1978 Topps #270 Carlton Fisk
About Carlton Fisk
#270 carries the All-Star designation. In July 1978 Earl Weaver said the player Boston would hate to lose most, even more than Jim Rice, was Fisk. He cracked his ribs diving over a fence for a foul pop and kept catching; in a late-September extra-inning game against Toronto he leaped from his crouch on a sacrifice bunt and threw out the runner. He played 157 games and hit 20 home runs with 88 RBI. Boston won 12 of its last 14 to force a one-game playoff with the Yankees, and Fisk went 1-for-3 with a single in the 5-4 loss.
Carlton Fisk caught for 24 seasons with the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox and retired with 376 home runs, 351 of them as a catcher, the record for the position at the time. In 1972 he became the first unanimous choice for American League Rookie of the Year, and he made 11 All-Star teams. Leading off the 12th inning of Game 6 of the 1975 World Series at Fenway Park, he drove a pitch from Pat Darcy down the left-field line and waved it fair until it struck the foul pole for a 7-6 win. Boston lost him after 1980 when Haywood Sullivan mailed his new contract a day past the deadline, and he signed with the White Sox in March 1981. He helped Chicago to its first AL West title in 1983 and finished third in the MVP vote. In 1985 he hit a career-high 37 home runs and drove in 107. In August 1990 he passed Johnny Bench for home runs as a catcher. Chicago released him in June 1993, at 45, six days after his 2,226th game behind the plate broke Bob Boone's record. Both clubs retired his number, 72 in Chicago and 27 in Boston. He grew up in Charlestown, New Hampshire, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2000.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 1,620 | 67 | 516 | 661 | 143 | 86 | 86 | 61 | 0 |
| SGC | 159 | 0 | 24 | 59 | 38 | 18 | 7 | 13 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #270 card?
It is card #270 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Carlton Fisk of the Boston Red Sox.
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.