1964 Topps #254 Don Hoak
About Don Hoak
#254 rode the third series, by which point Hoak's playing days were over. He hit .231 in 115 games for the 1963 Phillies, benched in late May at .197 before winning the job back in July, and the next spring he lost it to rookie Dick Allen. He pinch-hit in six games, went 0-for-4 with two sacrifices, and Philadelphia released him on May 18, 1964, keeping him as a scout.
Don Hoak was a right-handed-hitting third baseman, born February 5, 1928 in Roulette, Pennsylvania, who spent eleven major league seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Redlegs, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Philadelphia Phillies from 1954 through 1964. Nicknamed "Tiger" by Pirates broadcaster Bob Prince for his ferociousness on the field, Hoak built his reputation on a hard-nosed, hustling style, a sure glove and good speed rather than on his bat. He made his only All-Star team in 1957 with Cincinnati, a season in which he hit .293 and set career highs with 19 home runs and 89 RBIs while leading the National League with 39 doubles. He started at third base in the deciding Game Seven of two World Series won by his teams, filling in for Jackie Robinson for the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers and again for the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates, and he finished runner-up to teammate Dick Groat in the 1960 National League MVP vote. Over eleven seasons he batted .265 with 89 home runs and 498 RBIs in 1,263 games. After retiring as a player in 1964 he worked as a Pirates broadcaster, a Phillies coach, and a Pirates minor league manager before dying of a heart attack in October 1969 at age 41.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2) · Baseball Almanac (3)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 208 | 1 | 23 | 111 | 45 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 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: #293 Philadelphia Phillies
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- #104 Art Mahaffey
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- #157 Gene Mauch
- #173 Ryne Duren
- #191 Clay Dalrymple
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- #243 Phillies 1964 Rookie Stars
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1964 Topps #254 card?
It is card #254 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Don Hoak of the Philadelphia Phillies.
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.