1979 Topps #720 Expos Prospects - Jerry Fry / Gerry Pirtle / Scott Sanderson
On this card: Jerry Fry, Gerry Pirtle, Scott Sanderson
Uncorrected error: The front and back print Gerry Pirtle's first name as "Jerry".
About this card
Cards #701-726 are the 26 three-player Prospects cards, one per club - AL clubs first, each league in alphabetical order by city - with black-and-white player photos on the front. A Prospects card is a rookie card for the players on it who had no earlier Topps flagship card. On #703, #705, #712, #718 and #723, one or two of the players never reached the major leagues.
The story on this card
Fry batted .294 in 86 games as a catcher for Triple-A Denver in 1978 and made 4 September appearances for Montreal, all behind the plate. His rookie card, 1979 Topps #720, paired him with Gerry Pirtle and Scott Sanderson on the Expos Prospects card. Former Expos catcher Jerry Fry hit 24 home runs for Double-A Memphis in 1981. He batted .303 with 72 RBI in 120 games for the Chicks.
Pirtle made 19 relief appearances for Montreal in 1978, striking out 14 batters in 25 2/3 innings. His 1979 Topps rookie card, Expos Prospects #720, listed him with Jerry Fry and Scott Sanderson, all Montreal players. The card misspelled his first name as "Jerry" on both the front and back. Future Expos reliever Gerry Pirtle made 61 relief appearances for Triple-A Syracuse in 1975. He went 7-3 with a 2.70 ERA and 8 saves in 100 innings.
Sanderson went 4-2 with a 2.51 ERA in 10 appearances for Montreal in 1978, including 9 starts. Topps included him on its 1979 Expos Prospects card, #720, with Jerry Fry and Gerry Pirtle, a rookie card for all three. The card misspelled Pirtle's first name as "Jerry" on the front and back; the error was uncorrected. A right-handed starting pitcher who won 163 games in 19 major league seasons. He pitched for the Expos, Cubs, Athletics, Yankees, Angels, Giants and White Sox, made the 1991 All-Star team and later became a sports agent.
Sources: Wikipedia (Jerry Fry) · Wikipedia (Gerry Pirtle) · Wikipedia (Scott Sanderson) · Stats Crew (1) · Stats Crew (2) · BaseballCardPedia · Trading Card Database
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 125 | 26 | 64 | 23 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 5 | 2 | 2 | 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
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- #124 Dan Schatzeder
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- #235 Steve Rogers
- #269 Woodie Fryman
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #720 card?
It is card #720 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jerry Fry, Gerry Pirtle and Scott Sanderson. Cards #701-726 are the 26 three-player Prospects cards, one per club - AL clubs first, each league in alphabetical order by city - with black-and-white player photos on the front. A Prospects card is a rookie card for the players on it who had no earlier Topps flagship card. On #703, #705, #712, #718 and #723, one or two of the players never reached the major leagues.
Is 1979 Topps #720 a rookie card?
Yes - #720 is a rookie card for every player pictured on it: Jerry Fry, Gerry Pirtle and Scott Sanderson.
Does 1979 Topps #720 have an error?
The front and back print Gerry Pirtle's first name as "Jerry". It was never corrected, so there is no variation to chase - every copy of #720 reads the same way.
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.