1979 Topps #590 J.R. Richard
About J.R. Richard
Richard led the National League with a 2.71 ERA in 1979 and worked 86 straight innings without a reliever, an Astros record. He also threw six wild pitches in one game against the Dodgers, a modern record, and was Pitcher of the Month for September. Three cards carry him: #6, a League Leaders card shared with Nolan Ryan of the Angels; #203, a Record Breakers card; and #590, a standard Astros card.
J.R. Richard was a 6-foot-8 right-handed starter who pitched his whole career for the Houston Astros, from 1971 to 1980. A Louisiana high school star in baseball and basketball, he turned down more than 200 basketball scholarship offers and went second overall in the 1969 draft. Wildness kept him shuttling between Houston and the minors until 1975, but from 1976 to 1979 he won at least 18 games in each of four seasons and led the National League twice in strikeouts. He struck out 313 in 1979, an Astros record until Gerrit Cole passed it in 2019. He finished 107-71 with a 3.15 ERA and 1,493 strikeouts. Johnny Bench and Dale Murphy both named him the toughest pitcher they faced. He made the 1980 All-Star team, but on July 30 of that year he suffered a stroke from a blood clot in his neck while warming up. A 1981 comeback attempt with the Astros ended because the stroke had slowed his reaction time and weakened his depth perception, and the club released him in 1984. The Astros inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2019.
Sources: Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 200 | 18 | 94 | 51 | 16 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 12 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 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
More J.R. Richard in this set: #6 League Leaders, #203 Record Breakers
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 #590 card?
It is card #590 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing J.R. Richard 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.