1979 Topps #539 John Ellis
About John Ellis
Manager Pat Corrales named Ellis his bullpen player/coach coming into 1979, and he still hit .285 with 12 home runs in 111 games. He left the team during the year to attend the funeral of close friend Thurman Munson, killed in a plane crash. His Rangers card is #539.
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 | 56 | 17 | 24 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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: #499 Texas Rangers / Pat Corrales
More Texas Rangers cards:
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- #44 Kurt Bevacqua
- #67 Jim Mason
- #94 Len Barker
- #120 Jim Sundberg
- #144 Sandy Alomar
- #173 John Lowenstein
- #198 Johnny Grubb
- #209 Reggie Cleveland
- #234 Toby Harrah
- #260 Richie Zisk
- #285 Bobby Bonds
- #315 Jon Matlack
- #336 Bobby Thompson
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #539 card?
It is card #539 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing John Ellis of the Texas Rangers.
How many cards are in the 1979 Topps Baseball set?
726 cards, numbered 1 through 726 with none skipped and issued as a single series, tracked as 727 collectible states: #369 Bump Wills comes with a Rangers or a Blue Jays team banner, and the master set counts both.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA, 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.