1979 Topps #291 Tom Griffin
About Tom Griffin
Griffin made 4 starts and pitched 56 innings for California in 1978. His 1979 Topps card, #291, still identified him with the Angels. After his release, he signed with San Francisco on April 4, 1979, and made 59 appearances with 2 saves that season.
Thomas James Griffin was a right-handed pitcher who spent 14 seasons in the majors, from 1969 to 1982, with the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, California Angels, San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates. A Los Angeles native out of Grant High School, where he also played quarterback, he was the Astros' first-round pick, fourth overall, in the January 1966 draft. In 1974 Griffin went 14-10 with a 3.54 ERA and a career-high eight complete games for Houston, including a one-hitter against Pittsburgh on May 7 that the Astros won 2-1 despite three errors in the field. He worked as both a starter and reliever over his career, finishing with 77 wins, 94 losses and 1,054 strikeouts across 401 games. He closed out his playing days with Pittsburgh in 1982, and his final big-league appearance came against the Astros, the club that had drafted him.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 69 | 3 | 37 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 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: #424 California Angels / Jim Fregosi
More California Angels cards:
- #6 1978 Strikeout Leaders
- #18 Tony Solaita
- #48 Merv Rettenmund
- #71 Brian Downing
- #115 Nolan Ryan
- #212 Carney Lansford
- #267 Joe Rudi
- #313 Dyar Miller
- #322 Danny Goodwin
- #339 Ron Jackson
- #368 Don Aase
- #402 Paul Hartzell
- #417 All-Time Record Holders: Strikeouts
- #453 Chris Knapp
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #291 card?
It is card #291 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Tom Griffin of the California Angels.
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.