1971 Topps #271 Bill Zepp
About Bill Zepp
Zepp's #271 is printed with the Twins, although he pitched 1971 for Detroit. With the Tigers he appeared in 16 games, won his first on May 22, 3-1 over Baltimore, and finished with a 5.12 ERA. Detroit manager Billy Martin said of the trade, "Coming here where he wants to play might make him a better pitcher." The card appeared in the third series.
Bill Zepp was a right-handed pitcher for the Minnesota Twins in 1969 and 1970 and the Detroit Tigers in 1971. A Detroit native who starred at Redford High School, he declined pro baseball to attend the University of Michigan, was drafted three times without signing, and earned a master's degree in marketing in 1968. Twins scout Frank Franchi then convinced the club to sign him. He went 18-4 across Class A and Double-A in 1969 and debuted in the majors on August 12. His best season was 1970, when he went 9-4 with a 3.22 ERA in 43 games and pitched twice in the ALCS against Baltimore. He refused to sign with Minnesota again unless traded to his hometown Tigers, and a March 1971 deal for Mike Adams and Art Clifford sent him there. An arm injury he later described as a Tommy John tear ended his career after his last game on June 20, 1971.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 226 | 0 | 10 | 130 | 61 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| SGC | 8 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
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: #522 Minnesota Twins
More Minnesota Twins cards:
- #7 Jim Holt
- #26 Bert Blyleven
- #61 1970 American League Batting Leaders
- #65 1970 American League Home Run Leaders
- #69 1970 American League Pitching Leaders
- #74 Twins 1971 Rookie Stars
- #95 Luis Tiant
- #127 Danny Thompson
- #141 Frank Quilici
- #165 Cesar Tovar
- #189 George Mitterwald
- #210 Rod Carew
- #245 Jim Kaat
- #290 Tony Oliva
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #271 card?
It is card #271 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bill Zepp of the Minnesota Twins.
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.