1972 Topps #524 Reds Rookie Stars - Ed Armbrister / Mel Behney
On this card: Ed Armbrister, Mel Behney
About this card
This is one of the 29 Rookie Stars cards in the 1972 Topps set, each carrying two or three players under a club title (#724, #741 and #761 are league-wide), and all 29 are rookie cards.
The story on this card
Armbrister spent 1972 at Indianapolis, the Reds' Triple-A club, and became a .300 hitter there. He had taken the trade from Houston hard, worried that he had fewer chances with a crowded Cincinnati outfield. His #524 card, from the fourth series, is a Rookie Stars card shared with Mel Behney, both shown with the Reds, and is a rookie card for each man. Bahamian outfielder and pinch runner who played five seasons, 1973 to 1977, for the Big Red Machine Reds. His collision with Carlton Fisk in Game 3 of the 1975 World Series drew a no-interference call, and he is in the Bahamas National Hall of Fame.
Behney's debut came August 14, 1970, when he relieved Wayne Simpson against Philadelphia and took the loss. Four days later he made his only start, going 4 2/3 innings against Montreal and allowing one earned run in a 7-4 loss that included three Cincinnati errors. He spent 1972 at Triple-A, and his rookie card, #524 from the fourth series, is a Rookie Stars issue shared with Ed Armbrister; both men are printed with the Reds. Mel Behney was a left-handed pitcher from New Jersey who threw 10 innings in five games for the 1970 Cincinnati Reds. An all-Big Ten pick at Michigan State in 1968, he later became a real estate appraiser in Texas.
Sources: Wikipedia (Ed Armbrister) · Wikipedia (Mel Behney) · SABR BioProject · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 210 | 1 | 25 | 80 | 56 | 26 | 12 | 10 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 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
Team card: #651 Cincinnati Reds
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- #89 1971 N.L. Home Run Leaders
- #99 Ross Grimsley
- #121 Ed Sprague
- #136 Darrel Chaney
- #157 Don Gullett
- #236 Jim McGlothlin
- #256 George Foster
- #267 Dave Concepcion
- #291 Hal McRae
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- #311 Clay Carroll
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #524 card?
It is card #524 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ed Armbrister and Mel Behney. This is one of the 29 Rookie Stars cards in the 1972 Topps set, each carrying two or three players under a club title (#724, #741 and #761 are league-wide), and all 29 are rookie cards.
Is 1972 Topps #524 a rookie card?
Yes - #524 is a rookie card for every player pictured on it: Ed Armbrister and Mel Behney.
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.