1979 Topps #697 Dave Bergman
About Dave Bergman
Bergman hit .143 through the 1978 All-Star break, then was inserted into the lineup for a 26-game stretch, mostly in left field against right-handers. He batted .313 with 16 walks in that stretch. He finished at .231 in 104 games with 12 RBIs and earned his Illinois State business degree that year. Card #697 lists him with the Astros, who sent him to Charleston at the end of spring training 1979. He returned in September and hit his first major league home run on September 26, a pinch-hit shot off Phil Niekro.
Dave Bergman was a left-handed first baseman and outfielder who played 17 major league seasons, 1975 through 1992, for the Yankees, Astros, Giants and Tigers, hitting .258 with 54 home runs. A two-time minor league batting champion who was an All-American at Illinois State, he settled into a utility role in Houston after manager Bill Virdon told him to focus on that job. His 1980 Astros won the division in a one-game playoff with the Dodgers, and he recorded the final out. Detroit made him its starting first baseman in 1984, a World Series championship year, and on June 4 he fouled off seven pitches in a 13-pitch at-bat before hitting a walk-off three-run homer against Toronto. In August 1989 he broke up a Nolan Ryan no-hitter with a ninth-inning single. He played nine seasons for the Tigers. After baseball he worked in investment counseling and with the Joe Niekro Foundation, and he died on February 2, 2015.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 65 | 9 | 29 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 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: #381 Houston Astros / Bill Virdon
More Houston Astros cards:
- #6 1978 Strikeout Leaders
- #14 Rafael Landestoy
- #49 Vern Ruhle
- #68 Joe Niekro
- #107 Jesus Alou
- #130 Bob Watson
- #139 Luis Pujols
- #158 Joe Sambito
- #187 Mark Lemongello
- #203 J.R. Richard
- #232 Jimmy Sexton
- #268 Julio Gonzalez
- #289 Jose Cruz
- #306 Floyd Bannister
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #697 card?
It is card #697 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Dave Bergman of the Houston Astros.
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.