1964 Topps #431 George Alusik
About George Alusik
Card #431 comes from Topps' fifth series and is the last Alusik card in Topps' run through the 1960s. It reports on his 1963 season in Kansas City: 87 games, 59 hits, nine home runs, 37 runs batted in, a .267 average and a .345 on-base mark - less power than the year before, but the same willingness to take a walk. He was by then playing out what became his final major league season: 102 games, 204 at-bats, three home runs, a .240 average, and a last appearance on October 2, 1964. For collectors that makes #431 the closing card of a five-season career.
George Joseph Alusik was a 6-foot-3 right-handed outfielder and first baseman from Ashley, Pennsylvania. The Detroit Tigers signed him as an amateur free agent in 1953, and he waited nine years for steady work: a debut on September 11, 1958 worth two at-bats, then 14 at-bats in 1961. Detroit sold him to the Kansas City Athletics on May 7, 1962, and only in Kansas City did he play regularly. Across five big-league seasons (1958, 1961-1964) he batted .256 with 23 home runs and 93 runs batted in over 298 games. His signature run came from August 7 through August 11, 1962, when he homered in five straight games; he was one of three Athletics to share that franchise mark until Frank Thomas broke it. On August 26, 1962, his ninth-inning walk spoiled Jack Kralick's perfect game, though Kralick finished the no-hitter and Minnesota won 1-0. In January 1965 the Athletics traded him to the San Francisco Giants for Tim Talton; he never reached the majors again, closing out at .206 in 53 games for Tacoma. He died April 20, 2018, in Woodbridge, New Jersey, at 83.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 206 | 2 | 31 | 116 | 32 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 1 |
| SGC | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 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: #151 K. C. Athletics
More Kansas City Athletics cards:
- #26 Gino Cimoli
- #42 Moe Drabowsky
- #75 Wayne Causey
- #108 John Wyatt
- #124 Orlando Pena
- #174 Doc Edwards
- #196 Jim Gentile
- #212 Pete Lovrich
- #229 Charley Lau
- #244 Tony La Russa
- #276 Jose Tartabull
- #302 Dan Pfister
- #320 Rocky Colavito
- #334 Lew Krausse
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1964 Topps #431 card?
It is card #431 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing George Alusik of the Kansas City Athletics.
Why is #431 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.