1977 Topps #36 John Ellis
About John Ellis
Card #36 shows Ellis with the Rangers. In 1977 he appeared in 49 games, splitting time between catcher and first base. He batted .235 with 4 home runs and 15 RBIs, mostly as the backup to Jim Sundberg. He took a prominent part in a 25-minute brawl against Kansas City that season.
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 | 109 | 15 | 61 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 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: #428 Texas Rangers Team
More Texas Rangers cards:
- #55 Jeff Burroughs
- #81 Juan Beniquez
- #103 Mike Bacsik
- #137 Jeff Terpko
- #152 Gaylord Perry
- #174 Nelson Briles
- #196 Len Randle
- #237 Gene Clines
- #254 Doyle Alexander
- #256 Joe Hoerner
- #275 Mike Hargrove
- #301 Toby Harrah
- #328 Tommy Boggs
- #351 Jim Sundberg
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1977 Topps #36 card?
It is card #36 of the 660-card 1977 Topps Baseball set, picturing John Ellis of the Texas Rangers.
How many cards are in the 1977 Topps Baseball set?
660 cards, numbered 1 through 660 with none skipped and distributed 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.