1979 Topps #595 Phil Niekro
About Phil Niekro
Niekro put himself forward for the Braves' managing job after the 1977 season. Atlanta hired Bobby Cox, and Niekro went 19-18 with a 2.88 ERA in 1978. He pitched 334 1/3 innings in 44 appearances. Topps assigned his 1979 Braves card #595.
Phil Niekro, the son of an Ohio coal miner who taught him the knuckleball in the backyard, signed with the Milwaukee Braves organization in 1959 and reached the majors on April 15, 1964, after spending the 1963 season in the Army. The Sporting News first put his nickname, Knucksie, in print in 1969. That one pitch carried him through 24 major-league seasons, nearly all of them with the Braves from 1964 through 1983 plus a 1987 return, with later stops in New York, Cleveland and Toronto. He finished 318-274 with a 3.35 ERA and 3,342 strikeouts. He made five All-Star teams, won five Gold Gloves, led the National League in wins twice, in 1974 and 1979, and led the major leagues in ERA at 1.87 in 1967. On August 5, 1973, he no-hit the San Diego Padres for the Braves' first no-hitter since the move to Atlanta. At 46, on October 6, 1985, he shut out Toronto for career win number 300, and he is still the only knuckleballer to reach 300. He and younger brother Joe won 539 games between them, the most by any pair of brothers. The Hall of Fame elected him in 1997, his fifth year on the ballot, and he died in December 2020 at 81.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 356 | 1 | 81 | 128 | 67 | 34 | 23 | 22 | 0 |
| SGC | 29 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 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: #302 Atlanta Braves / Bobby Cox
More Atlanta Braves cards:
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- #39 Dale Murphy
- #85 Gary Matthews
- #105 Rick Camp
- #132 Rowland Office
- #156 Buddy Solomon
- #184 Darrel Chaney
- #222 Bob Beall
- #245 Jeff Burroughs
- #257 Adrian Devine
- #296 Preston Hanna
- #331 Mickey Mahler
- #344 Jerry Royster
- #363 Craig Skok
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #595 card?
It is card #595 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Phil Niekro of the Atlanta Braves.
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.