1970 Topps #488 J.C. Martin
About J.C. Martin
Card #488, a fifth-series issue, still shows Martin with the Mets, though the Cubs acquired him on March 29, 1970 for catcher Randy Bobb. He batted .156 in 40 games for Chicago, 36 of them behind the plate. The World Series bunt on which a thrown ball struck him on the wrist has its own 1970 Topps card, #308, in the World Series subset.
Joseph Clifton Martin went by his initials because both of his grandparents were named Joseph, and the Southern habit of using initials stuck. Born December 13, 1936, in Axton, Virginia, he signed with the Chicago White Sox as a first baseman before the 1956 season and debuted on September 10, 1959, too late in the year to be eligible for that fall's World Series. He went back to the minors in 1962 to learn catching under Les Moss. From 1963 he was Chicago's regular receiver, a left-handed hitter and right-handed thrower who caught the knuckleballs of Hoyt Wilhelm and Eddie Fisher. He caught Joe Horlen's no-hitter in 1967 and was traded to the New York Mets that November. There he backed up Jerry Grote and wound up at the center of a disputed bunt play in the World Series the Mets won in 1969. Three seasons with the Chicago Cubs closed out fourteen years, 908 games and a .222 average. He coached for the Cubs in 1974 and worked White Sox telecasts alongside Harry Caray in 1975.
Sources: SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 197 | 12 | 38 | 110 | 22 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 6 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1970 Topps #488 card?
It is card #488 of the 720-card 1970 Topps Baseball set, picturing J.C. Martin of the New York Mets.
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.