1979 Topps #561 Ed Ott
About Ed Ott
Ott and rookie Steve Nicosia split the catching, 103 starts to 55, and Ott later called 1979 his finest season, batting .273 in 117 games. On August 11 in Philadelphia he hit the only grand slam of his career, off Tug McGraw, in a 14-11 comeback after trailing 8-0. He went 3-for-13 in the NLCS sweep of Cincinnati and 4-for-12 in the World Series. Card #561 shows him with Pittsburgh.
Ed Ott was a left-handed-hitting catcher who spent seven seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates before finishing with the California Angels in 1981. A 23rd-round pick in 1970 out of Muncy, Pennsylvania, he signed as a third baseman and was moved to the outfield by his first minor-league manager. After the 1974 season he agreed to learn catching because the Pirates' outfield was crowded with Dave Parker, Al Oliver and Richie Zisk. He debuted June 10, 1974, and became the Pirates' regular catcher in a platoon with Duffy Dyer and later Steve Nicosia. A league wrestling champion at Muncy High School at 165 pounds, he was a clubhouse leader on the 1979 World Series champions. A rotator cuff injury ended his playing days with 567 games, a .259 average and 33 home runs. He managed Pirates farm clubs in 1985-86, coached the Houston Astros from 1989 to 1993, where in a 1991 brawl he held Reds reliever Rob Dibble in a chokehold, and was the Detroit Tigers' bullpen coach in 2001-02. He also managed in independent ball.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 64 | 9 | 33 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 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: #244 Pittsburgh Pirates / Chuck Tanner
More Pittsburgh Pirates cards:
- #1 1978 Batting Leaders
- #4 1978 Stolen Base Leaders
- #28 Steve Brye
- #55 Willie Stargell
- #70 John Candelaria
- #92 Jim Bibby
- #117 Grant Jackson
- #147 Dave Hamilton
- #165 Frank Taveras
- #189 Eddie Whitson
- #208 Clarence Gaston
- #223 Kent Tekulve
- #264 Don Robinson
- #286 Duffy Dyer
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #561 card?
It is card #561 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ed Ott of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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.