1964 Topps #243 Phillies Rookie Stars - Richie Allen / John Herrnstein
On this card: Richie Allen, John Herrnstein
About this card
This is one of the fifty-seven two-player Rookie Stars cards in the 1964 Topps set: fifty-three pair two prospects from one club, and the four league cards (#548, #564, #568 and #572) pair prospects from two clubs. Every one of them is a rookie card for at least one of its two players.
The story on this card
Allen's first Topps card is #243, a Phillies Rookie Stars pairing in the third series that puts him alongside fellow prospect John Herrnstein. It is the one collectors want, the rookie card of a player who had appeared in ten big-league games when it was printed, hitting .292 after a September 1963 call-up at age 21. Those games followed four minor-league seasons, the last at Little Rock, where as the first black player on the Phillies' new Arkansas farm club he was met with taunts and threats. Philadelphia's young slugger, the 1964 National League Rookie of the Year and the 1972 American League Most Valuable Player with the White Sox, a seven-time All-Star who took his position in a batting helmet and became Crash.
#243 is a two-player Phillies Rookie Stars card, Herrnstein alongside Richie Allen - and it rides in the third series, the card that carries the Allen rookie, one of the set's headliners now that Allen is a Hall of Famer, inducted in 2025. For a few weeks Herrnstein outshone him: filling in for the injured Tony Gonzalez on April 19 he singled and homered, four days later he beat the Pirates with a pinch-hit two-run double off Roy Face, and in his first start at first base he doubled twice and tripled. He hit .462 that April and .234 for the year, with six home runs and 25 RBIs in 125 games. A Michigan football captain turned first baseman, John Herrnstein played five big-league seasons for the Phillies, Cubs and Braves from 1962 to 1966, his best coming with the star-crossed 1964 Phillies.
Sources: Wikipedia (Dick Allen) · Wikipedia (John Herrnstein) · SABR BioProject (Dick Allen) · SABR BioProject (John Herrnstein) · Baseball Almanac (John Herrnstein)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 1,838 | 3 | 47 | 289 | 333 | 332 | 258 | 570 | 6 |
| SGC | 666 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 64 | 127 | 154 | 280 | 17 |
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 #243 card?
It is card #243 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Richie Allen and John Herrnstein. This is one of the fifty-seven two-player Rookie Stars cards in the 1964 Topps set: fifty-three pair two prospects from one club, and the four league cards (#548, #564, #568 and #572) pair prospects from two clubs. Every one of them is a rookie card for at least one of its two players.
Is 1964 Topps #243 a rookie card?
Yes - #243 is the rookie card of Richie Allen. John Herrnstein had already appeared on an earlier Topps card, so it is not his rookie card.
What are the key cards in the 1964 Topps set?
The #50 Mickey Mantle anchors the set, with #150 Willie Mays, #200 Sandy Koufax, #300 Hank Aaron, #440 Bob Clemente, #55 Ernie Banks and #125 Pete Rose (wearing the All-Star Rookie trophy) among the stars, the #331 A.L. Bombers card gathering Mantle with Roger Maris, Norm Cash and Al Kaline, the #423 Tops in NL card pairing Aaron and Mays, and the #243 Richie Allen and #541 Phil Niekro Rookie Stars cards.
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.