1964 Topps #272 Jake Wood
About Jake Wood
1964 Topps #272 is a third-series card. It arrived just as Wood's job disappeared: over the winter Detroit sent Rocky Colavito to Kansas City in a five-player deal that brought back veteran second baseman Jerry Lumpe, and Wood's chance to play regularly was gone. He got into 64 games and 130 plate appearances, batting .232 with one home run and seven RBI while filling in at second, third, first base and left field.
Jake Wood was a speedy second baseman who broke in with the Detroit Tigers on Opening Day 1961, hitting leadoff and belting a two-run homer off Jim Perry in the seventh inning of his first game. Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and signed by the Tigers in 1957 after one season at Delaware State, he was the first African-American player to work his way up through Detroit's own farm system and hold down a regular big-league job. Wood was the Tigers' primary second baseman from 1961 through 1963, finishing third in the American League in stolen bases in all three of those years and pacing the league in triples and strikeouts as a rookie. A dislocated finger in late July 1963 ended that season and required surgery, and once Detroit traded for veteran Jerry Lumpe he spent his remaining years as a utility infielder. He closed out a seven-year career in 1967 with Detroit and the Cincinnati Reds, batting .250 with 35 home runs and 168 RBI in 608 games. He is a member of the Union County, New Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 226 | 0 | 27 | 116 | 55 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 7 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 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: #67 Detroit Tigers
More Detroit Tigers cards:
- #6 1963 American League Strikeout Leaders
- #8 1963 American League Batting Leaders
- #12 1963 American League R.B.I. Leaders
- #19 Don Wert
- #39 Hank Aguirre
- #58 Don Demeter
- #98 Bill Bruton
- #128 Mickey Lolich
- #143 Bubba Phillips
- #165 Jerry Lumpe
- #181 Dave Wickersham
- #197 Frank Lary
- #236 Bill Faul
- #250 Al Kaline
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1964 Topps #272 card?
It is card #272 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jake Wood of the Detroit Tigers.
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.