1966 Topps #304 John Herrnstein
About John Herrnstein
#304 is a fourth-series card, his fourth Topps appearance. It pictures a Phillie who was no longer a Phillie. Herrnstein tied for the club lead with four Grapefruit League home runs and singled home the winning run in the twelfth inning of the opener at St. Louis, but he was one for ten and quickly back on the bench. On April 21 Philadelphia sent him to the Cubs with Adolfo Phillips and Ferguson Jenkins for Larry Jackson and Bob Buhl, one of the worst trades the club ever made. Chicago gave him three starts at first base while Ernie Banks slumped, then dealt him to Atlanta on May 29 for Marty Keough; he was done in the majors by July 7.
John Ellett Herrnstein (March 31, 1938 - October 3, 2017) was a left-handed first baseman and outfielder who played five major league seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves between 1962 and 1966. Born in Hampton, Virginia and raised in Chillicothe, Ohio, he was first-team all-state in baseball and football at Chillicothe High School, which in 1993 made him one of the original 16 inductees into its sports hall of fame. He chose the University of Michigan over Ohio State and became the third generation of Herrnsteins to play Wolverine football; he rushed for 475 yards and seven touchdowns as a sophomore fullback and was elected captain, but a knee torn up in the third game of 1958 ended his football career. The Phillies signed him that December, in his hospital bed, for a $35,000 bonus, and he climbed through Des Moines, Williamsport, Chattanooga and Buffalo before debuting in September 1962. His best year was 1964, when he made 61 starts at first base for the club that led the National League into the final two weeks. He finished at .220 with 8 home runs and 34 RBIs in 239 games, then built a long career in investments and banking.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 186 | 3 | 25 | 91 | 45 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-09-04. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted. Where SGC registers no separate row for a variation state, its slabs of that card are listed under the base state.
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Related cards
Team card: #463 Philadelphia Phillies
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- #52 Power Plus
- #80 Richie Allen
- #104 Alex Johnson
- #121 Ray Herbert
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- #170 Cookie Rojas
- #202 Clay Dalrymple
- #230 Johnny Callison
- #254 Phillies 1966 Rookie Stars
- #284 Bobby Wine
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- #359 Johnny Briggs
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1966 Topps #304 card?
It is card #304 of the 598-card 1966 Topps Baseball set, picturing John Herrnstein of the Philadelphia Phillies.
How many cards are in the 1966 Topps Baseball set?
598 cards, tracked as 613 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 598 with no gaps and no number used twice, and 14 cards carry catalogued print variations - five checklists, the trade and sold statement backs, the three-state #43 Don Landrum, three team-card dot pairs and the #161 Jerry Lumpe white streak - that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, 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 2026-10-11.