25 Most Valuable 1965 Topps Baseball Cards

The 1965 Topps baseball card set has everything the vintage collector could ask for: Hall of Fame rookie cards, big-name superstars, solid subsets, and a fantastic design.

Scan through the 598-card checklist and it's easy to see why it's often considered one of the best of the 60s.

The multi-colored inner borders and flowing team pennants were excellent design elements that helped showcase full-color player images.

Like several sets from the 1960s, Mickey Mantle sits atop the list as the most desirable.

But, there are plenty of other great cards to be found inside.

And in this guide, I walk through the 25 most valuable.

1965 Topps #350 Mickey Mantle

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $5,250

Come 1965, the wheels fell off for both Mantle and the Yankees franchise.

In the aftermath of an excruciating seven-game World Series loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, the team’s new owners (the deep-pocketed CBS network) went on the offensive, plucking the Cards’ manager, Johnny Keane, right out from under the new champs.

The hope was that Keane would be the secret ingredient to prolong the Yankees dynasty.

Instead, it was the first crack in the facade of the Yankee Way.

Keane was far from the right man for the job, equal parts paranoid and overwhelmed.

He also inherited an aging, decaying roster, headlined by Mickey Mantle’s sudden, sharp decline.

The combined toll of a hard-partying lifestyle and injuries was too much.

At 33 years of age, Mantle’s legs were shot and his body was in full revolt. His numbers reflected it all.

The venerable Yankees center fielder hit just .255 in 1965, a new career low.

His .379 on-base percentage and .452 OPS were his worst since his 1951 rookie year.

To compound matters, Mantle missed just under 1/4 of the season due to various ailments and injuries.

Yes, Mantle received down-ballot MVP consideration.

And yes, he was named to his eighteenth consecutive All-Star Game.

But, it was clear that the Mantle of old was now old before his time.

1965 Topps #207 Pete Rose

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $1,750

1965 was the year that Pete Rose became Pete Rose.

The 1963 NL Rookie of the Year took a sizeable step back in his sophomore year, hitting .269 and posting a forgettable .645 OPS in 136 games.

In ‘65, Rose turned that disappointment into an onslaught on National League pitching.

The 24-year-old Cincinnati Reds second baseman clicked on all cylinders in his third year, spraying the ball to all parts of the field with a veteran touch well beyond his years.

Rose finished fifth in the National League with a .312 batting average, his first of a mind-boggling fifteen consecutive seasons hitting .300 or better.

He also proved more durable than the stars ahead of him in the batting crown race, leading the Majors in plate appearances (757) and at-bats (670) while playing all 162 of the Reds’ regular-season games.

Rose, a first-time All-Star and sixth-place MVP finisher, lifted the 89-win Reds to a fourth-place finish in a stacked NL pennant race.

His MLB-best 209 hits marked the first of seven years that he’d pace baseball in that category.

A hit machine before the Big Red Machine was even a thing, Pete Rose’s 1965 breakthrough planted the seeds for a future Cincinnati dynasty.

1965 Topps #250 Willie Mays

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $1,600

For over a decade heading into the 1965 MLB season, Willie Mays was several cuts above the rest.

The San Francisco Giants center fielder was the perfect mixture of personality, defensive wizardry, and blunt-force brutality at the plate.

No one could touch Willie Mays at his peak.

And it just so happened that his peak lasted longer than most players' professional careers.

In '65, the 34-year-old shortlist GOAT candidate won his second NL MVP award, eleven years after his first.

Galvanizing the Giants clubhouse, Mays went nuclear on the National League.

He led the Majors in home runs (52), including his entry into the hallowed 500 Home-Run Club on September 13th in Houston.

He also topped baseball in on-base percentage (.398), slugging percentage (.645), OPS (1.043), total bases (360), and OPS+ (185), all while still delivering the all-world center field defense he was famous for.

The incomparable Say Hey Kid scored (118) and drove in (112) over 110 runs, providing a powerful punch that propelled San Francisco into a heated, hate-fueled pennant race with the Dodgers.

In the end, the 95-win Giants fell two games shy of their rivals from Los Angeles, ending Mays' monster season with a painful thud.

1965 Topps #170 Hank Aaron

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $1,300

When the Braves franchise moved to Milwaukee from Boston in 1953, the community embraced them with open arms.

The team drew over 1.7 million fans every season for the remainder of the decade, peaking at just over 2.2 million in the team's 1957 championship year.

