1970 Topps #149 Billy Champion
About Billy Champion
Champion's rookie card is 1970 Topps #149, from the second series, in a Phillies uniform. In 1969 he worked 23 games for Philadelphia, 20 of them as a starter. He went 5-10 with a 5.01 ERA and 70 strikeouts. In 1970 he made 7 appearances, one of them a start, and went 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA.
Bill Champion was a right-handed pitcher, 6 ft 4 in, who worked 202 major-league games for the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers between 1969 and 1976. He came from Shelby, North Carolina, where he helped Shelby High win the 1964 Western North Carolina championship. The Phillies picked him in the third round, 58th overall, in 1965, and he led his minor league in ERA twice, with Huron in the Northern League in 1965 and Tidewater in the Carolina League in 1968. He debuted in June 1969. On October 31, 1972, Philadelphia sent him with Don Money and John Vukovich to Milwaukee for Jim Lonborg, Ken Brett, Ken Sanders and Earl Stephenson. He finished his career 34-50 with a 4.69 ERA, later scouted for the Cubs, coached pitchers for the Greenville Braves and died in Shelby in 2017.
Sources: Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 191 | 5 | 37 | 118 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| SGC | 7 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 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 card: #436 Philadelphia Phillies
More Philadelphia Phillies cards:
- #6 Grant Jackson
- #24 Dick Selma
- #28 Billy Wilson
- #56 Phillies 1970 Rookie Stars
- #90 Tim McCarver
- #125 Deron Johnson
- #168 Dave Watkins
- #186 Rick Joseph
- #218 Ron Stone
- #252 Lowell Palmer
- #270 Chris Short
- #288 Larry Hisle
- #302 Jeff James
- #324 Tony Taylor
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1970 Topps #149 card?
It is card #149 of the 720-card 1970 Topps Baseball set, picturing Billy Champion of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Is 1970 Topps #149 a rookie card?
Yes - #149 is the 1970 Topps rookie card of Billy Champion.
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.