1970 Topps #417 John Bateman
About John Bateman
Bateman was in a hospital bed two days before the 1970 opener, a kidney injury that Sporting News writer Ted Blackman turned into a quip about a pumpkin farm and Halloween. He recovered to catch 137 games for Montreal and hit 15 home runs with 68 RBI. His eight stolen bases led all major league catchers. Card #417, from the fourth series, shows him as an Expo.
John Alvin Bateman was a right-handed-hitting catcher, born July 21, 1940, at Fort Sill, the Army post at Lawton, Oklahoma, and raised by his aunt Jewel and her husband, Raymond Priest. After a letter-writing campaign to big-league clubs won him a tryout, Houston signed him in March 1962 and sent him to their Class C Modesto affiliate, where he hit .280 with 21 home runs. He had shaved two years off his age to sign, and rosters listed his birth year as 1942 for the rest of his career. General manager Paul Richards compared his throwing arm to that of Hall of Famer Gabby Hartnett, and he was in Houston by 1963. Weight, injuries and a free swing kept the catching job moving between him, Jerry Grote and Ron Brand, with two demotions to Oklahoma City along the way. His best year was 1966: .279 with 17 home runs and 70 RBIs. Montreal took him in the 1968 expansion draft, and he caught Bill Stoneman's no-hitter in the club's first season. Traded to Philadelphia for Tim McCarver in June 1972, he caught the rest of Steve Carlton's Cy Young season; the Phillies released him in January 1973. He finished at .230 with 81 homers and 375 RBIs over ten seasons, and died in Oklahoma in 1996.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · The Hardball Times
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 165 | 8 | 29 | 89 | 27 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 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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Related cards
Team card: #509 Montreal Expos
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- #87 Steve Renko
- #109 Expos 1970 Rookie Stars
- #124 Larry Jaster
- #147 Angel Hermoso
- #164 Ty Cline
- #193 Mike Wegener
- #221 Ron Brand
- #238 Jose Laboy
- #243 Joe Sparma
- #268 Claude Raymond
- #293 Bob Bailey
- #332 Bobby Wine
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1970 Topps #417 card?
It is card #417 of the 720-card 1970 Topps Baseball set, picturing John Bateman of the Montreal Expos.
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.