The 1960s were a different story.

Public distaste for the team's management, general apathy, and court battles centered on the franchise's intentions to move to Atlanta led to diminishing returns at the gate.

In 1965, things reached their obvious boiling point.

The team drew just 555,584 fans, averaging a paltry 6,859 fans per game.

County Stadium was a barren, depressing sight on most days.

And it's sad, considering that it coincided with another brilliant year for the city's favorite baseball son: Hank Aaron.

Aaron was the glue that held the 86-win Braves together, slashing .318/.379/.560 with 32 home runs, an NL-best 40 doubles, 109 runs scored, 24 stolen bases, and 89 RBIs in 639 plate appearances (570 at-bats).

It wasn't enough to push the Braves into the pennant mix, nor was it enough to save baseball in Milwaukee.

The Braves finally won their case in the offseason, officially moving to Atlanta for the 1966 campaign.

But, at least Aaron gave them a farewell present worth remembering, even if no one was there to receive it.

1965 Topps #300 Sandy Koufax

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $1,300

Sandy Koufax’s Hall-of-Fame career hinges on the greatest five-year stretch (1961-65) by a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball history.

1965 was perhaps the most ludicrous of those five glorious seasons.

In a career-best and Major-League best 335.2 innings pitched, Koufax fanned an astounding 382 batters, clearing Rube Waddell’s former modern-era strikeout record by 33.

And on September 9th, Koufax became the first pitcher in MLB history to record a fourth career no-hitter, blanking the Chicago Cubs in just the eighth perfect game of the modern era.

In addition to leading the Majors in Ks and innings pitched, the Dodgers ace topped the charts in wins (26), ERA (2.04), complete games (27), batters faced (1297), FIP (2.08), WHIP (0.928), and hits-per-9 (5.8).

He also paced the National League in strikeouts-per-nine (10.2) for good measure.

An academic choice for his second NL Cy Young Award, the five-time All-Star finished as the runner-up to Willie Mays in the league’s MVP race.

When it counted, though, Koufax got a leg up on his Giants rival.

After losing Game Two of the ‘65 World Series to the Minnesota Twins, Koufax spun complete-game shutouts in Game 5 and the clinching Game 7, the latter of which coming on just two days’ rest.

The Dodgers won their second World Series in three years, both of which ending with the immortal Koufax taking home Series MVP honors. 

1965 Topps #160 Roberto Clemente

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $1,250

Roberto Clemente's 1965 season was cursed from the start.

During his usual winter ball stint in Puerto Rico, he twisted his ankle violently during a game and was later struck in the thigh by an errant rock kicked out from under his lawnmower.

In considerable pain, he gutted it out for a pinch-hit performance in the league's All-Star Game, a decision that proved costly.

"I felt my thigh ligament pop and something like water draining inside my leg," Clemente said.

It was a bad omen for the season to come.

Forced to go under the knife with a severed thigh ligament, Clemente's offseason preparations were understandably abbreviated.

As you might expect, Clemente got off to a sluggish start in '65.

The team followed suit, going 9-24 in its first 33 games under new manager Harry Walker.

Yet, when the Pirates' star right fielder started to get his legs underneath him, the team bounced back with gusto.

Pittsburgh rattled off 12 wins in a row after that 33-game stretch, with Clemente hitting a blazing .458 during the streak.

But the Buccos couldn't climb out of the sizeable hole they created in April, finishing third in the NL with a 90-72-1 record.

Without Clemente, it would have been much, much worse.

Finishing eighth in the league's MVP race, the 30-year-old Hall-of-Famer-to-be won his third NL batting title (and second consecutive) with an MLB-best .329 average.

1965 Topps #16 Joe Morgan Rookie Card

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $1,200

After brief cups of coffee with the big-league club in 1963 and 1964, Joe Morgan secured the Houston Astros’ starting second-base job in the spring of ‘65.

At just 21 years of age, Morgan wasn’t yet the MVP-caliber hitter he’d become in his Cincinnati prime.

His swing mechanics weren’t polished, albeit still plenty good enough to vault him into consideration with the best middle infielders in the game.

What Morgan did have was patience.

Opposing pitchers would get visibly frustrated with the young phenom as he fouled pitches off, spit on borderline balls, and worked counts tirelessly.

It all added up to an MLB-best 97 walks and countless frustrated opponents.

