1978 Topps #438 John Ellis
About John Ellis
Ellis again played sparingly behind Jim Sundberg in 1978, catching 22 of his 34 games for the Rangers. He hit .245 with 3 home runs and 17 RBIs. His 1978 Topps card, #438, pictures him with the Rangers, for whom he played through 1981.
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 | 150 | 23 | 93 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 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: #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 #438 card?
It is card #438 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing John Ellis of the Texas Rangers.
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.