1979 Topps #530 Frank Tanana
About Frank Tanana
On June 10, 1979, Tanana gave up six runs in two innings to the Tigers and was shut down for about two months with shoulder tendinitis. Intensive therapy got him back on the mound in September, and he finished 7-5 with a 3.89 ERA in 18 games. In Game 3 of the ALCS he held Baltimore to one run through five innings, then left in the sixth after two singles and a walk, and a sacrifice fly by Doug DeCinces tied the game. The Angels won 4-3 for their only victory of the series. His 1979 Topps card is #530.
Frank Tanana was a left-handed starter who pitched 21 seasons in the majors, 1973 to 1993, for the Angels, Red Sox, Rangers, Tigers, Mets and Yankees. The Angels made the Detroit Catholic Central product their first-round pick in 1971. From 1973 to 1979 he and Nolan Ryan pitched together in the California rotation, a pairing summed up as "Tanana and Ryan and two days of cryin'." He led the American League in strikeouts in 1975 and in ERA in 1977, and made three straight All-Star teams from 1976. Shoulder and elbow trouble then forced him to trade a hard fastball for changing speeds and deception, which carried him through 1993. He won playoff-clinching games for the Angels in 1979 and the Tigers in 1987, and he pitched eight seasons for the Tigers, the club he rooted for as a boy. After becoming a born-again Christian in 1983 he became a leader in baseball's Christian community. He retired at 240-236 with a 3.66 ERA and 2,773 strikeouts.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 61 | 6 | 33 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
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: #424 California Angels / Jim Fregosi
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- #48 Merv Rettenmund
- #71 Brian Downing
- #115 Nolan Ryan
- #212 Carney Lansford
- #267 Joe Rudi
- #291 Tom Griffin
- #313 Dyar Miller
- #322 Danny Goodwin
- #339 Ron Jackson
- #368 Don Aase
- #402 Paul Hartzell
- #417 All-Time Record Holders: Strikeouts
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #530 card?
It is card #530 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Frank Tanana of the California Angels.
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.