Overall, Morgan slashed .271/.373/.418 for the ninth-place Astros with 14 home runs, 22 doubles, 12 triples, 40 RBIs, 20 stolen bases, and 100 runs scored in 157 games played.

He earned a smattering of down-ballot MVP votes (despite playing for a directionless Houston club) and finished as the NL Rookie of the Year runner-up to Dodgers second baseman Jim Lefebvre.

1965 Topps #477 Steve Carlton Rookie Card

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $950

Eighteen months after signing a $5,000 bonus contract with the St. Louis Cardinals, Steve Carlton worked his way into a big-league roster spot in the spring of 1965.

Coming out of Miami Dade College as an intriguing lefty prospect, the young hurler quickly moved up the Cards' organizational ladder.

In 1964, he bounced from Low-A to Double-A, going 17-9 across three minor-league levels with a sterling 2.32 ERA and 210 strikeouts in 206.0 innings pitched.

It was clear early on that Carlton had the stuff and the makeup to make an impact in the big leagues.

His spin-heavy, tight slider was a wicked complement to his breaking ball and pinpoint fastball.

No matter where he played, he was virtually unhittable at his best.

Equal parts talented, introverted, and stubborn, Carlton often rubbed people the wrong way with his blunt communication style (i.e. Cards catcher Tim McCarver).

However, he knew what he was talking about and had the numbers to back that up.

The 20-year-old future ace appeared in just 15 games in '65 (with two starts), impressing in a small sample size.

He pitched to a 2.52 ERA for seventh-place St. Louis, striking out 21 batters in 25 innings.

His 1.400 WHIP (27 hits, eight walks) reflected his youth and inexperience, yet the good was too good to quibble over an initial lack of control. 

1965 Topps #145 Luis Tiant Rookie Card

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $550

In the shadow of fellow Cleveland Indians pitching standout Sam McDowell, Luis Tiant had to wait patiently for his turn in The Show.

When McDowell was promoted to the big-league club early in the 1964 season, it appeared that Tiant would be the odd man out in Cleveland, at least for the time being.

Instead, Tiant forced the Indians' hand.

From April to mid-July of 1964, he went 15-1 for Triple-A Portland with 13 complete games in 15 starts.

He continued to make his name after being promoted, going 10-4 for Cleveland with a 2.83 ERA in 19 appearances (16 starts).

A clear choice for a rotation spot in 1965, Tiant's sophomore go-around was a step back.

Carrying a bit too much weight for his frame and battling soreness in his pitching arm, the 24-year-old righty went 11-11 with a 3.53 ERA for the fifth-place Indians.

Looking a bit deeper, there was plenty to like about Tiant's first full season.

He pitched 196.1 innings across 41 appearances (30 starts), completing ten games and compiling a strong 1.182 WHIP.

The control was often an issue, though, as was his durability.

So when Tiant's father advised that he drop some weight and focus on conditioning in the offseason, he obliged, dropping 20 pounds before the start of the '66 campaign.

1965 Topps #581 Tony Perez Rookie Card

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $550

Signed for the cost of a plane ticket and a $2.50 exit visa, Tony Perez had nothing handed to him when he entered the Cincinnati Reds' farm system in 1960.

Upon his arrival Stateside, the Cuban national was a raw talent, equal parts impressive and erratic.

He started his professional career at third base, but a combined 103 errors in his first three seasons scuttled that quickly.

When Perez broke into the Bigs for a quick 12-game stint in 1964, it was as a first baseman, the position he'd play for most of his 23-year MLB career.

In '65, the former Pacific Coast League MVP was slotted into a platoon with Gordy Coleman, the righty-swinging Perez getting most at-bats against lefties, and vice versa for Coleman.

It turned out to be quite a productive duo for the 89-win Reds.

Coleman cracked .300 for the first time in his six-year career thus far (.302), launching 14 home runs in 325 at-bats.

Perez provided similar power with 12 homers in just 281 at-bats.

The rookie slugger posted a .260/.315/.466 slash line on the year with 14 doubles, four triples, 40 runs scored, and 47 RBIs in 104 games played.

He also proved himself to be a gamer, coming up with countless clutch hits to help lift Cincy to its fifth consecutive winning season.

1965 Topps #320 Bob Gibson

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $475

The good vibes from the St. Louis Cardinals' 1964 championship season lasted all but a few days or so.

In the offseason, manager Johnny Keane submitted his resignation, eventually heading to the Bronx to take over the Yankees' job.

New manager Red Schoendienst inherited a veteran club expected to once against challenge for an NL pennant.

