1952 Topps #82 Duane Pillette PSA NM+ 7.5

1952 Topps #82 Duane Pillette PSA 7.5 - A Standout Grade for a St. Louis Brown

The 1952 Topps #82 Duane Pillette features the right-hander during his years with the St. Louis Browns. Pillette had reached the majors with the Yankees before moving to St. Louis, where increased opportunity allowed him to become a regular member of the Browns’ pitching staff during the franchise’s final years in Missouri.

What immediately separates this example is the grade. At PSA NM+ 7.5, this is an exceptionally strong card within the set and one of the higher-graded examples we have encountered thus far in this complete-set run. For a card normally viewed as a supporting piece of the checklist, preservation at the 7.5 level gives #82 an entirely different presence.

Pillette went on to pitch parts of eight Major League seasons, appearing for the Yankees, Browns, Orioles, and Phillies. His career also carries an interesting family connection: his father, Herman Pillette, pitched in the majors during the 1910s and 1920s, making them one of baseball’s father-son pitching families. The 1952 Topps Duane Pillette PSA 7.5 combines that baseball lineage with something particularly important to this set—a remarkably high-grade example of one of its tougher everyday names.