1971 Topps #216 Cards Rookie Stars - Reggie Cleveland / Luis Melendez
On this card: Reggie Cleveland, Luis Melendez
About this card
This is one of the 44 Rookie Stars cards in the 1971 Topps set, each carrying two or three players under a club, league or position title. All 44 count as rookie cards.
The story on this card
Over 222 innings for St. Louis in 1971, Cleveland went 12-12 with a 4.01 ERA. He struck out 148 and completed 10 of his starts, 2 of them shutouts. At the plate he hit .171 with 7 RBI. His Topps card is #216, a second-series Rookie Stars card that pairs him with Cardinals outfielder Luis Melendez, whose rookie card it is. Reggie Cleveland, a Saskatchewan-born right-hander, pitched 13 seasons for the Cardinals, Red Sox, Rangers and Brewers, winning 105 games. He was the 1971 Sporting News NL Rookie Pitcher of the Year and a member of the 1975 Red Sox pennant team.
Melendez shares Rookie Stars card #216 in the second series with Reggie Cleveland, both pictured as Cardinals, and it is Melendez's rookie card. He had hit .300 in 21 games after his call-up the September before. In 1971 he played 88 games, 66 of them in the outfield. His .225 average came with 39 hits and 11 RBI. Outfielder Luis Melendez of Aibonito, Puerto Rico, played 1970-77 for the Cardinals and Padres, hitting .248 in 641 games. He later managed in the Cardinals system and won the 1994 South Atlantic League title at Savannah.
Sources: Wikipedia · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 262 | 0 | 5 | 92 | 110 | 36 | 16 | 2 | 1 |
| SGC | 11 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 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: #308 St. Louis Cardinals
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- #62 1970 National League Batting Leaders
- #70 1970 National League Pitching Leaders
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- #96 Joe Hague
- #117 Ted Simmons
- #158 Jerry Reuss
- #185 Julian Javier
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- #286 Jerry McNertney
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #216 card?
It is card #216 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Reggie Cleveland and Luis Melendez. This is one of the 44 Rookie Stars cards in the 1971 Topps set, each carrying two or three players under a club, league or position title. All 44 count as rookie cards.
Is 1971 Topps #216 a rookie card?
Yes - #216 is the rookie card of Luis Melendez. Reggie Cleveland had already appeared on an earlier Topps card, so it is not his rookie card.
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.