Instead, 80-win St. Louis slipped back to the bottom half of the NL standings, vexed by an inconsistent offense and an aging core.

It wasn't all doom and gloom for the Cards, though.

After a strong year in '64 worthy of down-ballot MVP consideration, 29-year-old righty Bob Gibson put together another fine year in '65.

The future two-time NL Cy Young and NL MVP reached the 20-win mark for the first of five times, going 20-12 with a strong 3.07 ERA.

He completed 20 of his 36 starts, surrendering just 243 hits in 299.0 innings pitched.

He also fielded his position with sure hands and a strong arm, earning his first of nine Gold Gloves.

On the other hand, control remained an issue for the now three-time All-Star.

Gibson issued over 100 walks for the first time since 1961 (an NL-worst 119) and gave up an MLB-worst 34 home runs.

It was a hit-and-miss season, to be sure.

Lucky for the Cardinals, it was usually more hit than miss.

1965 Topps #340 Tony Oliva

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $400

Tony Oliva's first two years as a big-league player read like something from a Hollywood movie.

From a disastrous initial tryout with the Minnesota Twins to the MLB penthouse in a half-decade, the Cuban national's trip through the professional baseball wilderness led him to the pinnacle of the game in 1965.

The first player in baseball history to capture batting crowns in his first two Major League seasons, Oliva was the straw that stirred the drink for the 102-win AL champs.

Oliva's sweet swing was a thing of beauty, propelling the 26-year-old right fielder into the AL's top four in six major offensive categories: batting average (.321, 1st), base hits (185, 1st), runs scored (107, 2nd), total bases (283, 3rd), doubles (40, 3rd), RBIs (98, 3rd), and on-base percentage (.378, 4th).

If not for teammate and fellow countryman Zoilo Versalles, Oliva would have parlayed his 1964 Rookie-of-the-Year award into MVP gold in 1965.

Instead, the two-time All-Star would have to "settle" for a runner-up finish and a league pennant.

Sadly for Twins fans, Oliva's dream season got shaken awake in the 1965 World Series.

He went just 5-for-27 (.192) with a meager .568 OPS in the team's seven-game loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

1965 Topps #510 Ernie Banks

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $400

In 1964, the Chicago Cubs flirted with contention over the season's first two months before fading to an underwhelming seventh-place finish.

Come '65, the lovable losers once again hovered around .500 before settling into a familiar position near the bottom of the NL standings at 76-86-1.

Mired in their twelfth losing season in thirteen tries, the Cubs were a punchline.

But their 12-time All-Star and former MVP, Ernie Banks, wasn't laughing.

Publicly and privately frustrated with the team's direction, Banks did his best to remain professional between the lines.

Whether it was under the eventually-fired Bob Kennedy or interim manager Lou Klein, Banks came to the park and did his job.

A three-headed hitting monster consisting of Banks, Ron Santo, and Billy Williams was tasked with keeping an otherwise pitiful offensive attack afloat.

It worked in fits and starts, yet it wasn't sustainable throughout a 162-game season.

Banks finished the year slashing .265/.328/.453 with 28 home runs, 25 doubles, three triples, 79 runs scored, and 106 RBIs while appearing in all 163 contests for the boys from Wrigley.

The trio of Banks, Santo, and Williams accounted for 95 of the team's 134 home runs (70.9%) and 315 of Chicago's 590 RBIs (53.4%), a lopsided ledger that led the Cubs nowhere fast

1965 Topps #510 Catfish Hunter Rookie Card

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $400

No matter how miserable things get for a player or team during a given season, there's always room (however slight) for optimism.

Case in point, right-handed hurler Catfish Hunter's rookie year with the last-place Athletics was a study in contrast.

The 19-year-old struggled in his initial MLB go-around, failing to cement his out pitch while giving up his fair share of big hits and tape-measure bombs.

Hunter finished the year at an even 8-8 for 59-win Kansas City, pitching to a 4.26 ERA in 32 games (20 starts).

And while his 8.4 strikeouts-per-9-innings line up with his career mark of 8.2, his 8.4 hits-per-9 and career-worst 1.4 home runs per nine innings painted the picture of a young prospect taking his lumps in year one.

Yet, no matter how bad things got for Hunter or the Athletics, there was something unshakeable about the kid who turned heads inside and outside the organization.

