1979 Topps #87 Pete Falcone
About Pete Falcone
Falcone's #87 still shows him with the Cardinals. His 1978 began in the rotation at 0-5 with a 6.46 ERA, after which he was used as a reliever and spot starter. He finished at 2-7 with a 5.76 ERA over 19 games. With the Mets in 1979 he lost his first five decisions, then won his first on June 25 with a five-hit shutout of Pittsburgh.
Pete Falcone was a left-handed starter from Brooklyn who attended Lafayette High School, the same school as Sandy Koufax. The Giants made him the third overall pick of the June 1973 secondary draft, and he debuted on April 13, 1975 with a win over the Braves, finishing 12-11 with a 4.17 ERA. St. Louis acquired him for Gold Glove third baseman Ken Reitz in December 1975, and he went 12-16 with a 3.23 ERA and nine complete games in 1976. The Mets got him from the Cardinals for Tom Grieve and Kim Seaman in December 1978; he went 26-37 in New York. On May 1, 1980 he tied a major league record by striking out the first six Phillies he faced. He pitched for Atlanta in 1983 and 1984, finishing with a 70-90 record and a 4.07 ERA, then played in Italy in 1990, going 18-4 with a 1.19 ERA for Rimini.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 63 | 6 | 38 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #87 card?
It is card #87 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Pete Falcone of the St. Louis Cardinals.
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.