1965 Topps #83 George Thomas
About George Thomas
The 1965 card, #83, is a first-series number printed in bulk. The Detroit portrait covers a lean year: his playing time shrank, he hit .213 with three home runs in 79 games, and on October 4 the Tigers traded him to Boston with second baseman George Smith and a player to be named later, catcher Jackie Moore, for pitcher Bill Monbouquette. Detroit had Willie Horton and Gates Brown coming and wanted arms; Boston wanted defense and speed. That ended his Tigers career.
George Edward Thomas Jr., born November 29, 1937 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a right-handed utility man who played 13 major league seasons for the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels, Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins between 1957 and 1971. Signed out of the University of Minnesota in August 1957 for a $25,000 bonus, he was tied to the Tigers by the bonus rule of the day and struck out as a pinch hitter in his lone appearance that September. Three seasons in the farm system followed before an expansion club finally gave him steady work, and he shuttled between Los Angeles and Detroit through the early 1960s, filling in at third base, first base, all three outfield spots and even four games behind the plate. Boston then kept him around for six seasons as a bench man and pinch hitter, and he reached a World Series in that role. He played every position except pitcher and finished at .255 with 46 home runs and 202 runs batted in over 685 games. He later coached seven years as a University of Minnesota assistant and three as head coach, resigning in 1981.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 337 | 4 | 63 | 148 | 81 | 24 | 8 | 9 | 0 |
| SGC | 10 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 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. 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: #173 Detroit Tigers
More Detroit Tigers cards:
- #9 American League 1964 Pitching Leaders
- #19 Gates Brown
- #37 Fred Gladding
- #53 Dick McAuliffe
- #130 Al Kaline
- #153 Norm Cash
- #191 Phil Regan
- #206 Willie Horton
- #236 Dennis McLain
- #259 Tigers 1965 Rookie Stars
- #271 Don Wert
- #288 Jack Hamilton
- #306 Bubba Phillips
- #335 Mickey Lolich
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1965 Topps #83 card?
It is card #83 of the 598-card 1965 Topps Baseball set, picturing George Thomas of the Detroit Tigers.
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.