1972 Topps #48 John Ellis In Action
About this card
This is one of the 72 In Action cards, each numbered right after the same man's card, in six blocks of twelve even numbers, one per series: #32-54, #164-186, #292-314, #426-448, #552-574 and #692-714 (#34 Billy Martin follows his #33 manager card). The backs of the 24 In Action cards in the fifth and sixth series piece together into pictures of Joe Torre and Carl Yastrzemski (fifth series) and Tony Oliva and Tom Seaver (sixth).
About John Ellis In Action
Ellis's 1972 cards are #47 and the In Action card #48, both with the Yankees. His first start of the season did not come until April 30, when he had two hits and a home run, and he did not start again for another three weeks. He played 52 games and hit .294 with 5 home runs, a career-high average, while spending most of his time as the bullpen catcher.
John Ellis was a right-handed catcher and first baseman who played 13 seasons, 1969 to 1981, for the Yankees, Indians and Rangers. A football and baseball star at New London High School in Connecticut, he signed with the Yankees in 1966 and homered inside the park in his first game in 1969. Thurman Munson's arrival moved him to first base, and later he returned behind the plate as Munson's backup. A six-player trade sent him to Cleveland in November 1972, where he became the Indians' first designated hitter and put up his best seasons in 1973 and 1974. Texas acquired him in December 1975. He finished with a .262 average, 69 home runs and 391 RBIs in 883 games. Teammates remembered him as a fighter in brawls, and Gene Michael hung the name Thunder on him after the debut homer. Off the field he built a real estate business and, after his own cancer diagnosis, founded a Connecticut foundation that aids cancer patients. He died in 2022.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 232 | 2 | 29 | 93 | 58 | 31 | 11 | 8 | 0 |
| SGC | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 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
More John Ellis in this set: #47 John Ellis
Team card: #237 New York Yankees
More New York Yankees cards:
- #8 Ron Swoboda
- #22 Rob Gardner
- #47 John Ellis
- #86 1971 A.L. Batting Leaders
- #108 Gary Waslewski
- #124 Yankees 1972 Rookie Stars
- #138 Mike Kekich
- #158 Jerry Kenney
- #203 Ron Blomberg
- #263 Felipe Alou
- #287 Jim Hardin
- #325 Mel Stottlemyre
- #340 Roy White
- #387 Horace Clarke
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #48 card?
It is card #48 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing John Ellis of the New York Yankees. This is one of the 72 In Action cards, each numbered right after the same man's card, in six blocks of twelve even numbers, one per series: #32-54, #164-186, #292-314, #426-448, #552-574 and #692-714 (#34 Billy Martin follows his #33 manager card). The backs of the 24 In Action cards in the fifth and sixth series piece together into pictures of Joe Torre and Carl Yastrzemski (fifth series) and Tony Oliva and Tom Seaver (sixth).
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.