"He's made a believer out of me now," said A's pitching coach Ed Lopat. "The thing that impresses me about Hunter is the way he reacts after someone has hit a home run against him. Hunter doesn't care. He keeps on throwing strikes."

1965 Topps #120 Frank Robinson

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $325

Despite eight All-Star appearances, a 1956 Rookie-of-the-Year award, and a 1961 NL MVP award, Frank Robinson was bizarrely underappreciated in his final year with the Cincinnati Reds.

No matter how much the team's fan base loved him and his teammates looked up to him, the buck always stopped with owner Bill DeWitt.

And the truth was that DeWitt didn't like Robinson all that much.

It didn't matter that Robinson was the top run producer in franchise history.

It didn't matter that he hit to a healthy .925 OPS in '65 while posting his fourth season with both 100 runs scored (109) and 100 runs driven in (113).

Robinson's 33 home runs were an afterthought to DeWitt.

Labeling him as an "old 30," DeWitt pulled the trigger on one of the dumbest trades in the game's history, offloading next year's AL MVP to Baltimore for a handful of peanuts.

"My mind went blank when the trade was announced," said Robinson. "I did not feel I had anything to prove, yet I wanted to prove to Bill DeWitt that I was not done at age 30."

He did just that and then some, carrying the Orioles to two World Series titles over the next five seasons.

1965 Topps #8 N.L. ERA Leaders

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $300

Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax appeared at the top of multiple categories during the 1964 season as the Los Angeles Dodgers relied heavily on their All-Star workhorses.

Drysdale paced the Majors in starts (40), innings (321.1) and batters faced (1,264) while leading the National League in WAR (7.8).

And Koufax bested every pitcher in Major League Baseball in winning percentage (.792), FIP (2.08), WHIP (0.928) and taking first in hits-per-nine (6.2), strikeouts-per-nine (9.0), ERA+ (186), shutouts (7), and ERA (1.74).

The dynamic duo accounted for 37 of the club's 80 wins that season, with Koufax (19) besting Drysdale by one (18).

Despite their incredible performances on the mound, the Dodgers limped to a sixth-place finish in the National League pennant race.

Still, Topps commemorated their individual efforts with this 1964 NL ERA Leaders card.

No one was going to catch Koufax and his 1.74 ERA.

But Drysdale was second-best in the NL at 2.18.

It was another top-notch season for one of the game's best 1-2 punches in history.

1965 Topps #134 Mantle's Cluth HR

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $300

From 1947-1964, the New York Yankees were an unassailable juggernaut. The Bronx Bombers captured fifteen of a possible eighteen AL pennants, converting ten of those into World Series championships.

And in the bottom of the 9th in Game 3 of the '64 World Series, Mickey Mantle and the Yankees seemed primed for even more championship glory, if only for a moment.

With the game tied 1-1, Barney Schultz entered in relief of starter Curt Simmons, who had tossed an eight-inning beauty, giving up four hits and one earned run.

And then, with one fateful pitch, the game came to an immediate halt.

Simmons tossed 110 pitches that day.

Schultz threw only one.

And the legendary Mickey Mantle, batting lefty, blasted it deep into the right field bleachers, sending 67,101 fans at Yankee Stadium into a frenzy as New York took a 2-1 Series lead.

Things didn't get much better for Schultz.

In Game 6, the Yanks roughed him up for four runs in two-thirds of an inning of work in the eighth.

It was more than enough to help New York to an 8-3 victory.

Still, despite a two-run Yankees scare in the top of the 9th in Game 7 at Busch Stadium, Schultz and the rest of the Cardinals clubhouse breathed a sigh of relief with a 7-5 Series-clinching victory.

1965 Topps #377 Willie Stargell

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $300

A noted free swinger with an all-or-nothing style, Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Willie Stargell never got cheated in a big-league batter's box.

In his first two big-league years in 1963 and '64, this approach cost Stargell.

The power numbers were solid, but his lack of patience led to a combined on-base percentage under .300.

In 1965, Stargell started to tweak things to his benefit and the benefit of the third-place Buccos.

He cut his strikeout rate from 25.9% in '63 to 21.8% in '65.

The latter number isn't exactly great, but it was a step forward for the 25-year-old as a middle-of-the-order threat.

A two-time All-Star and down-ballot MVP mention, Stargell hit .272 with a new career-high .328 on-base percentage.

He also set new career bests in home runs (27), RBIs (107), doubles (25), and plate appearances (582), among other categories.

Things were on the up-trend for Stargell and a Pirates team.

