1958 Topps #205 Johnny Temple
About Johnny Temple
Two 1958 Topps cards carry Johnny Temple as a Cincinnati Red. Card #205 comes from the third series. Card #478 belongs to the Sport Magazine All-Star Selection subset, the first time Topps gave All-Stars their own cards; its back lists his record against the American League, an error left uncorrected. Both reflect 1957, when the second baseman hit .284 in 145 games, drew 94 walks to tie for the National League lead and started the All-Star Game after Cincinnati fans stuffed the ballot.
Johnny Temple was a scrappy, contact-hitting second baseman who spent thirteen major league seasons (1952-1964) with the Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles and Houston Colt .45s. A North Carolina farm boy who signed with Cincinnati after a 1948 tryout camp in Mooresville, he reached the majors in 1952 and grew into the Reds' regular leadoff man and second baseman, teaming with shortstop Roy McMillan on one of the era's best double-play combinations. He played in six All-Star Games out of four selections, 1956, 1957 and both games in each of 1959 and 1961, batted over .300 three times, and finished with a .284 average, 648 walks against 338 strikeouts and 140 stolen bases. His best year came in 1959: .311 with career highs of 102 runs, 186 hits, 35 doubles, eight homers and 67 RBIs. That December Cincinnati traded him to Cleveland for Cal McLish, Gordy Coleman and Billy Martin. Baltimore and Houston followed, then a short, unhappy 1964 turn as a Reds coach that ended in an August clubhouse fight and his firing. Cincinnati put him in the Reds Hall of Fame in 1965.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 333 | 0 | 14 | 133 | 119 | 30 | 23 | 14 | 0 |
| SGC | 22 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-07-09. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8). PSA counts are straight-graded (the +/Q qualifier rows are excluded).
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Related cards
More Johnny Temple in this set: #478 All-Star
More Cincinnati Reds cards:
- #12 George Crowe
- #27 Bud Freeman
- #34 Bob Thurman
- #49 Smoky Burgess
- #63 Joe Nuxhall
- #75 Gus Bell
- #103 Jerry Lynch
- #118 Harvey Haddix
- #126 Stan Palys
- #131 Bob Henrich
- #149 Tom Acker
- #157 Dee Fondy
- #160 Don Hoak
- #214 Willard Schmidt
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1958 Topps Johnny Temple card?
It is card #205 of the 1958 Topps Baseball set - Topps' sixth flagship issue: 494 cards numbered 1-495 (#145 was never issued), with die-cut player photos on solid-color backgrounds and the first team logos on Topps fronts. It pictures Johnny Temple, Cincinnati Reds.
How many graded copies of the 1958 Topps Johnny Temple #205 are there?
PSA has graded 333 copies and SGC 22 as of the 2026-07-09 snapshot. Population is a scarcity guide, not a price - high-grade 1958s are notoriously tough because of the set's chronic centering and print-quality issues.
How many cards are in the 1958 Topps set?
494 issued cards, numbered 1-495 - #145 (Ed Bouchee) was pulled before release and never issued, leaving a permanent gap. The PSA master census counts 534 items: the 494 base cards plus 33 yellow-letter variations, 4 numerical checklist-back team cards, the 'Herrer' #433 error, and 2 unnumbered ad cards.
Sources: PSA CardFacts, Beckett, BaseballCardPedia, Baseball-Reference, PSA & SGC population reports, and hobby press-sheet research (Topps Archives, 2026). Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-09-30.