, after spending the 1963 season in the Army. The Sporting News first put his nickname, Knucksie, in print in 1969. That one pitch carried him through 24 major-league seasons, nearly all of them with the Braves from 1964 through 1983 plus a 1987 return, with later stops in New York, Cleveland and Toronto. He finished 318-274 with a 3.35 ERA and 3,342 strikeouts. He made five All-Star teams, won five Gold Gloves, led the National League in wins twice, in 1974 and 1979, and led the major leagues in ERA at 1.87 in 1967. On August 5, 1973, he no-hit the San Diego Padres for the Braves' first no-hitter since the move to Atlanta. At 46, on October 6, 1985, he shut out Toronto for career win number 300, and he is still the only knuckleballer to reach 300. He and younger brother Joe won 539 games between them, the most by any pair of brothers. The Hall of Fame elected him in 1997, his fifth year on the ballot, and he died in December 2020 at 81.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 434 | 36 | 202 | 110 | 40 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 0 |
| SGC | 27 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 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
More Phil Niekro in this set: #206 League Leaders
Team card: #551 Atlanta Braves Team
More Atlanta Braves cards:
- #38 Willie Montanez
- #75 Dick Ruthven
- #93 Bobby Cox
- #130 Jeff Burroughs
- #156 Andy Messersmith
- #187 Jerry Royster
- #206 1977 Strikeout Leaders
- #217 Rod Gilbreath
- #242 Barry Bonnell
- #264 Jamie Easterly
- #296 Biff Pocoroba
- #322 Tom Paciorek
- #349 Rick Camp
- #372 Brian Asselstine
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #10 card?
It is card #10 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Phil Niekro of the Atlanta Braves.
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.