1970 Topps #702 A.L. Rookie Stars - Bob Johnson / Ron Klimkowski / Bill Zepp
On this card: Bob Johnson, Ron Klimkowski, Bill Zepp
About this card
This is one of the forty Rookie Stars cards, each showing two or three rookies from one club; #654 (National League) and #702 (American League) each mix three clubs. A Rookie Stars card is a rookie card for the players on it who had no earlier Topps flagship card - on #36, #74, #109, #154, #267, #317, #429, #573, #669 and #683 one of them had already appeared on one, and the rookie-card answer on each card names the players it counts for.
The story on this card
Kansas City used Johnson in 40 games in 1970, 26 of them starts, and he went 8-13 with a 3.07 ERA. He struck out 206 in 214 innings and saved four games. Topps put him on #702, a Rookie Stars card from the seventh series, a high number, printed with the Royals. Ron Klimkowski of the Yankees and Bill Zepp of the Twins share it, and it is the rookie card for all three men. Right-hander who pitched for the Mets, Royals, Pirates, Indians and Braves between 1969 and 1977, going 28-34 with a 3.48 ERA, and a member of the 1971 World Series champion Pirates.
Klimkowski's debut had come on September 15, 1969, when he came on in the seventh inning against Detroit and pitched three innings in a 2-1 Yankee loss. In 1970 he appeared in 45 games, going 6-7 with a 2.65 ERA and a save. His Rookie Stars card, #702 in the seventh series, is a high number card shared with Bob Johnson and Bill Zepp, each on his rookie card; Klimkowski is printed with the Yankees, Johnson with the Royals and Zepp with the Twins. Ron Klimkowski was a Jersey City-born junkball right-hander who pitched for the Yankees and Athletics from 1969 to 1972, going 8-12 with a 2.90 ERA in 90 games.
Zepp threw 151 innings in 1970 with 64 strikeouts and hit nine batters, third most in the American League. His #702 is the Rookie Stars card, a high number from the seventh series, shared with Bob Johnson (printed as a Royals player) and Ron Klimkowski (Yankees). Zepp, printed with the Twins, has his rookie card here, as do both others. Bill Zepp was a right-handed pitcher from Detroit who went 9-4 with a 3.22 ERA for the 1970 Twins, then refused to re-sign unless traded to his hometown Tigers. An arm injury ended his career in 1971 with a 10-5 record.
Sources: Wikipedia (Bob Johnson (pitcher)) · Wikipedia (Ron Klimkowski) · Wikipedia (Bill Zepp) · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 239 | 0 | 22 | 124 | 55 | 21 | 12 | 3 | 2 |
| SGC | 16 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-10-19. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted.
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Related cards
Team cards: #422 Kansas City Royals, #399 New York Yankees, #534 Minnesota Twins
More Kansas City Royals cards:
More New York Yankees cards:
- #23 Bill Robinson
- #43 Jack Aker
- #70 1969 American League Pitching Leaders
- #82 Frank Fernandez
- #100 Mel Stottlemyre
- #114 Gene Michael
More Minnesota Twins cards:
- #25 Cesar Tovar
- #47 Bob Miller
- #62 1969 American League Batting Leaders
- #64 1969 American League RBI Leaders
- #66 1969 American League Home Run Leaders
- #70 1969 American League Pitching Leaders
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1970 Topps #702 card?
It is card #702 of the 720-card 1970 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bob Johnson, Ron Klimkowski and Bill Zepp. This is one of the forty Rookie Stars cards, each showing two or three rookies from one club; #654 (National League) and #702 (American League) each mix three clubs. A Rookie Stars card is a rookie card for the players on it who had no earlier Topps flagship card - on #36, #74, #109, #154, #267, #317, #429, #573, #669 and #683 one of them had already appeared on one, and the rookie-card answer on each card names the players it counts for.
Is 1970 Topps #702 a rookie card?
Yes - #702 is a rookie card for every player pictured on it: Bob Johnson, Ron Klimkowski and Bill Zepp.
Why is #702 harder to find?
It is a high number card from the seventh and last series, #634-720 - the high numbers, and the toughest series of the set to find.
How many cards are in the 1970 Topps Baseball set?
720 cards, tracked as 726 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 720 with none skipped, issued in seven series - #1-132, #133-263, #264-372, #373-459, #460-546, #547-633 and the high numbers, #634-720; 6 cards, all of them checklists, carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, BaseballCardPedia, 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 2026-10-25.