1979 Topps #472 Craig Kusick
About Craig Kusick
The 1979 season split Kusick between two clubs. He hit .241 through 24 games with the Twins before his contract was sold to Toronto in midseason, then hit .204 in 24 more with the Blue Jays. With Toronto he also made one relief appearance, a 24-2 loss to the California Angels in which he allowed three hits and two runs over 3 2/3 innings. Topps shows him with the Twins on #472.
Craig Kusick was a right-handed first baseman and designated hitter who played for the Minnesota Twins from 1973 and finished with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1979. A Milwaukee native who grew up in the suburb of Greenfield, he played football at Wisconsin-La Crosse as a wide receiver, ran track after being cut from the baseball team as a freshman, and hit .307 in three seasons with the baseball team. The Twins signed him in 1970 and he broke in during September 1973, gradually taking over first base from Harmon Killebrew. He was used mostly as a designated hitter from 1976 to 1978, after Rod Carew was moved over from second base. On August 27, 1975, he tied a major league record by being hit by pitches three times in an 11-inning game against the Milwaukee Brewers. He finished with a .235 average, 46 home runs and 171 RBI in 497 games. After Toronto released him he signed with the San Diego Padres. He coached baseball at Rosemount High School in Minnesota from 1982 to 2004, with seven teams reaching the state tournament, and died of leukemia in St. Paul in 2006.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 55 | 14 | 26 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 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: #41 Minnesota Twins / Gene Mauch
More Minnesota Twins cards:
- #1 1978 Batting Leaders
- #27 Dave Goltz
- #58 Bob Randall
- #81 Roger Erickson
- #113 Pete Redfern
- #137 Larry Wolfe
- #162 Tom Johnson
- #193 Glenn Adams
- #219 Roy Smalley
- #246 Darrell Jackson
- #249 Paul Thormodsgard
- #274 Willie Norwood
- #300 Rod Carew
- #362 Mike Cubbage
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #472 card?
It is card #472 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Craig Kusick of the Minnesota Twins.
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.