1971 Topps #17 Billy Sorrell
About Billy Sorrell
On July 7, 1970, Sorrell singled home the go-ahead run as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning of a 4-3 Royals win at Anaheim. His two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth on August 30 beat the Washington Senators 4-3. On September 29 he collected three hits in a 14-13 win over the Minnesota Twins. His 1971 Topps card is #17, from the first print series, and shows him with Kansas City.
Billy Lee Sorrell, born October 14, 1940 in Morehead, Kentucky, was a left-handed-hitting third baseman and outfielder signed out of Ypsilanti, Michigan by Phillies scout Tony Lucadello in September 1959. He climbed the Philadelphia farm system as a hitter who rarely struck out, and grew into power at Triple-A, where he hit 57 home runs across three seasons. Called up when rosters expanded in September 1965, he singled as a pinch hitter in his debut and homered in the 13th inning of the season's final game. San Francisco took him in the 1966 Rule 5 Draft, but he appeared in 18 games as a Giants bench bat in 1967 and went back to the Phillies organization that June. The Mets held his contract for two seasons before Kansas City bought it in August 1969, and the expansion Royals gave him his longest look: 57 games in 1970, with four home runs. He finished with five home runs and a .267 average in 85 big-league games, then played two seasons in Japan for the Hankyu Braves, reaching the 1972 Japan Series. He died July 22, 2008 in Rancho Bernardo, California, at 67.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 349 | 0 | 16 | 175 | 124 | 21 | 10 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 14 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 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: #742 Kansas City Royals
More Kansas City Royals cards:
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- #71 1970 American League Strikeout Leaders
- #91 Bob Lemon
- #103 Rich Severson
- #118 Cookie Rojas
- #129 Aurelio Monteagudo
- #144 Jackie Hernandez
- #163 Buck Martinez
- #187 Ted Abernathy
- #221 Dave Morehead
- #247 Royals 1971 Rookie Stars
- #269 Gail Hopkins
- #299 Ed Kirkpatrick
- #321 Tom Matchick
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #17 card?
It is card #17 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Billy Sorrell of the Kansas City Royals.
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.