It would take a half-decade for the franchise to return to the World Series promised land, but the foundation was already well under construction.

1965 Topps #385 Carl Yastrzemski

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $300

The 1965 Boston Red Sox couldn't pitch their way out of a paper bag, finishing dead last in the Majors in runs allowed per game (4.88).

That's a shame, considering the offense wasn't terrible.

Finishing better than the league average in most major statistical categories, the Red Sox could slug away with the best of them.

The pitching was just too awful, though, dooming the Sox to a 62-100 record and a 9th-place finish in the AL.

It was an absolute waste.

And it took the luster off one heck of an All-Star campaign for 25-year-old left fielder Carl Yastrzemski.

The five-year veteran had his best year thus far in '65, pacing the Majors in doubles (45) and leading the Junior Circuit in on-base percentage (.395), slugging percentage (.536), OPS (.932), and OPS+ (156).

In our current advanced-stat era, Yastrzemski's second All-Star campaign would get more love.

As it was, he still landed a top-ten finish in the league's MVP race while capturing his second Gold Glove thanks to his stellar efforts in right

1965 Topps #2 N.L. Batting Leaders

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $275

Dick Allen may have run away with the 1964 NL Rookie of the Year award with 90% of the vote.

But Rico Carty also had a fine season, slashing .330/.388/.554 with 22 home runs, 88 RBIs, and 72 runs scored.

It was good enough to tie San Francisco's Jim Ray Hart for second place in the NL ROY race.

Carty would go on to appear in one All-Star Game and win one batting title, both during the 1970 season, the finest of his solid 15-year career.

Yet, most of the value of this card comes from the appearance of two mega stars, Roberto Clemente and Hank Aaron, who accompany him on this NL Batting Leaders card.

Clemente topped the Majors in 1964 with a .339 batting average, while Hammerin' Hank hit .328, the second-highest mark of his career since hitting .355 in 1959.

Had Carty been just a bit better, it would have been him atop this card with Clemente and Aaron below.

Still, finishing second in a batting race between two legends like Aaron and Clemente was enough of an achievement, let alone the fact that it came during his rookie season.

1965 Topps #5 A.L. RBI Leaders

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $275

The 1965 AL RBI race was close, with Brooks Robinson finishing on top with 118.

A four-RBI game on the second-to-last day of the season during a 10-4  home win against the Detroit Tigers gave Robinson just enough padding to edge out Boston's Dick Stuart, who finished with 114 RBIs.

Robinson's 118 RBIs were easily a career-high, besting his second-highest total by 18 when he drove in 100 runs in 1966, the only other time he reached the 100-RBI mark in his historic career.

Driving in so many runs that year was a big reason he won the 1964 AL MVP award.

But it may have been a different story if the other two guys on this card, Mickey Mantle and Harmon Killebrew, were just a bit more like their usual selves in 1965.

Mantle won the AL RBI title in '61 and '62, while Killebrew won it in '66, '67, and '69.

But give credit where credit is due.

Brooks Robinson showed up in a big way in 1964.

And, though he did win the RBI crown, the MVP award likely carried much more significance to the humble future Hall-of-Famer.

1965 Topps #155 Roger Maris

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $275

Things went from bad to downright unbearable for New York Yankees right fielder Roger Maris in 1965.

Four years removed from breaking Babe Ruth's single-season home run record in a chase full of controversy, Maris was public enemy #1 in the Bronx.

As the Yankees dynasty died a slow death during the team's worst season in 40 years, Maris was the media and the fans' favorite punching bag.

The 30-year-old slugger appeared in only 46 games in '65, nursing a mistakenly-diagnosed broken hand.

When he did make the field, Maris' production was underwhelming.

He slashed just .239/.357/.439 in 186 plate appearances with eight home runs and 27 RBIs.

Sure, Mickey Mantle missed a ton of time, as did catcher Elston Howard.

However, they had enough goodwill with the press and fans to stay out of the line of fire.

Maris, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky.

Sullen and short with his critics, the two-time AL MVP was a pinstriped scapegoat.

Ever the outsider, even at his peak, Maris couldn't win over New York even if he'd wanted to.

1965 Topps #460 Richie Allen

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $275

As a rookie in 1964, Dick Allen led the Majors in runs scored (125) and triples (13) while also leading the National League in total bases (352) and, unfortunately, strikeouts (138).

He also turned in a .318 batting average, 29 home runs, 201 hits and drove in 91 runs, to boot.

