1976 Topps #616 Buck Martinez
About Buck Martinez
Martinez's #616 reflects the 1975 Royals season: 80 games, 79 of them at catcher, with a .226 average and 3 home runs. He backed up Darrell Porter at catcher, and on July 14, 1975 he married Arlene, whom he had begun dating in 1974.
Buck Martinez was a right-handed catcher who played 17 major-league seasons, 1969 through 1986, with Kansas City, Milwaukee and Toronto. He batted .225 with 58 home runs in 1,049 games and caught for the Blue Jays from 1981 through 1986, hitting 10 home runs in both 1982 and 1983. On July 9, 1985 in Seattle he broke his leg in a collision at the plate and still tagged out Gorman Thomas to finish a 9-2-7-2 double play. A native of Redding, California, he is a member of the Karuk Tribe, and the name Buck came from his Native American heritage. He retired after 1986 and moved to the broadcast booth, working for TSN, ESPN, TBS and Sportsnet. He managed Toronto in 2001 and 2002 and Team USA at the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He was inducted into the Blue Jays Hall of Excellence on August 29, 2026.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 201 | 30 | 102 | 61 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 8 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
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: #236 Kansas City Royals Team
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- #194 1975 AL Home Run Leaders
- #196 1975 AL RBI Leaders
- #198 1975 AL Stolen Base Leaders
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- #286 Jim Wohlford
- #311 Cookie Rojas
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1976 Topps #616 card?
It is card #616 of the 660-card 1976 Topps Baseball set, picturing Buck Martinez of the Kansas City Royals.
How many cards are in the 1976 Topps Baseball set?
660 cards, numbered 1 through 660 with none skipped and printed in equal quantities as a single series. No card carries a catalogued print variation, so the base set and the master set are the same 660 cards.
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.