1978 Topps #684 Ralph Houk
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 Ralph Houk
Houk's Tigers went 74-88 in 1977. His 1978 Topps manager card was #684. Detroit improved to 86-76 in 1978, its first winning season since 1973 and the first of 11 consecutive winning seasons for the club. Houk retired after that season and moved to Florida.
Ralph Houk managed the Yankees, Tigers and Red Sox for 20 major league seasons, finishing with 1,619 wins and 1,531 losses. He led New York to three pennants and two World Series championships. He had signed with New York in 1938, but World War II interrupted his minor league career. His Army service brought a Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart; the rank he held at discharge supplied his baseball nickname, the Major. Houk spent 8 seasons as a Yankees catcher, batting .272 in 91 games from 1947 through 1954. He managed the Denver Bears from 1955 through 1957, winning the Junior World Series in his final season there, then returned to New York as Casey Stengel's first-base coach. His later front-office work included a role with Minnesota during its 1987 championship season.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 116 | 16 | 58 | 33 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 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: #404 Detroit Tigers Team
More Detroit Tigers cards:
- #21 Steve Kemp
- #45 Mark Fidrych
- #68 Steve Foucault
- #94 Chuck Scrivener
- #124 Dave Rozema
- #151 Milt Wilcox
- #176 Milt May
- #232 Mickey Stanley
- #258 John Hiller
- #286 Ben Oglivie
- #342 Aurelio Rodriguez
- #370 Rusty Staub
- #385 Tito Fuentes
- #456 Vern Ruhle
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #684 card?
It is card #684 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ralph Houk of the Detroit Tigers. 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.