1965 Topps #537 Angels Rookie Stars - Marcelino Lopez / Rudy May / Phil Roof
On this card: Marcelino Lopez, Rudy May, Phil Roof
About this card
This is one of the 55 Rookie Stars cards in the 1965 Topps set, each picturing two to four young players - 126 players in all - under a team banner, except #577 and #581, which carry American League and National League banners over players from three clubs. Joe Morgan (#16), Steve Carlton (#477), Jim (Catfish) Hunter (#526) and Tony Perez (#581) make their Topps debuts on these cards.
The story on this card
Lopez shares 1965 Topps #537 with Rudy May and Phil Roof on a Rookie Stars card, a high number out of the set's seventh series, inside its short-print zone. It caught him mid-breakout. Pictured with the Los Angeles Angels, the 21-year-old went 14-13 with a 2.93 ERA and 122 strikeouts for a 75-87 club, and carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning at Chicago in early September. The Sporting News gave him its rookie pitcher of the year honors, and he finished second to Baltimore outfielder Curt Blefary in American League Rookie of the Year voting. Cuban-born left-hander who broke in with the Phillies in 1963, then reinvented himself as a steady Baltimore Orioles reliever, helping the club win the 1970 World Series before finishing his career with Milwaukee and Cleveland.
Rudy May made his major league debut with the Los Angeles Angels on April 18, 1965, starting against the Detroit Tigers and carrying a no-hitter into the eighth inning before settling for a no-decision. He went 4-9 with a 3.92 ERA across 30 appearances in his rookie season. Card #537 is a Rookie Stars card from Topps' 1965 seventh series, a high number inside the short-print zone, and pairs him with fellow Angels rookies Marcelino Lopez and Phil Roof. It is his rookie card; Lopez and Roof had appeared on earlier Topps cards. Left-handed curveball specialist who pitched 16 seasons for the Angels, Yankees, Orioles and Expos and led the American League with a 2.46 ERA in 1980.
Los Angeles used Roof in just nine games before the June 15 trading deadline, three hits in 22 at-bats, then sent him to Cleveland for cash and a player to be named later who turned out to be outfielder Bubba Morton. He hit .173 in 43 games as an Indian and closed the year at .162 with three RBI between the two clubs. Topps had already committed him to the Angels: #537 is a high number from the seventh series, inside the short-print zone, shared with Angels pitchers Marcelino Lopez and Rudy May. By the time that last series hit the shelves, Roof was catching in Cleveland. Fifteen big-league seasons and eight uniforms on the strength of catching, not hitting: a .215 lifetime batter who threw runners out, then spent nearly three decades coaching in big-league bullpens and managing in the minors.
Sources: Wikipedia (Rudy May) · Wikipedia (Phil Roof) · SABR BioProject (Marcelino Lopez) · SABR BioProject (Rudy May) · Baseball Almanac (Marcelino Lopez) · Baseball Almanac (Phil Roof) · Stats Crew
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 425 | 2 | 48 | 225 | 96 | 27 | 16 | 10 | 1 |
| SGC | 17 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 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. The two checklist variations, #79 and #508, are listed under the wording PSA uses for each state.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Shop 1965 Topps cards Live auctions Buy It Now on eBay Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
Team card: #293 Los Angeles Angels
More Los Angeles Angels cards:
- #7 American League 1964 ERA Leaders
- #9 American League 1964 Pitching Leaders
- #11 American League 1964 Strikeout Leaders
- #26 Bobby Knoop
- #46 Bob Lee
- #66 Bill Rigney
- #85 Willie Smith
- #101 Fred Newman
- #124 Tom Satriano
- #140 Dean Chance
- #172 Jim Piersall
- #194 Angels 1965 Rookie Stars
- #210 Jim Fregosi
- #229 Lou Clinton
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1965 Topps #537 card?
It is card #537 of the 598-card 1965 Topps Baseball set, picturing Marcelino Lopez, Rudy May and Phil Roof. This is one of the 55 Rookie Stars cards in the 1965 Topps set, each picturing two to four young players - 126 players in all - under a team banner, except #577 and #581, which carry American League and National League banners over players from three clubs. Joe Morgan (#16), Steve Carlton (#477), Jim (Catfish) Hunter (#526) and Tony Perez (#581) make their Topps debuts on these cards.
Is 1965 Topps #537 a rookie card?
Yes - #537 is the rookie card of Rudy May. Marcelino Lopez and Phil Roof had already appeared on earlier Topps cards, so it is not their rookie card.
Is 1965 Topps #537 a scarce card?
It is a high number card from the seventh and last series, #507-598. Unlike most 1960s Topps sets the 1965 highs are not scarce as a run - the premium sits on the short-printed cards inside #523-598. It is also a short-print zone card. Forty-four of the 76 cards in #523-598 were short-printed; #507-522 was not. The zone is stated as a range because the catalogs disagree on exactly which cards, so no single card is marked.
How many cards are in the 1965 Topps Baseball set?
598 cards, tracked as 600 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 598 with no gaps and no printed-number collisions, and two checklist cards - #79 and #508 - carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, BaseballCardPedia, 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.