1971 Topps #80 Bill Melton
About Bill Melton
Bill Melton drove in a career-high 96 runs in 1970, hitting 33 home runs, sixth in the American League, with a .488 slugging percentage. He started 70 games in the outfield and 70 at third base. His #80 card, from the first series, pictures him with Chicago. A May 1970 pop-up that he missed against Baltimore left him with a broken nose.
Bill Melton was a power-hitting third baseman who spent parts of ten seasons in the majors, eight of them with the Chicago White Sox. Signed out of Citrus College in California, he broke in with Chicago in 1968 and took over the starting job the following year. In 1970 he became the first White Sox player to reach 30 home runs in a season, and in 1971 he led the American League with 33 homers, earning his only All-Star selection. A back injury suffered off the field cost him most of 1972 and sapped his power for the rest of his career, though he remained a regular through 1975. He finished his White Sox tenure as the franchise's all-time home run leader before closing his playing days with the California Angels and Cleveland Indians. He later became a longtime White Sox broadcaster.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 339 | 0 | 12 | 155 | 135 | 20 | 8 | 9 | 0 |
| SGC | 15 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 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: #289 Chicago White Sox
More Chicago White Sox cards:
- #13 White Sox 1971 Rookie Stars
- #37 Rich McKinney
- #56 Duane Josephson
- #113 Jerry Crider
- #156 Bart Johnson
- #169 Ed Herrmann
- #186 Bob Spence
- #227 Floyd Weaver
- #243 Carlos May
- #267 Rich Morales
- #292 Jay Johnstone
- #311 Lee Stange
- #345 Joe Horlen
- #373 Tom McCraw
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #80 card?
It is card #80 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bill Melton of the Chicago White Sox.
How many cards are in the 1971 Topps Baseball set?
752 cards, tracked as 761 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 752 with none skipped, issued in six print series (132/131/130/130/120/109 cards), the sixth (#644-752) the high numbers; seven cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately - the #42, #265 and #306 photo pairs and the #123, #206, #369 and #619 checklists, #369 and #619 in three printings each.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA (its price guide, master set registry and set article), 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.