1972 Topps #495 Bill Melton
About this card
This is one of the sixteen Boyhood Photos cards, in two runs of eight (#341-348 and #491-498); every Boyhood Photos player also has a regular card in the set.
About Bill Melton
A two-run homer and a grand slam in a doubleheader sweep at Oakland on April 7 opened Bill Melton's 1971, and the year ended in a three-way home run race. He, Reggie Jackson and Norm Cash were tied at 30 on September 23; Melton took the title with a homer off Bill Parsons on the final day. He shares League Leaders card #90 in the first series with Cash and Jackson, and also appears on #183, In Action #184 and Boyhood Photos #495.
Bill Melton was a power-hitting third baseman who spent parts of ten seasons in the majors, eight of them with the Chicago White Sox. Signed out of Citrus College in California, he broke in with Chicago in 1968 and took over the starting job the following year. In 1970 he became the first White Sox player to reach 30 home runs in a season, and in 1971 he led the American League with 33 homers, earning his only All-Star selection. A back injury suffered off the field cost him most of 1972 and sapped his power for the rest of his career, though he remained a regular through 1975. He finished his White Sox tenure as the franchise's all-time home run leader before closing his playing days with the California Angels and Cleveland Indians. He later became a longtime White Sox broadcaster.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 179 | 5 | 54 | 89 | 20 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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
More Bill Melton in this set: #90 League Leaders, #183, #184 In Action
Team card: #381 Chicago White Sox
More Chicago White Sox cards:
- #15 Walt Williams
- #73 Steve Huntz
- #90 1971 A.L. Home Run Leaders
- #92 1971 A.L. E.R.A. Leaders
- #94 1971 A.L. Pitching Leaders
- #98 Chuck Tanner
- #126 Bart Johnson
- #146 Steve Kealey
- #183 Bill Melton
- #184 Bill Melton In Action
- #207 Tom Egan
- #233 Jay Johnstone
- #240 Rich Allen
- #248 Tom Bradley
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #495 card?
It is card #495 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bill Melton of the Chicago White Sox. This is one of the sixteen Boyhood Photos cards, in two runs of eight (#341-348 and #491-498); every Boyhood Photos player also has a regular card in the set.
How many cards are in the 1972 Topps Baseball set?
787 cards, tracked as 794 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 787 with none skipped, in six print series (#1-132, #133-263, #264-394, #395-525, #526-656 and #657-787, the high numbers); 7 cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately - four Chicago Cubs cards with yellow or green under the "C" and "S" of the team name, the #251 and #478 checklists with smaller or larger print on the front, and the #604 checklist with its copyright line aligned right or left.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, 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.