Who is the man: John Ellis played in 78 games in 1970 and received Topps All-Star rookie team honors at first base ... even though he's shown posing as a catcher.
Can ya dig it: First solo card! It's also the seventh rookie trophy we've come across. And that is some kind of signature.
Right on: This is the final card of the second series in the set. Get ready for a lot of action cards, because Series 3 is filled with them.
You see this cat Ellis is a bad mother: Ellis was named the top rookie in spring training for the Yankees in 1970. That was pretty good because the Yankees also had a rookie catcher named Thurman Munson in camp that year.
Shut your mouth: Ellis once mentioned in an interview that the pitcher that he had the greatest connection with on the field was Gaylord Perry. That's interesting, considering Perry's spitball reputation.
No one understands him but his woman: Indians manager Frank Robinson once called out Ellis in the press, saying that if Ellis didn't play the way Robinson wanted, he wouldn't catch for him. In the offseason, Ellis was traded to the Rangers.
(A word about the back): That writeup for Ellis has "Thurman Munson is our starting catcher, where do we put this guy?" written all over it. I also think Topps put the "catcher" designation on Ellis' card because of the photo. Ellis caught only two games in 1970.
Both Yankee rookie catchers were on the Topps rookie team.
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