1979 Topps #523 John Milner
About John Milner
Milner hit .276 with 16 home runs and 60 RBI, backing up Willie Stargell at first and Bill Robinson in left. His walk-off grand slam off Tug McGraw beat the Phillies 12-8 in August and put Pittsburgh back in first place. He went hitless in nine NLCS at-bats against Cincinnati, then went 3-for-9 as the Pirates beat Baltimore in seven games. His Pirates card is #523.
John Milner was a left-handed first baseman and outfielder who played from 1971 to 1982 for the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates and Montreal Expos. The Mets drafted him in the 14th round in 1968 out of South Fulton High School in East Point, Georgia, and he took the nickname "The Hammer" from his admiration for Hank Aaron. He was a dead-pull hitter with fast wrists, and he reached the postseason with the 1973 Mets, the 1979 world champion Pirates and the 1981 Expos. Over 1,215 games he hit 131 home runs with a .249 average, and he drew 504 walks against 473 strikeouts. Recurring sore hamstrings cost him games through much of his career. From 1978 he was a Pirate and Expo, mostly a part-time starter and pinch hitter. His testimony at the 1985 Pittsburgh drug trials described cocaine and amphetamine use in major league clubhouses. He died in East Point on January 4, 2000.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 80 | 9 | 48 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 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: #244 Pittsburgh Pirates / Chuck Tanner
More Pittsburgh Pirates cards:
- #1 1978 Batting Leaders
- #4 1978 Stolen Base Leaders
- #28 Steve Brye
- #55 Willie Stargell
- #70 John Candelaria
- #92 Jim Bibby
- #117 Grant Jackson
- #147 Dave Hamilton
- #165 Frank Taveras
- #189 Eddie Whitson
- #208 Clarence Gaston
- #223 Kent Tekulve
- #264 Don Robinson
- #286 Duffy Dyer
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #523 card?
It is card #523 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing John Milner of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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.