1979 Topps #251 Jack Morris
About Jack Morris
The 1979 season began with Morris sent back to Evansville after spring training, and Triplets manager Jim Leyland predicted he would not be there in a month. He made his first start of the season for Detroit on May 13 and stayed in the rotation, going 17-7 with a 3.28 ERA that ranked fifth in the American League. Card #251 in the 1979 set gave him a Tigers card of his own, a year after he had shared his first Topps card with three other prospects.
Jack Morris was a right-handed starter who won more games than any other pitcher in the 1980s, 162 of his 254 career victories. A St. Paul native who pitched at Brigham Young, he spent 1977 through 1990 with the Detroit Tigers, where he learned the split-fingered fastball and became the ace of the 1984 World Series champions. On April 7, 1984 he no-hit the White Sox at Comiskey Park, and he won both of his World Series starts against San Diego that October. He signed with his hometown Twins for 1991 and pitched a ten-inning shutout in Game 7 of the World Series, a 1-0 win over Atlanta that earned him World Series MVP honors. Toronto won the title the next two years with him on the roster, and he made a record 14 consecutive Opening Day starts. He finished with 175 complete games, a 3.90 ERA and five All-Star selections, and later worked as a broadcaster. After falling short in 15 years on the writers' ballot, he was elected by the Modern Era Committee and inducted in 2018 alongside Alan Trammell.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 477 | 6 | 91 | 160 | 95 | 63 | 33 | 29 | 0 |
| SGC | 51 | 1 | 2 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 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: #66 Detroit Tigers / Les Moss
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- #33 Dave Rozema
- #80 Jason Thompson
- #93 Phil Mankowski
- #123 Lou Whitaker
- #151 John Hiller
- #176 Aurelio Rodriguez
- #196 Steve Kemp
- #217 Steve Dillard
- #231 Johnny Wockenfuss
- #272 Tim Corcoran
- #288 Milt Wilcox
- #316 Milt May
- #343 Ed Glynn
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #251 card?
It is card #251 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jack Morris of the Detroit Tigers.
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.