1978 Topps #721 Billy Martin
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 Martin
The Yankees went 100-62 in 1977 and won the American League pennant under Martin, then beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games in the World Series, the only title of his managing career. The season carried open conflict with Reggie Jackson, including a near brawl in the dugout on national television. Martin resigned midway through 1978 with New York at 52-42. His 1978 Topps appearance is manager card #721, pictured with the Yankees.
Billy Martin broke in with the New York Yankees on April 18, 1950 and became Casey Stengel's second baseman on four world championship clubs, batting .333 across five World Series. He was the hitting star of the 1953 Series, tying a record with 12 hits and breaking Babe Ruth's mark with 23 total bases. The Babe Ruth Award went to him as the best player in the Series; the World Series MVP trophy was not created until 1955. Army service cost him 1954 and most of 1955, and his lone All-Star selection came in 1956. A brawl at the Copacabana nightclub in May 1957 gave general manager George Weiss his opening, and Martin was traded to Kansas City that June. He then played for Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Milwaukee and Minnesota before retiring with a .257 average and 64 home runs over 11 seasons. He scouted and coached for the Twins, then managed Minnesota, Detroit, Texas, Oakland and, in five separate stints, the Yankees, winning the 1977 World Series. George Steinbrenner fired him after the 1979 season and again after each of his last three Yankees stints; Martin died in an automobile accident in upstate New York on Christmas night 1989.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 469 | 37 | 172 | 165 | 50 | 22 | 16 | 7 | 0 |
| SGC | 20 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 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: #282 New York Yankees Team
More New York Yankees cards:
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- #7 Reggie Jackson
- #16 Roy White
- #35 Sparky Lyle
- #60 Thurman Munson
- #70 Rich Gossage
- #89 Ken Clay
- #114 Paul Blair
- #135 Ron Guidry
- #159 Lou Piniella
- #179 Dick Tidrow
- #200 Reggie Jackson
- #225 Don Gullett
- #250 Graig Nettles
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #721 card?
It is card #721 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Billy Martin of the New York Yankees. 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.