1978 Topps #324 Vern Rapp
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 Vern Rapp
Topps issued Rapp's manager card, #324, for a Cardinals season in which he went 6-11. A seven-game losing streak sank St. Louis early, and he was fired the day of a win in Montreal. Coach Jack Krol managed the next two games, with Ken Boyer slated for the permanent job.
Vern Rapp was a St. Louis-born catcher who batted and threw right-handed. He signed with his hometown Cardinals out of high school in 1945, reached Triple-A Columbus in 1948, and took his first managing job in 1956 at age 27 as player-manager of the American Association's Charleston Senators. Over the next two decades he managed in the Yankees, Cardinals and Reds systems, winning two American Association pennants with Indianapolis and then a regular-season pennant and playoff title with the 1976 Denver Bears. That success earned him the Cardinals' managing job in 1977, replacing Red Schoendienst. St. Louis improved by eleven games to an 83-79 third-place finish, but his strict style and rule against facial hair strained relations with Al Hrabosky and Bake McBride. He was fired on April 25, 1978. After five years as Expos first-base coach, he took over the Reds in October 1983 and was dismissed on August 15, 1984. His major league managerial record was 140 wins in 300 games.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 124 | 12 | 69 | 38 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 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: #479 St. Louis Cardinals Team
More St. Louis Cardinals cards:
- #1 Lou Brock
- #32 Garry Templeton
- #58 Bob Forsch
- #88 Mike Phillips
- #111 Mike Tyson
- #143 Keith Hernandez
- #170 Lou Brock
- #195 Larry Dierker
- #230 Al Hrabosky
- #257 Hector Cruz
- #281 Eric Rasmussen
- #301 Buddy Schultz
- #352 Tony Scott
- #380 Ted Simmons
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #324 card?
It is card #324 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Vern Rapp of the St. Louis Cardinals. 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.
Is 1978 Topps #324 a rookie card?
Yes - #324 is a rookie card.
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.