1973 Topps #552 J.C. Martin
About J.C. Martin
Martin's last season, 1972, came at age 35, when he batted mostly against right-handers. Topps printed him with the Cubs on #552, a high number from the fifth series. By the end he had caught five Hall of Fame pitchers: Early Wynn, Hoyt Wilhelm, Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan and Ferguson Jenkins.
Joseph Clifton Martin went by his initials because both of his grandparents were named Joseph, and the Southern habit of using initials stuck. Born December 13, 1936, in Axton, Virginia, he signed with the Chicago White Sox as a first baseman before the 1956 season and debuted on September 10, 1959, too late in the year to be eligible for that fall's World Series. He went back to the minors in 1962 to learn catching under Les Moss. From 1963 he was Chicago's regular receiver, a left-handed hitter and right-handed thrower who caught the knuckleballs of Hoyt Wilhelm and Eddie Fisher. He caught Joe Horlen's no-hitter in 1967 and was traded to the New York Mets that November. There he backed up Jerry Grote and wound up at the center of a disputed bunt play in the World Series the Mets won in 1969. Three seasons with the Chicago Cubs closed out fourteen years, 908 games and a .222 average. He coached for the Cubs in 1974 and worked White Sox telecasts alongside Harry Caray in 1975.
Sources: SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 197 | 5 | 51 | 127 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 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
Team card: #464 Chicago Cubs
More Chicago Cubs cards:
- #21 Randy Hundley
- #44 Rick Monday
- #61 1972 Batting Leaders
- #70 Milt Pappas
- #81 Cubs Field Leaders
- #115 Ron Santo
- #139 Carmen Fanzone
- #180 Fergie Jenkins
- #200 Billy Williams
- #262 Jack Aker
- #285 Don Kessinger
- #309 Paul Popovich
- #328 Bill Bonham
- #367 Burt Hooton
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #552 card?
It is card #552 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing J.C. Martin of the Chicago Cubs.
Why is #552 harder to find?
It is a high number card from the fifth and last print series, #529-660 - the scarce end of the set.
How many cards are in the 1973 Topps Baseball set?
660 cards, tracked as 679 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 660 with none skipped, in five series of 132 - #1-132, #133-264, #265-396, #397-528 and the high numbers, #529-660, printed in lower quantities; 19 cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately - fifteen Field Leaders cards, the #20 Stan Bahnsen, #31 Buddy Bell and #504 Earl Williams border-gap pairs and the two #280 Al Kaline printings.
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.