1964 Topps #455 Bernie Allen
About Bernie Allen
Allen held off Johnny Goryl in spring training and started fast, a two-homer game at Washington on April 18 pushing him to .313 the next day; manager Sam Mele said moving him closer to the plate had made him aggressive. Then on June 13, again at Washington, Don Zimmer reached second stride for stride with Zoilo Versalles's soft toss and cross-body-checked him, tearing the ligaments in his left knee. Allen came back in August but was finished for the year on September 1 at .214 in 74 games, and he was not operated on until October, when surgeons grafted in part of his own hamstring. Card #455 comes from the sixth series.
Bernard Keith Allen (born April 16, 1939, in East Liverpool, Ohio) was a three-sport star in high school and Purdue's starting quarterback before he chose baseball, signing with the Minnesota Twins in 1961 after turning down more money from the not-yet-playing New York Mets. Eighty minor-league games later he opened 1962 as the Twins' second baseman, the job Billy Martin had just vacated; Martin, released that spring after Allen outplayed him, taught him the position anyway. Allen's rookie year was the best of his career. A June 1964 collision with Don Zimmer tore the ligaments in his left knee, and he was never again the hitter he had been as a rookie. He spent 1965 rehabbing while Minnesota went to the World Series, then went to Washington with Camilo Pascual for Ron Kline in December 1966. He served as player representative for the Twins, Senators and Yankees, and hit through astigmatism in his right eye by wearing a single contact lens. Twelve big-league seasons left him 815 hits, 73 home runs and a .239 average; Purdue put him in its Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 196 | 1 | 32 | 99 | 40 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-09-04. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted.
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Related cards
Team card: #318 Minnesota Twins
More Minnesota Twins cards:
- #2 1963 American League E.R.A. Leaders
- #4 1963 American League Pitching Leaders
- #6 1963 American League Strikeout Leaders
- #8 1963 American League Batting Leaders
- #10 1963 American League Home Run Leaders
- #12 1963 American League R.B.I. Leaders
- #15 Zoilo Versalles
- #34 Jim Perry
- #54 Sam Mele
- #73 Jimmie Hall
- #81 All-Star Vets
- #90 Earl Battey
- #116 Twins 1964 Rookie Stars
- #156 Bill Dailey
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1964 Topps #455 card?
It is card #455 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bernie Allen of the Minnesota Twins.
Why is #455 harder to find?
It is a series 5-6 card. Cards from the fifth and sixth print series (#371-522) are a step tougher to find than #1-370; availability in 1964 runs in three tiers, not a cliff.
How many cards are in the 1964 Topps Baseball set?
587 cards, tracked as 589 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 587 with no gaps, and no number carries two different cards; two cards - #4, the A.L. Pitching Leaders, and #517, the seventh-series checklist - carry a catalogued back variation that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, The Topps Archives, Baseball Almanac, Baseball-Reference, the SABR BioProject and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, PSA & SGC population reports. Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-10-11.