1964 Topps #241 Jim Owens
About Jim Owens
Card #241, a third-series issue, reports a 1963 season split between Cincinnati and the Pacific Coast League: 0-2 with a 5.31 ERA in 19 games for the Reds, only three of them starts, then 4-2 with a 2.21 ERA in eight games for San Diego after a late-July option. Left unprotected that winter, he was taken by Houston in the December Rule 5 draft, so the card lists him with the Colt .45s, the franchise he would finish his career with.
James Philip Owens, nicknamed "Bear" for his stocky build and round face, was a right-handed pitcher who spent parts of twelve seasons between 1955 and 1967 with the Phillies, Cincinnati Reds and Houston Colt .45s/Astros. Born in Gifford, Pennsylvania, he signed with Philadelphia out of Bradford High School in 1951, won 22 games in the low minors in 1952 and 22 more for Class B Terre Haute in 1953, and was named the International League's Rookie of the Year in 1954, arriving with what Phillies general manager Roy Hamey called the best curveball in baseball. An Army hitch cost him all of 1957 and all but one game of 1958. His one strong year came in 1959: 12-12 with a 3.21 ERA, 11 complete games, 135 strikeouts and the only shutout of his career for a last-place club. He was also a charter member of the hard-drinking group of Phillies that Sports Illustrated made notorious as the "Dalton Gang" in 1960, and that reputation trailed him for good. He finished 42-68 with a 4.31 ERA, 21 saves and 516 strikeouts in 286 games, then coached Houston's pitchers for six seasons, working with Larry Dierker, Mike Cuellar and Don Wilson.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2) · Stats Crew
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 280 | 1 | 46 | 122 | 76 | 25 | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 9 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 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
More Houston Colt .45's cards:
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- #38 Jim Wynn
- #56 Hal Brown
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- #121 Pete Runnels
- #142 John Bateman
- #158 Ken Johnson
- #179 Carl Warwick
- #205 Nellie Fox
- #226 Colts 1964 Rookie Stars
- #256 Johnny Weekly
- #282 Bob Bruce
- #298 Harry Craft
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1964 Topps #241 card?
It is card #241 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Owens of the Houston Colt .45's.
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.