1959 Topps #163 Sandy Koufax
1959 Topps #163 Sandy Koufax
Sandy Koufax, three years into his Dodgers career and just before his mid-'60s peak.
About Sandy Koufax
Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in December 1954, Sandy Koufax went straight to the majors under baseball's bonus-baby rule, debuting in June 1955 without a single minor-league inning. The hard-throwing lefty spent his entire 12-year career with the Dodgers, developing from a wild, inconsistent arm into the sport's most dominant pitcher. A seven-time All-Star, he won three unanimous Cy Young Awards (1963, 1965, 1966), the 1963 NL MVP, and threw four no-hitters, including a perfect game in 1965. He finished with a 165-87 record, 2.76 ERA, and 2,396 strikeouts, retiring at 30 due to arthritis rather than risk permanent injury. Entering 1959, Koufax was still finding himself, but that season he set new strikeout records and made his World Series debut, pitching two perfect relief innings as the Dodgers won it all. Admirers called him "the Left Arm of God." He entered the Hall of Fame in 1972 as its youngest-ever inductee.
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 | 4,651 | 0 | 17 | 181 | 437 | 853 | 883 | 2,251 | 29 |
| SGC | 2,249 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 89 | 172 | 470 | 1,455 | 39 |
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 Sandy Koufax card?
It is card #163 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 Los Angeles Dodgers player.
Is the 1959 Topps Sandy Koufax 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.