1975 Topps #256 Billy Champion
About Billy Champion
Buford Billy Champion was a hard-throwing right-hander out of Shelby, North Carolina, taken by the Philadelphia Phillies in the third round of the 1965 draft after helping Shelby High School win the 1964 state championship. He debuted in June 1969 and spent four seasons as a Phillies swingman before being packaged with Don Money and John Vukovich in an October 1972 blockbuster that brought Jim Lonborg, Ken Brett, Ken Sanders and Earl Stephenson to Philadelphia. Now a Brewer, as shown on his 1975 Topps card, Champion had turned in his best season the year prior, going 11-4 with a 3.62 ERA over a career-high 161 innings in 1974. He closed out his eight-year career in 1976 with a 34-50 record, 4.69 ERA and 360 strikeouts across 202 games for Philadelphia and Milwaukee. Afterward he stayed in baseball for decades as a minor league pitching coach and, beginning in 1983, a scout for the Chicago Cubs. Champion died in his hometown of Shelby in January 2017 at age 69.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 264 | 3 | 59 | 161 | 30 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-08-19. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted. The graders do not split the 1975 Topps Mini or O-Pee-Chee issues into this set.
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Related cards
Team card: #384 Milwaukee Brewers
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- #147 Pedro Garcia
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- #337 Kevin Kobel
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1975 Topps #256 card?
It is card #256 of the 660-card 1975 Topps Baseball set, picturing Billy Champion.
How many cards are in the 1975 Topps Baseball set?
660 cards, numbered 1-660, with no variations and no short prints - PSA reports the cards were printed in equal quantities. The 1975 Topps Mini and the 1975 O-Pee-Chee issues are separate products with their own checklists.
Sources: Trading Card Database, Cardboard Connection, the PSA price guide, 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 2026-10-05.