1959 Topps #102 Felipe Alou
1959 Topps #102 Felipe Alou
About Felipe Alou
Felipe Alou signed with the New York Giants organization in 1955 and began his pro career the following year with Lake Charles in the Class C Evangeline League, where he confronted brutal Jim Crow segregation he had never experienced in his native Dominican Republic — after a local ban on Black players, he was transferred to Cocoa in the Florida State League after just five games. He later reflected, "Until you confront a lion, you don't know how ferocious he is." Alou made his major-league debut on June 8, 1958, the Giants' first year in San Francisco, hitting .253 with 4 home runs in 75 games; in 1959, the season on his rookie-era Topps card, he homered in each of his first three games and played 95 games, batting .275 with 10 homers and 33 RBI. Over a 17-year career he collected 2,101 hits, batted .286 and made three All-Star teams, and in 1963 he formed an all-brother Giants outfield with siblings Matty and Jesús. Alou later became baseball's first Dominican-born manager, leading the Montreal Expos and San Francisco Giants to a combined 1,033-1,021 record, including a 100-win season with the Giants in 2003.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Variations & how to tell them apart
Venezuelan Parallel
Topps issued a partial parallel of the set for the Venezuelan market, printed on thinner card stock and credited "Impreso en Venezuela por Benco C.A." on the back. Hobby checklists most often list the run as cards 1-196, though sources disagree and the exact range has never been definitively documented. Venezuelan cards are far scarcer than their U.S. counterparts and usually surface with heavy wear; collectors treat them as a separate parallel, not part of the standard 572-card set.
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 803 | 2 | 17 | 205 | 185 | 183 | 81 | 130 | 0 |
| SGC | 122 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 31 | 35 | 21 | 24 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-07-05. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8); totals are summed across each grader's listed variations.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1959 Topps Felipe Alou card?
It is card #102 of 572 in the 1959 Topps Baseball set - Topps' largest set to that point, issued across seven series with a circular color photo on every front. It pictures the San Francisco Giants player, and is his rookie-era card.
Is the 1959 Topps Felipe Alou valuable?
Value depends on grade, the series (the high numbers run scarcer), and any variation. Use the links above to check current T206 Cards inventory and live eBay listings.
Sources: Trading Card Database, Baseball-Reference, BaseballCardPedia, PSA & SGC population reports, and Baseball-Almanac. Card data, images & population compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-07-10.