1979 Topps #36 Alan Ashby
About Alan Ashby
Ashby arrived in Houston for 1979 and in his second game, on April 7, caught Ken Forsch's no-hitter against Atlanta. Ashby hit .202 with 2 home runs and 35 RBI in 108 games and missed most of September with a finger broken catching Joe Niekro, yet he was rewarded with a three-year contract extension. His 1979 Topps #36 still shows the Blue Jays.
Alan Ashby was a switch-hitting catcher who played 17 seasons in the majors, with Cleveland from 1973 to 1976, Toronto in 1977 and 1978, and Houston from 1979 to 1989. He grew up in San Pedro, California, taught himself to bat from both sides after watching the switch-hitting Dodgers infield of the mid-1960s, and was a third-round pick of the Indians in 1969. His 900 games behind the plate were an Astros record until 2005, and he caught three no-hitters for Houston, among them Nolan Ryan's in 1981 and Mike Scott's in 1986. He hit the first postseason home run in Astros history, a walk-off in Game 1 of the 1981 Division Series, and added a game-winner from the other side of the plate in the 1986 NLCS. His best season was 1987, when he hit .288 with 14 home runs and 63 RBI. He finished with 1,370 games, a .245 average and 90 home runs. He later worked as Astros bullpen coach and in the broadcast booths of Houston and Toronto, and was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 95 | 11 | 45 | 27 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 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: #282 Toronto Blue Jays / Roy Hartsfield
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #36 card?
It is card #36 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Alan Ashby of the Toronto Blue Jays.
How many cards are in the 1979 Topps Baseball set?
726 cards, numbered 1 through 726 with none skipped and issued as a single series, tracked as 727 collectible states: #369 Bump Wills comes with a Rangers or a Blue Jays team banner, and the master set counts both.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA, 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.