Scouts knew the youngster from Wampum, Pennsylvania, was an incredible talent long before he suited up for the Phillies.

And Allen delivered, winning NL Rookie of the Year honors and a seventh-place finish in the MVP race.

Though his numbers regressed a bit during his sophomore season in '65, Allen earned his first of seven career All-Star appearances and a handful of down-ballot MVP votes.

And he remained one of the game's biggest superstars throughout the 1960s and 70s.

But, Allen's career was often shrouded in controversy.

Anything from his distaste for teammates and the press calling him "Richie" to infighting with jealous teammates to routinely dealing with chants and slurs from fans seemed to distract from his incredible play.

In 2022, Allen missed joining Gil Hodges, Minnie Minoso, Tony Oliva and Jim Kaat in Cooperstown when the Golden Days Era Committee left him with eleven votes, just one short needed for entry.

Allen remains one of the greatest players of all time to be left off the Hall of Fame ledger.

1965 Topps #540 Lou Brock

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $275

Before the end of 1964, Lou Brock was a speedster who doubled as an accomplished base thief.

From there, he became one of the most legendary stolen-base artists of all time.

What changed?

Well, it all started with an eight-millimeter camera.

One of the great thinkers of his or any era, Brock recorded the National League's pitchers every game he could.

By doing so, he could study each hurler's pickoff moves to time his jumps better.

Brock's amateur videos rubbed many pitchers the wrong way.

Don Drysdale even went so far as to throw at the St. Louis Cardinals' left fielder after telling him to keep him out of his "goddamn movies."

Brock didn't listen, and it's a good thing he didn't.

He bested his career high in stolen bases by twenty in 1965, finishing second in the Majors behind the Dodgers' Maury Wills with 63.

Another quality hitting season didn't hurt.

Brock posted a .288 batting average on the year with 16 home runs, 35 doubles, eight triples, 107 runs scored, and 69 RBIs in 697 plate appearances (631 at-bats).

The more Brock hit, the more chances he had to swipe a bag.

It was a method of greatness that eventually led him to Cooperstown.

1965 Topps #260 Don Drysdale

Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $250

There were two reasons why the Los Angeles Dodgers staved off the rival SF Giants: Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale.

The two combined for 49 of the Dodgers' 97 wins, with Koufax topping the Majors at 26 and Drysdale slotting in third at 23.

The 1-2 punch papered over a weak Dodgers offense that finished 15th out of 20 teams in run production (3.75), 19th in slugging percentage (.335), 17th in OPS (.647), and dead last in home runs (78).

Los Angeles just wasn't built to outscore its opposition.

So, they leaned heavily on Drysdale and Koufax to put up zeroes for their opponents.

Backing up his Cy Young teammate with his aggressive mound approach, Drysdale finished fifth in the league's MVP race with a 23-12 record.

He pitched to a sparkling 2.77 ERA, completing 20 of his MLB-best 42 starts and striking out 210 batters in 308.1 innings.

And come the World Series, they brought Los Angeles its second trophy in three years, even if the series started badly.

Drysdale and Koufax took the L in Games 1 and 2, putting the Dodgers in a 2-0 hole against the 102-win Twins.

From there, Koufax and the Big D accounted for three of the team's four title-clinching wins, including a Game 4 strikeout masterclass by Drysdale in which he K'd eleven Twins en route to a Series-tying 7-2 win.

1965 Topps Baseball Cards In Review

Most vintage collectors enjoy this set design.

Others of the 1960s, like the 1962 and 1968 set designs, can sometimes stir up controversy with their respective wood-grain and burlap-border designs.

But, typically, you'll find most vintage collectors have good things to say about the 1965 set design.

And even the few detractors that their may be on the topic of eye appeal, you won't find them denying one other key feature of this set: its rookie card and star power.

Hall of Famers Joe Morgan, Steve Carlton, Tony Perez and Catfish Hunter all made their rookie card debuts in '65 Topps.

And the list of superstars is incredible, headlined by Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente and Sandy Koufax, to name a few.

There is truly no shortage of big-name star appeal.

And while it doesn't have as many subsets as other Topps issues of the 1960s, the two subsets below knock it out of the park when it comes to quality:

• League Leaders (#1 - 12)
• World Series Highlights (#132 - 139)

Overall, the 1965 Topps baseball set is as solid as they come for vintage sets.

And demand for the cards on this list will remain quite high for a long, long time.