1979 Topps #49 Vern Ruhle
About Vern Ruhle
Ruhle's #49 card pictures him with the Astros. In 1979 he went 2-6 with a 4.07 ERA over 66 1/3 innings for Houston. Ten of his 13 appearances were starts, and two of those were complete-game shutouts. He struck out 33 batters.
Vern Ruhle was a right-handed pitcher who worked 13 major league seasons, 1974 to 1986, mainly for the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros. A 17th-round pick from Olivet College in 1972, he debuted for Detroit in September 1974 and joined the rotation in 1975. In 1980 he went 12-4 and started Game Four of the NLCS against Philadelphia, and in 1981 he lost a 2-1 complete game to Fernando Valenzuela in the division series. He moved to the bullpen in 1983 and 1984, then pitched for Cleveland and California, reaching the 1986 ALCS. He retired at 67-88 with a 3.73 ERA and 582 strikeouts, and was a pitching coach for the Astros, Phillies, Mets and Reds in nine of the ten seasons from 1997 to 2006. He died in Houston on January 20, 2007, after a yearlong battle with multiple myeloma.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 43 | 6 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 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: #381 Houston Astros / Bill Virdon
More Houston Astros cards:
- #6 1978 Strikeout Leaders
- #14 Rafael Landestoy
- #68 Joe Niekro
- #107 Jesus Alou
- #130 Bob Watson
- #139 Luis Pujols
- #158 Joe Sambito
- #187 Mark Lemongello
- #203 J.R. Richard
- #232 Jimmy Sexton
- #268 Julio Gonzalez
- #289 Jose Cruz
- #306 Floyd Bannister
- #327 Art Howe
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #49 card?
It is card #49 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Vern Ruhle of the Houston Astros.
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.