1974 Topps #128 John Ellis
About John Ellis
On July 19, 1974 Ellis caught Dick Bosman's no-hitter. He hit .285 with 10 home runs and 64 RBIs that season. Cleveland traded Chris Chambliss to the Yankees on April 26, and Ellis played 69 of his 128 games at first base. His Indians card is #128.
John Ellis was a right-handed catcher and first baseman who played 13 seasons, 1969 to 1981, for the Yankees, Indians and Rangers. A football and baseball star at New London High School in Connecticut, he signed with the Yankees in 1966 and homered inside the park in his first game in 1969. Thurman Munson's arrival moved him to first base, and later he returned behind the plate as Munson's backup. A six-player trade sent him to Cleveland in November 1972, where he became the Indians' first designated hitter and put up his best seasons in 1973 and 1974. Texas acquired him in December 1975. He finished with a .262 average, 69 home runs and 391 RBIs in 883 games. Teammates remembered him as a fighter in brawls, and Gene Michael hung the name Thunder on him after the debut homer. Off the field he built a real estate business and, after his own cancer diagnosis, founded a Connecticut foundation that aids cancer patients. He died in 2022.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 233 | 4 | 105 | 107 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 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: #541 Cleveland Indians
More Cleveland Indians cards:
- #13 Tom Hilgendorf
- #35 Gaylord Perry
- #58 Charlie Spikes
- #81 Frank Duffy
- #152 Oscar Gamble
- #176 John Lowenstein
- #199 Mike Kekich
- #231 Dick Tidrow
- #257 Buddy Bell
- #284 Dave Duncan
- #303 George Hendrick
- #327 Tom Timmermann
- #359 Brent Strom
- #384 Chris Chambliss
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1974 Topps #128 card?
It is card #128 of the 660-card 1974 Topps Baseball set, picturing John Ellis of the Cleveland Indians.
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.