1979 Topps #493 Larry Christenson
About Larry Christenson
Injuries shaped Christenson's 1979. He opened on the disabled list with elbow problems, then broke his collarbone in June on a charity bicycle ride and missed several weeks. He made 19 appearances and went 5-10 with a 4.50 ERA. Card #493 shows him with the Phillies. A proposed deal at the 1979 Winter Meetings in Toronto that would have sent him, Tug McGraw and Bake McBride to Texas for Sparky Lyle and Johnny Grubb collapsed over Lyle's deferred money.
Larry Christenson was a right-handed starter who spent his entire 11-year career, 1973 to 1983, with the Philadelphia Phillies and won the 1980 World Series with them. The third overall pick in the 1972 draft, one day after graduating from Marysville High School in Washington, he debuted on April 13, 1973 at 19, the youngest player in the majors, with a complete-game 7-1 win over the Mets. He stayed for good in 1975 and was part of the Phillies teams that won three straight NL East titles from 1976 to 1978. Elbow trouble and surgeries in 1980 and 1983 cut into his later years. He was released on his 30th birthday, November 10, 1983. As a hitter he had 11 home runs, tied with Rick Wise for the most by a Phillies pitcher. He finished 83-71 with a 3.79 ERA, then worked in institutional investing. He died on August 28, 2026.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 58 | 11 | 32 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 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: #112 Philadelphia Phillies / Danny Ozark
More Philadelphia Phillies cards:
- #25 Steve Carlton
- #52 Randy Lerch
- #90 Bob Boone
- #118 Bud Harrelson
- #136 Jim Kaat
- #161 Barry Foote
- #177 Ron Reed
- #210 Larry Bowa
- #271 Rawly Eastwick
- #297 Ted Sizemore
- #317 Jose Cardenal
- #345 Tug McGraw
- #382 Jerry Martin
- #419 Dick Ruthven
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #493 card?
It is card #493 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Larry Christenson of the Philadelphia Phillies.
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.