1974 Topps #170 Bill Melton
About Bill Melton
In 1973 Melton came back from the injury-shortened 1972 to play 152 games, 151 of them at third base. His .277 average was a career best, to go with 20 home runs and 87 RBI, and he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated early in the year. His 1974 Topps card, #170, shows him with the White Sox.
Bill Melton was a power-hitting third baseman who spent parts of ten seasons in the majors, eight of them with the Chicago White Sox. Signed out of Citrus College in California, he broke in with Chicago in 1968 and took over the starting job the following year. In 1970 he became the first White Sox player to reach 30 home runs in a season, and in 1971 he led the American League with 33 homers, earning his only All-Star selection. A back injury suffered off the field cost him most of 1972 and sapped his power for the rest of his career, though he remained a regular through 1975. He finished his White Sox tenure as the franchise's all-time home run leader before closing his playing days with the California Angels and Cleveland Indians. He later became a longtime White Sox broadcaster.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 258 | 7 | 103 | 126 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 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: #416 Chicago White Sox
More Chicago White Sox cards:
- #22 Cy Acosta
- #46 Pat Kelly
- #70 Dick Allen
- #96 Jerry Hairston
- #120 Wilbur Wood
- #147 Bart Johnson
- #195 Carlos May
- #205 1973 Victory Leaders
- #221 White Sox Field Leaders
- #254 Stan Bahnsen
- #286 Tony Muser
- #310 Terry Forster
- #332 All-Star First Basemen
- #357 Buddy Bradford
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1974 Topps #170 card?
It is card #170 of the 660-card 1974 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bill Melton of the Chicago White Sox.
How many cards are in the 1974 Topps Baseball set?
660 cards, tracked as 678 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 660 with none skipped, issued all at once as a single series and printed in equal quantities; 17 cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately - fourteen San Diego / "Washington Nat'l Lea." pairs (thirteen Padres player cards and the #226 team card), the three-state #599 Rookie Pitchers, the #608 Apodaco misspelling and the #654 Jesus Alou front without a position.
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.