1979 Topps #24 Paul Molitor
About Paul Molitor
Molitor batted .322 in 1979, sixth in the American League, as the Brewers won 95 games and finished second to Baltimore in the AL East. He played 122 games at second base beside Robin Yount, and general manager Harry Dalton said he had the middle of the infield set for quite a while. That winter Molitor and his agent, Ron Simon, negotiated a $210,000 contract. His 1979 Topps card, #24, is his first card to himself and lists him with Milwaukee.
Paul Molitor played second base, shortstop, third base and the outfield for the Milwaukee Brewers before settling in as a designated hitter, and he finished 21 seasons with 3,319 hits and a .306 average. A University of Minnesota All-American shortstop from St. Paul, he went third overall in the 1977 draft. Injuries cost him nearly 500 games, and in 1984 he became the first position player to undergo Tommy John surgery. He led the American League with 136 runs in 1982, when the Brewers lost the World Series to St. Louis in seven games. In 1987 he hit in 39 straight games. Signing with Toronto as a free agent after 1992, he led the league with 211 hits in 1993. He was World Series MVP that fall, batting .500 against Philadelphia. He joined his hometown Twins in 1996 and led the league with 225 hits at age 40. That September 16 he reached 3,000 hits with a triple, the first player to do so. A seven-time All-Star, he batted .368 in postseason play, the best career mark among players with 100 at-bats. He managed the Twins from 2015 to 2018 and was AL Manager of the Year in 2017. The Hall of Fame elected him in 2004, his first year of eligibility, and his plaque shows a Brewers cap.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 1,726 | 4 | 135 | 605 | 338 | 263 | 205 | 176 | 0 |
| SGC | 295 | 0 | 4 | 53 | 69 | 70 | 43 | 55 | 1 |
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: #577 Milwaukee Brewers / George Bamberger
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- #51 Ray Fosse
- #95 Robin Yount
- #108 Eduardo Rodriguez
- #133 Bill Castro
- #154 Jim Gantner
- #180 Larry Hisle
- #213 Bill Travers
- #243 Buck Martinez
- #265 Don Money
- #303 Lary Sorensen
- #325 Cecil Cooper
- #357 Jerry Augustine
- #376 Gorman Thomas
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #24 card?
It is card #24 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Paul Molitor of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Is #24 Paul Molitor's rookie card?
No. Paul Molitor's rookie card is in the 1978 Topps set. #24 is one of this set's major keys because it is hard to find in top condition.
What are the key cards in the 1979 Topps set?
The top cards of the set are the #116 Ozzie Smith rookie, which PSA calls the set's most desirable single, and #369 Bump Wills, printed with a Rangers or a Blue Jays team banner. The other major keys are #24 Paul Molitor, #30 Dave Winfield and #650 Pete Rose, all hard to find in top condition, and three commons that are keys for the same reason: #11 Marc Hill (a smudge in the team banner on almost every copy), #564 Jerry Turner (a print line along the right border) and #619 Ken Landreaux (hard to find with a full right border).
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.