1971 Topps #340 Rico Petrocelli
About Rico Petrocelli
Petrocelli played a career-high 158 games in 1971 and hit 28 home runs with 89 RBI. By the club's count he led the Red Sox with 12 game-winning hits. His .976 fielding percentage was a Red Sox season record for third basemen at the time. From 1969 through 1971 his 97 home runs and 289 RBI were the most of any Boston player. Card #340 is a third-series issue showing him with the Red Sox.
Americo Peter "Rico" Petrocelli was born June 27, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York, the youngest of seven children of Italian immigrant parents. He signed with the Boston Red Sox in 1961 and reached the majors for a single September game in 1963 before taking over as Boston's starting shortstop in 1965. A two-time All-Star, he set what was then a league record for home runs by a shortstop with 40 in 1969. In 1971 he moved to third base to make room for Luis Aparicio, and led American League third basemen in fielding percentage that year. Over 13 seasons, all with Boston, he hit 210 home runs and drove in 773 runs. He batted .251 in 1,553 games. He played for Boston's 1967 "Impossible Dream" pennant winners and the 1975 American League champions, appearing in the 1967 and 1975 World Series and the 1975 American League Championship Series. After his final season in 1976 he worked in broadcasting and managed in the minor leagues for the White Sox and Red Sox organizations. He was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1997, a team honor separate from the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 328 | 1 | 13 | 148 | 113 | 33 | 16 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 16 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 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: #386 Boston Red Sox
More Boston Red Sox cards:
- #9 George Scott
- #31 Eddie Kasko
- #58 Bill Lee
- #61 1970 American League Batting Leaders
- #63 1970 American League RBI Leaders
- #65 1970 American League Home Run Leaders
- #89 Ken Brett
- #114 Billy Conigliaro
- #159 Jarvis Tatum
- #176 Red Sox 1971 Rookie Stars
- #191 Mike Andrews
- #225 Gary Peters
- #254 Cal Koonce
- #287 Mike Fiore
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #340 card?
It is card #340 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Rico Petrocelli of the Boston Red 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.