1972 Topps #442 Thurman Munson 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 Thurman Munson In Action
Two fourth-series cards carry Munson in 1972, #441 and the In Action card #442. Both follow a 1971 in which he hit .251, made his first All-Star team and led the league in fielding percentage. His only error of the season came on June 18 at Baltimore, when Andy Etchebarren knocked him unconscious at the plate and jarred the ball loose. Munson pinch-hit the next day and caught the game after that, with three hits and a home run.
Thurman Munson caught for the New York Yankees in all 11 of his seasons, 1969 through 1979, and hit .292 with 113 home runs and 701 RBIs. The Yankees took him fourth overall in the 1968 draft out of Kent State, where he had been a College All-American. He was the 1970 American League Rookie of the Year and the 1976 MVP, won three Gold Gloves and made seven All-Star teams. Billy Martin named him captain before the 1976 season, the first Yankees captain since Lou Gehrig, and New York won three straight pennants and the 1977 and 1978 World Series. He was the second catcher, after Johnny Bench, to win a Rookie of the Year award, an MVP award, a Gold Glove and a World Series title. Munson bought a Cessna Citation jet so he could fly home to his family in Canton on off-days, and on August 2, 1979, he died at 32 when it crashed short of the runway while he practiced landings at Akron-Canton airport. The Yankees retired number 15 at once and dedicated a plaque to him in Monument Park. In 2000 he joined the inaugural class of the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 1,038 | 8 | 97 | 298 | 248 | 171 | 99 | 117 | 0 |
| SGC | 177 | 0 | 9 | 26 | 28 | 39 | 34 | 40 | 1 |
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 Thurman Munson in this set: #441 Thurman Munson
Team card: #237 New York Yankees
More New York Yankees cards:
- #8 Ron Swoboda
- #22 Rob Gardner
- #47 John Ellis
- #48 John Ellis In Action
- #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
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #442 card?
It is card #442 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Thurman Munson 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.