1958 Topps #78 Ernie Johnson
About Ernie Johnson
Johnson's 1958 Topps card is #78, from Series One, with the Milwaukee Braves, and it comes in both the common white lettering and a yellow-name printing with his name in yellow instead of white. He pitched just 15 games that season, going 3-1 with an 8.10 ERA, as Milwaukee headed back to the World Series after his 1957 title.
Ernie Johnson, born in Brattleboro, Vermont, in 1924, was a right-handed reliever who pitched from 1950 to 1959, mostly for the Boston and Milwaukee Braves. A Marine who took part in the Okinawa invasion, he came back to baseball and went 15-4 for the 1951 Milwaukee Brewers before sticking with the Braves in 1952. His best pitch was a palmball that induced ground balls. He was a bullpen mainstay when the club moved to Milwaukee, posting a 2.67 ERA in 1953, and he was on the 1957 world champions, pitching seven innings in three Series games against the Yankees. He finished with a 40-23 record, 19 saves and a 3.77 ERA in 273 games, ending with Baltimore in 1959. He then became a Braves broadcaster from 1962 to 1999, joined the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame in 2014. He died in 2011.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · BaseballCardPedia
Variations & how to tell them apart
Yellow Name (YN) #78
Nineteen Series 1/early-2 cards exist with the player name printed in yellow instead of white, including stars Aaron (#30), Kaline (#70) and McDougald (#20).
- #78 — base card: the lettering is printed in WHITE — the base, more common version. (this page)
- #78B — Yellow Name: the player name is printed in YELLOW — the scarcer version, roughly 2-2.5x tougher than white per PSA populations. — see the card page
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 259 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 76 | 65 | 42 | 50 | 1 |
| SGC | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-07-09. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8). PSA counts are straight-graded (the +/Q qualifier rows are excluded).
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Related cards
More Ernie Johnson in this set: #78B Yellow Name
More Milwaukee Braves cards:
- #10 Lou Burdette
- #17 Felix Mantilla
- #30 Hank Aaron
- #30B Hank Aaron (Yellow Name)
- #51 Del Rice
- #78B Ernie Johnson (Yellow Name)
- #83 Bob Hazle
- #110 Johnny Logan
- #117 Frank Torre
- #140 Wes Covington
- #147 Don McMahon
- #164 Bob Taylor
- #176 Bob Buhl
- #190 Red Schoendienst
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1958 Topps Ernie Johnson card?
It is card #78 of the 1958 Topps Baseball set - Topps' sixth flagship issue: 494 cards numbered 1-495 (#145 was never issued), with die-cut player photos on solid-color backgrounds and the first team logos on Topps fronts. It pictures Ernie Johnson, Milwaukee Braves.
Does the 1958 Topps Ernie Johnson #78 have a yellow variation?
Yes - #78 is one of the 33 cards that also exist with yellow lettering. This page covers the common white-letter version; the yellow version runs roughly 2-2.5x scarcer per PSA population data.
How many graded copies of the 1958 Topps Ernie Johnson #78 are there?
PSA has graded 259 copies and SGC 20 as of the 2026-07-09 snapshot. Population is a scarcity guide, not a price - high-grade 1958s are notoriously tough because of the set's chronic centering and print-quality issues.
How many cards are in the 1958 Topps set?
494 issued cards, numbered 1-495 - #145 (Ed Bouchee) was pulled before release and never issued, leaving a permanent gap. The PSA master census counts 534 items: the 494 base cards plus 33 yellow-letter variations, 4 numerical checklist-back team cards, the 'Herrer' #433 error, and 2 unnumbered ad cards.
Sources: PSA CardFacts, Beckett, BaseballCardPedia, Baseball-Reference, PSA & SGC population reports, and hobby press-sheet research (Topps Archives, 2026). Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-09-30.