1974 Topps San Francisco Giants Team Set

I finally got a little time to sort through my 1975-2014 San Francisco Giants Team Sets I won eBay.  I am extremely happy with the purchase although all years were not quite complete.  For example in the 1975 Topps Giants Team Set the Rookie Catchers-Outfielders (Gary Carter, Marc Hill, Danny Meyer, Leon Roberts) was not included as any other cards that featured players from other teams on Rookie cards, League Leader cards, etc.  I had to purchase additional folders and page protectors for my new cards and still need to buy more to completely get them protected which will probably cost me more than the purchase of all the cards!

Let’s take a look at some of the highlights from the 1974 team set –

#30 Bobby Bonds – The last regular issue Topps card for Bobby Bonds in a San Francisco Giants uniform.  He was signed by the Giants as an amateur free agent in 1964 and made his MLB debut with the Giants on June 25, 1968.  Bobby played for the Giants (1968-1974), New York Yankees (1975), California Angels (1976-1977), Chicago White Sox (1978), Texas Rangers (1978), Cleveland Indians (1979), St. Louis Cardinals (1980) and the Chicago Cubs (1981).  In 1973, he played in 160 games with a batting average of .283, 39 HR’s, 96 RBI’s and 43 SB’s.  He was voted to the 1973 All-Star team (All-Star game MVP), won a Gold Glove and finished 3rd in the MVP race.  During his Giants career he played in 1,014 games with a batting average .273, 186 HR’s, 552 RBI’s and 263 SB’s.

#54 Elias Sosa – Elias began his 12 year career in San Francisco.  He was signed by the Giants as an amateur free agent in 1968 and made his MLB debut with the Giants on September 8, 1972.  Gary played for the Giants (1972-1974), St. Louis Cardinals (1975), Atlanta Braves (1975-1976), Los Angeles Dodgers (1976-1977), Oakland Athletics (1978), Montreal Expos (1979-1981), Detroit Tigers (1982) and the San Diego Padres (1983).  In 1973, he finished with 10 wins and 4 losses, 18 saves and had a 3.28 ERA in 107 innings pitched.  He finished T-3rd in the 1973 National League Rookie of the Year voting.

#104 Ron Bryant – Ron was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 22nd round of the 1965 amateur draft and made his MLB debut with the Giants on September 29, 1967.  He played for the Giants (1967, 1969-1974) and the St. Louis Cardinals (1975).  In 1973, he finished with 24 wins and 12 losses and had a 3.53 ERA in 270 innings pitched.  He finished 3rd in the 1973 National League Cy Young voting and 26th in the Most Valuable Player voting.

#129 Chris Speier – Chris was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 1st round (2nd overall pick) of the 1970 amateur draft and made his MLB debut with the Giants on April 7, 1971.   He played for the Giants (1971-1977, 1987-1989), Montreal Expos (1977-1984), St. Louis Cardinals (1984), Minnesota Twins (1984) and Chicago Cubs (1985-1986).  In 1973, he played in 153 games with a batting average of .249, 11 HR’s, 71 RBI’s and 4 SB’s.  He was voted to the 1973 All-Star team.

#178 Garry Maddox – Garry was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 2nd round of the 1968 amateur draft and made his MLB debut with the Giants on April 25, 1972.  He did not play in 1969 or 1970 due to his service in the United States Army.  Garry played for the Giants (1972-1975) and Philadelphia Phillies (1975-1986).  In 1973, he played in 144 games with a batting average of .319, 11 HR’s, 76 RBI’s and 24 SB’s.  Garry finished 28th in the Most Valuable Player voting.

#305 Tito Fuentes – Tito was signed by the San Francisco Giants as an amateur in 1962 and made his MLB debut with the Giants on August 18, 1965.  He played for the Giants (1965-1967, 1969-1974), San Diego Padres (1975-1976), Detroit Tigers (1977) and Oakland Athletics (1978).  In 1973, he played in 160 games with a batting average of .277, 6 HR’s, 63 RBI’s and 12 SB’s.  Tito finished 20th in the Most Valuable Player voting.

#330 Juan Marichal – The last regular issue Topps card for Juan Marichal in a San Francisco Giants uniform.  He was signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent in 1957 and made his MLB debut with the Giants on July 19, 1960.  Juan played for the Giants (1960-1973), Boston Red Sox (1974) and Los Angeles Dodgers (1975). In 1973, he finished with 11 wins and 15 losses and had a 3.82 ERA in 207.3 innings pitched.  During his Giants career he had 238 wins and 140 losses and had 2.84 ERA in 3,443.6 innings pitched.  Juan Marichal is a member of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.

#386 Gary Matthews – Gary was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 1st round (17th overall) of the 1968 amateur draft and made his MLB debut with the Giants on September 6, 1972.    He played for the Giants (1972-1976), Atlanta Falcons (1977-1980), Philadelphia Phillies (1981-1983), Chicago Cubs (1984-1987) and Seattle Mariners (1977).  In 1973, he played in 148 games with a batting average of .300, 12 HR’s, 58 RBI’s and 17 SB’s.  Gary won the 1973 National League Rookie of the Year Award.

Missing cards from my 1974 Topps San Francisco Giants Team Set:

#205 1973 Victory Leaders (Wilbur Wood / Ron Bryant)
#335 All-Star Shortstops (Bert Campaneris / Chris Speier)
#598 1974 Rookie Outfielders (Dave Augustine, Ken Griffey, Steve Ontiveros, Jim Tyrone)
#599 1974 Rookie Pitchers (Ron Diorio, Dave Freisleben, Frank Riccelli, Greg Shanahan)
#608 1974 Rookie Pitchers (Bob Apodaco, Dick Baney, John D’Acquisto, Mike Wallace)

Stay tuned for the 1975 Topps San Francisco Giants Team Set.