1965 Topps #81 Don Buford
About Don Buford
Card #81 in the 1965 Topps set catches Buford coming off his first full big-league season with the White Sox. He had become the club's regular second baseman in 1965, playing 139 games there, and improved to a .283 average with 67 walks and 93 runs scored while hitting second in Chicago's order, adding 10 home runs among 37 extra-base hits that season.
Don Buford was a switch-hitting infielder-outfielder who broke in with the Chicago White Sox in 1963 after leading the International League in hitting at Indianapolis. Undersized at 5-foot-7, he grew up in Southern California and starred in both football and baseball at USC before signing with Chicago. He spent his first five seasons shuttling between second and third base for the White Sox, drawing walks and running the bases well even while his defense drew criticism. Traded to Baltimore after the 1967 season, Buford was moved to the outfield and installed as leadoff hitter by new manager Earl Weaver in 1968, a switch that unlocked his best years. He anchored the Orioles' leadoff spot through three straight pennant-winning seasons, scoring 99 runs in each of 1969, 1970 and 1971, and made his only All-Star team in 1971. He later played four seasons in Japan before working in personnel and later returning to baseball as a manager and coach.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 373 | 12 | 102 | 168 | 51 | 19 | 15 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 20 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 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.
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Related cards
Team card: #234 Chicago White Sox
More Chicago White Sox cards:
- #7 American League 1964 ERA Leaders
- #9 American League 1964 Pitching Leaders
- #41 White Sox 1965 Rookie Stars
- #58 Fred Talbot
- #70 Bill Skowron
- #89 Mike Hershberger
- #125 Juan Pizarro
- #146 Ron Hansen
- #183 Dave Nicholson
- #198 Smoky Burgess
- #208 Tommy John
- #215 Pete Ward
- #253 Danny Cater
- #276 Hoyt Wilhelm
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1965 Topps #81 card?
It is card #81 of the 598-card 1965 Topps Baseball set, picturing Don Buford of the Chicago White Sox.
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.