1975 Topps #228 George Brett
George Brett's rookie card — the set's signature card. Nearly 20,000 graded at PSA with only about ten 10s.
About George Brett
Card #228 is George Brett's rookie card, the signature card of the 1975 Topps set — nearly 20,000 examples graded at PSA with only about ten Gem Mint 10s. The Royals took Brett, a converted shortstop from El Segundo High School in California, in the second round of the 1971 draft. He climbed through Billings, San Jose, and Omaha before debuting on August 2, 1973, and won the third-base job in 1974, when hitting coach Charley Lau reworked his swing. Brett topped .300 for the first time in 1975 while leading the league in hits and triples, then went on to win batting titles in three different decades — 1976, 1980, and 1990 — a feat no other player has matched. His .390 average in 1980 earned AL MVP honors and remains the closest anyone has come to .400 since Ted Williams in 1941. A 13-time All-Star, Brett won a Gold Glove and was ALCS MVP in 1985, batting .370 as Kansas City won its first World Series. He finished with 3,154 hits, 317 home runs, and a .305 average, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999 on the first ballot with 98.2% of the vote.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 19,178 | 11 | 333 | 3,380 | 4,445 | 3,868 | 2,673 | 4,417 | 51 |
| SGC | 6,044 | 2 | 32 | 339 | 990 | 1,358 | 1,321 | 1,744 | 258 |
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: #72 Kansas City Royals
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- #169 Cookie Rojas
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- #268 Hal McRae
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1975 Topps #228 card?
It is card #228 of the 660-card 1975 Topps Baseball set, picturing George Brett.
Is 1975 Topps #228 a rookie card?
Yes - #228 is the 1975 Topps rookie card of George Brett, one of 64 rookie cards in the set.
What are the key cards in the 1975 Topps set?
The #228 George Brett and #223 Robin Yount rookie cards lead the set, followed by the four-player rookie cards carrying Jim Rice and Fred Lynn (#616), Gary Carter (#620) and Keith Hernandez (#623), and the Hank Aaron bookends at #1 and #660.
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.