1978 Topps #245 Rick Burleson
About Rick Burleson
Burleson hit .194 through 35 games in 1978 and missed time from July until mid-August with an injury, then ran off a 17-game hitting streak on his return. Boston lost the one-game playoff to the Yankees on October 2, and he finished at .248 in 145 games. His 1978 Topps card, #245, carries the All-Star designation on the front.
Rick Burleson was an intense, strong-armed shortstop who played 13 seasons, 1974 to 1987, and spent the first seven of them with the Boston Red Sox. Boston took him fifth overall in the January phase of the 1970 draft. He tied the record for errors in a major league debut, three, on May 4, 1974, then hit .284 in 114 games and won the club's rookie of the year award. He played in the 1975 American League Championship Series and World Series, batting 7-for-24 against Cincinnati. He was an All-Star in 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1981, won the 1979 Gold Glove and, in 1980, set a record with 147 double plays by a shortstop. Traded to California with Butch Hobson on December 10, 1980, he won a Silver Slugger in 1981, then lost most of three seasons to a shoulder injury. He finished with 1,401 hits, closing out his career with Baltimore in 1987, and later managed in the minors.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 211 | 10 | 69 | 74 | 31 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 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: #424 Boston Red Sox Team
More Boston Red Sox cards:
- #12 Don Aase
- #40 Carl Yastrzemski
- #63 Don Zimmer
- #83 Bob Montgomery
- #105 Reggie Cleveland
- #125 George Scott
- #155 Butch Hobson
- #186 Bob Stanley
- #202 1977 Home Run Leaders
- #208 1977 Leading Firemen
- #216 Mike Paxton
- #270 Carlton Fisk
- #295 Bill Lee
- #320 Fred Lynn
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #245 card?
It is card #245 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Rick Burleson 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.