1979 Topps #702 Red Sox Prospects - Joel Finch / Garry Hancock / Allen Ripley
On this card: Joel Finch, Garry Hancock, Allen Ripley
About this card
Cards #701-726 are the 26 three-player Prospects cards, one per club - AL clubs first, each league in alphabetical order by city - with black-and-white player photos on the front. A Prospects card is a rookie card for the players on it who had no earlier Topps flagship card. On #703, #705, #712, #718 and #723, one or two of the players never reached the major leagues.
The story on this card
At Triple-A Pawtucket in 1978, Finch posted an 11-8 record and a 3.18 ERA. His 1979 Topps rookie card, #702, was the Red Sox Prospects trio shared with Garry Hancock and Allen Ripley, all listed with Boston. Finch was 7-1 with a 2.64 ERA when Boston called him up in June 1979. Red Sox rookie Joel Finch pitched 5 scoreless innings in his June 12, 1979 debut at Kansas City. He allowed 2 singles and 1 walk after entering with nobody out in the third inning.
Hancock spent 1979 at Pawtucket, where his .325 average won the International League batting title. Topps placed him with fellow Boston Red Sox prospects Joel Finch and Allen Ripley on #702, a rookie card for all three. He hit 15 home runs and drove in 58 runs for Pawtucket. Garry Hancock, an Athletics reserve outfielder and first baseman, also pitched in 1984. His single major league mound appearance lasted 1 1/3 innings, and he allowed no earned runs.
Ripley's rookie card was the Boston Red Sox Prospects issue, #702 in 1979 Topps, alongside Joel Finch and Garry Hancock. He had made 11 starts for Boston in 1978. In 1979, he worked mostly in relief, making 3 starts in 16 appearances; at Triple-A Pawtucket, he posted a 1.40 ERA. Red Sox pitcher Allen Ripley earned his only major-league save on July 7, 1979, working the final 3 innings of Boston's 10-8 win at Seattle and allowing 1 run.
Sources: Wikipedia (Garry Hancock) · Wikipedia (Allen Ripley) · SABR BioProject (Joel Finch) · SABR BioProject (Garry Hancock) · MiLB.com · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 136 | 23 | 79 | 26 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 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: #214 Boston Red Sox / Don Zimmer
More Boston Red Sox cards:
- #2 1978 Home Run Leaders
- #3 1978 RBI Leaders
- #12 Dick Drago
- #40 Dennis Eckersley
- #63 Jack Brohamer
- #83 Fred Kendall
- #106 Frank Duffy
- #125 Rick Burleson
- #155 Dwight Evans
- #185 Mike Torrez
- #270 Butch Hobson
- #320 Carl Yastrzemski
- #349 Jim Wright
- #375 Bill Campbell
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #702 card?
It is card #702 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Joel Finch, Garry Hancock and Allen Ripley. Cards #701-726 are the 26 three-player Prospects cards, one per club - AL clubs first, each league in alphabetical order by city - with black-and-white player photos on the front. A Prospects card is a rookie card for the players on it who had no earlier Topps flagship card. On #703, #705, #712, #718 and #723, one or two of the players never reached the major leagues.
Is 1979 Topps #702 a rookie card?
Yes - #702 is a rookie card for every player pictured on it: Joel Finch, Garry Hancock and Allen Ripley.
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.