1968 Topps #83 John Stephenson
About John Stephenson
Stephenson's playing time shrank further in 1968, limited to two games for the Chicago Cubs without a hit in two at-bats, his lightest workload across a ten-year major league career that ran from 1964 to 1973. It was the second of his two seasons with the Cubs; he played for the San Francisco Giants the following year. The card, issued in the set's first print series, reflects his continued, if diminished, standing on Chicago's roster that season.
John Herman Stephenson, born April 13, 1941 in South Portsmouth, Kentucky, was a left-handed hitting catcher who threw right-handed and stood 5 feet 11 inches. Signed by the Mets organization in May 1963, he reached the majors the following year and spent ten seasons, 1964 through 1973, with the Mets, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants and California Angels, appearing in 451 games. His best offensive year came with the Angels in 1971, when he set career highs in games (98), hits (61) and RBI (25), and he followed it with a career-best .274 average in 1972. For his career he batted .216 with 214 hits, 37 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs and 93 RBI, working primarily as a catcher and pinch hitter. He holds a degree from William Carey College in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and after retiring following the 1973 season went on to coach extensively in the minor leagues and college baseball.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 356 | 18 | 123 | 160 | 29 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 14 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 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. Slabs of the yellow team-letter #49 and #66 are 1968 Milton Bradley game cards and are not counted here.
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Related cards
More Chicago Cubs cards:
- #5 National League 1967 Home Run Leaders
- #9 National League 1967 Pitching Leaders
- #11 National League 1967 Strikeout Leaders
- #13 Chuck Hartenstein
- #37 Billy Williams
- #60 Ken Holtzman
- #101 Glenn Beckert
- #119 Ted Savage
- #136 Randy Hundley
- #159 Don Kessinger
- #179 Bill Stoneman
- #184 Lou Johnson
- #202 Adolfo Phillips
- #219 Rob Gardner
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1968 Topps #83 card?
It is card #83 of the 598-card 1968 Topps Baseball set, picturing John Stephenson of the Chicago Cubs.
How many cards are in the 1968 Topps Baseball set?
598 cards, tracked as 606 collectible states. The numbers run from 1 to 598 without a gap and no printed number carries two different cards; eight cards - six of the seven checklists, #10 AL Pitching Leaders and #400 Mike McCormick - carry a catalogued print variation that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, BaseballCardPedia, Baseball Almanac, Beckett, 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.