1971 Topps #247 Royals Rookie Stars - Jerry Cram / Paul Splittorff
On this card: Jerry Cram, Paul Splittorff
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
Cram shared card #247 with Paul Splittorff, both listed with the Kansas City Royals in the Rookie Stars subset, and it is the rookie card for each man. Cram had pitched in five games for Kansas City in September 1969, starting two. His 3.24 ERA covered 16 2/3 innings. In 1970 he stayed at Triple-A Omaha, going 7-9 with a 3.21 ERA in 27 starts, and he went back to Omaha for 1971. Right-handed pitcher for the Royals and Mets between 1969 and 1976, mostly in relief, who spent 1982 through 2017 as a minor-league pitching coach for the Royals, Rockies and Giants.
Splittorff opened 1971 back at Omaha after missing the Royals' spring roster, went 5-2 with a 1.48 ERA in eight starts there, and was called up in June. He stayed, started 22 games, and finished 8-9 with a 2.68 ERA. He was runner-up to Milwaukee's Bill Parsons for The Sporting News American League Rookie Pitcher of the Year. Card #247, from the second series, is a Rookie Stars card shared with fellow Royals pitcher Jerry Cram, and it is the rookie card for both men. Left-hander Paul Splittorff pitched his whole career, 1970 to 1984, for the Kansas City Royals and won 166 games, a franchise record. He won 20 in 1973, took part in three ALCS losses to the Yankees, and later broadcast Royals games.
Sources: Wikipedia (Jerry Cram) · Wikipedia (Paul Splittorff) · SABR BioProject (Jerry Cram) · SABR BioProject (Paul Splittorff) · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 376 | 0 | 18 | 175 | 141 | 25 | 10 | 4 | 3 |
| SGC | 18 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 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
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- #129 Aurelio Monteagudo
- #144 Jackie Hernandez
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- #187 Ted Abernathy
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #247 card?
It is card #247 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jerry Cram and Paul Splittorff. 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 #247 a rookie card?
Yes - #247 is a rookie card for every player pictured on it: Jerry Cram and Paul Splittorff.
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.