1978 Topps #548 Billy Hunter
About this card
This is one of the 25 manager cards. Team cards and manager cards are separate cards this year: every club has a team card, and every club except the Milwaukee Brewers has a manager card - George Bamberger was hired in late January 1978, too late to be included.
About Billy Hunter
The Texas Rangers hired Hunter in June 1977 after Frank Lucchesi, Eddie Stanky and Connie Ryan had each managed the club that season. He finished the year with a 60-33 record in 93 games. Topps issued his Rangers manager card as #548 in 1978.
Gordon William "Billy" Hunter was a glove-first shortstop from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. He attended Penn State on a football and baseball scholarship, playing quarterback, before signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1948, and he was the Texas League MVP with Fort Worth in 1952. The St. Louis Browns bought him for three players and $95,000, and in 1953 he was their Opening Day shortstop, an American League All-Star, and the hitter of the last home run in Browns history. He moved with the club to Baltimore in 1954, was part of the huge 1954 trade with the Yankees, and sat on the bench for New York's 1956 World Series winner. He then played for Kansas City and Cleveland, finishing with a .219 average over 630 games. As a coach he served as Orioles third base coach under Hank Bauer and Earl Weaver, on World Series winners in 1966 and 1970, then managed the Texas Rangers to a 146-108 record over 1977 and 1978. He later coached baseball and served as athletic director at Towson State. He is in the Orioles Hall of Fame (1996) and the Towson University Hall of Fame (1998).
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 317 | 82 | 170 | 51 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| SGC | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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: #659 Texas Rangers Team
More Texas Rangers cards:
- #23 Bump Wills
- #44 Toby Harrah
- #67 Claudell Washington
- #92 Adrian Devine
- #110 Richie Zisk
- #131 Bert Blyleven
- #146 Doyle Alexander
- #172 Mike Hargrove
- #209 Dock Ellis
- #238 Juan Beniquez
- #260 Bert Campaneris
- #290 Willie Horton
- #314 Paul Lindblad
- #337 Tom Grieve
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #548 card?
It is card #548 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Billy Hunter of the Texas Rangers. This is one of the 25 manager cards. Team cards and manager cards are separate cards this year: every club has a team card, and every club except the Milwaukee Brewers has a manager card - George Bamberger was hired in late January 1978, too late to be included.
How many cards are in the 1978 Topps Baseball set?
726 cards, numbered 1 through 726 with none skipped and issued as a single series, and 728 collectible states: #23 Bump Wills comes with or without a black circle, and #374 Jose Morales with or without black stitching over the red laces, so the master set counts both states of each.
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.