1964 Topps #345 Frank Thomas
About Frank Thomas
Thomas was still useful in 1963 - .260 with 15 home runs and 60 RBIs in 126 games, most of them in left field with fifteen games at first base - but the Mets were handing at-bats to younger players such as Ed Kranepool, and a 34-year-old on a rebuilding club turns into trade bait. That is the backdrop to #345, a fourth-series card. It also catches the end of his Mets run: he opened 1964 at .254 with three home runs in 60 games before New York traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies on August 7 for Wayne Graham, Gary Kroll and cash.
Frank Joseph Thomas (June 11, 1929 - January 16, 2023) was a right-handed-hitting outfielder, third baseman and first baseman who spent 16 major-league seasons from 1951 to 1966 with seven National League clubs. A Pittsburgh native who grew up in the shadow of Forbes Field, he spent four and a half years studying for the Roman Catholic priesthood at a seminary in Niagara Falls, Ontario before choosing professional baseball with the Pirates. He debuted at Forbes Field on August 17, 1951, and made All-Star teams in 1954, 1955 and 1958, peaking in 1958 with a .281 average, 35 home runs - second in the league to Ernie Banks - 109 RBIs and a fourth-place finish in the NL MVP vote. A damaged nerve in the thumb of his right hand, already bothering him when Cincinnati acquired him before the 1959 season, cut his home runs from 35 to 12 that year; surgery followed and he topped 20 again. He hit 20 or more homers nine times. Over 1,766 games he batted .266 with 1,671 hits, 286 home runs and 962 RBIs, playing every infield and outfield position except shortstop. He was just as well known for blunt salary holdouts against Pirates general manager Branch Rickey, including a 17-day standoff in 1955.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 259 | 9 | 42 | 112 | 66 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 11 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1964 Topps #345 card?
It is card #345 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Frank Thomas of the New York Mets.
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.