1964 Topps #344 Phil Linz
About Phil Linz
The series-4 card #344 catches Linz turning into a genuine utility man: on top of his infield work he made twelve appearances in the outfield in 1963, the added versatility that won him a semi-regular spot in the Yankees' lineup the following season. The line on the back is a slight one, .269 with 50 hits, two home runs and twelve RBI across 72 games - the last quiet year before the one that made his name.
Philip Francis Linz was born June 4, 1939, in Baltimore, Maryland, a Calvert Hall College High School product who spent five years in the Yankees' farm system, batting .304 with fifteen home runs mostly at shortstop, reaching the majors in 1962. Across seven seasons he was a utility infielder for the Yankees (1962-1965), Philadelphia Phillies (1966-1967) and New York Mets (1967-1968), covering shortstop, second, third and the outfield well enough to earn the nickname 'Supersub.' His lasting fame traces to a team bus in Chicago on August 20, 1964, where his harmonica rendition of 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' set off manager Yogi Berra; the harmonica came loose and cut Joe Pepitone's knee, and the episode convinced the Yankees' front office that Berra had lost the clubhouse, costing him his job at season's end despite an American League pennant. Linz retired in 1968 with a .235 average, 11 home runs and 96 RBI over 519 games, and died December 9, 2020, in Leesburg, Virginia.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 242 | 3 | 39 | 107 | 51 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 0 |
| SGC | 15 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 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: #433 New York Yankees
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- #21 Yogi Berra
- #36 Hal Reniff
- #50 Mickey Mantle
- #69 Clete Boyer
- #86 Al Downing
- #100 Elston Howard
- #118 John Blanchard
- #139 World Series Game #4 - Sealing Yanks' Doom
- #164 Bud Daley
- #190 Bobby Richardson
- #206 Steve Hamilton
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- #225 Roger Maris
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1964 Topps #344 card?
It is card #344 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Phil Linz of the New York Yankees.
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.