1979 Topps #435 Gene Tenace
About Gene Tenace
Card #435 followed a 1978 in which Tenace hit .224 with 16 home runs, playing 80 games at first base. He rebounded in 1979 to .263 with 20 home runs. He led National League catchers with a .998 fielding percentage, making one error in 94 games. On August 1 he homered off Atlanta's Eddie Solomon, charged the mound when Solomon apparently said something to him, and emptied both benches; the Braves won 5-4.
Gene Tenace was a catcher and first baseman who played 15 major league seasons, 1969 to 1983, for Oakland, San Diego, St. Louis and Pittsburgh. He hit .241 with 201 home runs, but his value was in getting on base: a .388 career on-base percentage and 984 walks. Born Fiore Gino Tenacci in western Pennsylvania and raised in Lucasville, Ohio, he was a 20th-round pick of the Kansas City Athletics in 1965. He became Oakland's regular catcher for the 1972 postseason, homered in his first two World Series at-bats and was named the Series MVP. He was a member of three straight Oakland champions and won a fourth ring with the 1982 Cardinals. He later coached for Houston and Toronto, went 19-14 as the Blue Jays' interim manager in 1991, and was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 55 | 2 | 23 | 17 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 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: #479 San Diego Padres / Roger Craig
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- #8 1978 Leading Firemen
- #30 Dave Winfield
- #57 Eric Rasmussen
- #116 Ozzie Smith
- #138 Mark Lee
- #164 Mickey Lolich
- #194 Randy Jones
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- #263 Oscar Gamble
- #292 Don Reynolds
- #321 Gaylord Perry
- #342 Dave Roberts
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #435 card?
It is card #435 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Gene Tenace of the San Diego Padres.
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.