1978 Topps #39 Floyd Bannister
About Floyd Bannister
Bannister opened the 1977 season with the Astros, a year after signing for a $100,000 bonus and pitching seven minor league games. He started 23 of his 24 appearances. He went 8-9 with a 4.04 ERA and 112 strikeouts and finished fourth in National League Rookie of the Year voting. Card #39 is his rookie card and lists him with the Astros.
Floyd Bannister was a left-handed starter who pitched 15 seasons in the majors for the Astros, Mariners, White Sox, Royals, Angels and Rangers, finishing 134-143 with a 4.06 ERA and 1,723 strikeouts. He led Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien, Washington, to a state title in 1973, was named college player of the year by The Sporting News at Arizona State, and went first overall in the 1976 draft. The best of his four years in Seattle was 1982, when he made his only All-Star team and led the American League with 209 strikeouts. A free agent that winter, he signed a five-year, $4.5 million contract with the White Sox and went 16-10 with a 3.35 ERA in 1983, helping Chicago win the AL West. His 11 complete games in 1987 were a career high. A shoulder injury ended his 1989 season, and he pitched for the Yakult Swallows in Japan in 1990 before finishing as a reliever. He held several Mariners career records, including strikeouts and complete games, and entered the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 174 | 39 | 98 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 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: #112 Houston Astros Team
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- #279 Bill Virdon
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #39 card?
It is card #39 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Floyd Bannister of the Houston Astros.
Is 1978 Topps #39 a rookie card?
Yes - #39 is the 1978 Topps rookie card of Floyd Bannister.
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.