1971 Topps #163 Buck Martinez
About Buck Martinez
Card #163 follows a 1970 season of six games for Kansas City, with one hit in nine at-bats. Houston had taken him in the December 1968 Rule 5 draft and traded him to the Royals that month. In 1971 he met his future wife, Arlene, in San Juan, where he was playing winter baseball and she was on vacation as an American Airlines attendant.
Buck Martinez was a right-handed catcher who played 17 major-league seasons, 1969 through 1986, with Kansas City, Milwaukee and Toronto. He batted .225 with 58 home runs in 1,049 games and caught for the Blue Jays from 1981 through 1986, hitting 10 home runs in both 1982 and 1983. On July 9, 1985 in Seattle he broke his leg in a collision at the plate and still tagged out Gorman Thomas to finish a 9-2-7-2 double play. A native of Redding, California, he is a member of the Karuk Tribe, and the name Buck came from his Native American heritage. He retired after 1986 and moved to the broadcast booth, working for TSN, ESPN, TBS and Sportsnet. He managed Toronto in 2001 and 2002 and Team USA at the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He was inducted into the Blue Jays Hall of Excellence on August 29, 2026.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 278 | 0 | 6 | 129 | 110 | 25 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 13 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
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:
- #17 Billy Sorrell
- #35 Lou Piniella
- #71 1970 American League Strikeout Leaders
- #91 Bob Lemon
- #103 Rich Severson
- #118 Cookie Rojas
- #129 Aurelio Monteagudo
- #144 Jackie Hernandez
- #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 #163 card?
It is card #163 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Buck Martinez 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.