1971 Topps #117 Ted Simmons
About Ted Simmons
Simmons took over as the Cardinals' regular catcher in 1971 once Joe Torre moved to third base. He hit .304 with 77 RBIs and placed 16th in the N.L. MVP vote. On August 14 at Three Rivers Stadium he called Bob Gibson's no-hitter, an 11-0 rout of the Pirates, and collected four hits and scored three runs himself. Card #117, a first-series Cardinals card, is his rookie card and one of the key rookies of the 1971 set.
Ted Simmons was a switch-hitting catcher who played 21 seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves between 1968 and 1988. St. Louis chose him tenth overall in the 1967 draft out of Southfield, Michigan. He finished with a .285 average, 248 home runs and 1,389 RBIs. When he retired he held the major-league records for hits (2,472) and doubles (483) by a catcher. He hit .300 seven times, reached 20 home runs six times, and made eight All-Star teams. In 1980 he won the first Silver Slugger Award given to a catcher. A feud with manager Whitey Herzog over a move to first base ended with his trade to Milwaukee, with Rollie Fingers and Pete Vuckovich, on December 12, 1980. The Brewers won the 1982 American League pennant, and Simmons hit two home runs against his old club in the World Series. Atlanta used him as a utility man from 1986 to 1988. He later served as Pittsburgh's general manager in 1992 and 1993. Dropped from the Hall of Fame ballot after a 3.7 percent first-year showing in 1994, he was elected by the Modern Baseball Era Committee in December 2019, and the Cardinals retired his number 23 in 2021.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 2,904 | 1 | 22 | 389 | 631 | 635 | 523 | 693 | 10 |
| SGC | 901 | 0 | 1 | 42 | 158 | 246 | 189 | 217 | 48 |
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
More St. Louis Cardinals cards:
- #4 Vic Davalillo
- #32 Jerry DaVanon
- #55 Steve Carlton
- #62 1970 National League Batting Leaders
- #70 1970 National League Pitching Leaders
- #72 1970 National League Strikeout Leaders
- #96 Joe Hague
- #158 Jerry Reuss
- #185 Julian Javier
- #216 Cards 1971 Rookie Stars
- #239 Red Schoendienst
- #257 Nelson Briles
- #286 Jerry McNertney
- #322 Jim Beauchamp
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #117 card?
It is card #117 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ted Simmons of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Is 1971 Topps #117 a rookie card?
Yes - #117 is the 1971 Topps rookie card of Ted Simmons.
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.