1967 Topps #25 Elston Howard
About Elston Howard
Howard opened 1967 as Jake Gibbs's backup and hit .196 in 66 games for New York, his swing further hampered by a June foul ball off his finger. On August 3 the Yankees traded him to the pennant-chasing Red Sox for Pete Magrini and a player later named as Ron Klimkowski; he batted only .147 in Boston, but his game-calling steadied a young staff through the Impossible Dream pennant. On August 27 he took Jose Tartabull's high throw and swipe-tagged Ken Berry to end a one-run win over Chicago. His 1967 Topps #25 carries him with the Yankees; it is a first-series card.
Elston Howard was born February 23, 1929, in St. Louis and signed out of Vashon High School with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League in 1948. The New York Yankees bought his contract in July 1950; Army service during the Korean War cost him two seasons, and a Most Valuable Player year at Triple-A Toronto in 1954 finished his apprenticeship. On April 14, 1955, he became the first Black player to appear for the Yankees. Casey Stengel used him as a spare catcher, outfielder and first baseman behind Yogi Berra, but he took over the majority of the catching in 1960 and grew into one of the American League's finest receivers, winning Gold Gloves in 1963 and 1964. The 1963 season brought him the league's Most Valuable Player Award, the first won by a Black player in the American League. He was picked for nine straight All-Star teams from 1957 through 1965, appeared in ten World Series - nine with New York and a last one with Boston - and won four championships as a player. He finished up with the Red Sox in 1968, then came back to coach first base for the Yankees as the American League's first Black coach. He died in 1980 at 51.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 918 | 9 | 110 | 432 | 179 | 80 | 45 | 63 | 0 |
| SGC | 97 | 0 | 4 | 27 | 29 | 15 | 7 | 14 | 1 |
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. PSA registers a row for every one of the 624 states; SGC lists no separate row for the #149 white-streak state.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Shop 1967 Topps cards Live auctions Buy It Now on eBay Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
Team card: #131 New York Yankees
More New York Yankees cards:
- #5 Whitey Ford
- #77 Dooley Womack
- #93 Yankees 1967 Rookie Stars
- #150 Mickey Mantle
- #169 Horace Clarke
- #201 Hal Reniff
- #225 Mel Stottlemyre
- #257 Charley Smith
- #277 Steve Whitaker
- #289 Tom Tresh
- #308 Al Downing
- #340 Joe Pepitone
- #358 Ruben Amaro
- #375 Jake Gibbs
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1967 Topps #25 card?
It is card #25 of the 609-card 1967 Topps Baseball set, picturing Elston Howard of the New York Yankees.
How many cards are in the 1967 Topps Baseball set?
609 cards, tracked as 624 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 609 without a gap - no number was skipped and none was used twice - and 15 cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, Baseball Almanac, BaseballCardPedia, 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 2026-10-12.