1972 Topps #617 Kansas City Royals
Hall of Famers on the 1971 Kansas City Royals roster: Bob Lemon.
About this card
This is one of the 24 team cards, one for each club; every club also has a manager card of its own this year. #1 honors the 1971 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Texas Rangers, moved from Washington after the 1971 season, appear for the first time, on the #668 team card.
The story on this card
The 1971 season gave the Kansas City Royals their first winning record. In their third year of existence they went 85-76 under manager Bob Lemon and finished second in the American League West, 16 games behind the Oakland Athletics. Only the 1962 Los Angeles Angels, who had a winning record in their second season, had reached one faster among expansion clubs to that point. Kansas City scored 603 runs and allowed 566, and its pitchers posted a 3.25 ERA. Outfielder Amos Otis, an American League All-Star reserve, led the league with 52 stolen bases. Municipal Stadium drew 910,784. The card is 1972 Topps #617, the Royals team card, printed in the fifth series. Lemon has his own manager card in the set, #449.
Sources: Wikipedia (1971 Kansas City Royals season) · Wikipedia (1971 Major League Baseball season) · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 278 | 30 | 97 | 109 | 27 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #617 card?
It is card #617 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing the Kansas City Royals. This is one of the 24 team cards, one for each club; every club also has a manager card of its own this year. #1 honors the 1971 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Texas Rangers, moved from Washington after the 1971 season, appear for the first time, on the #668 team card.
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.