1965 Topps #553 Houston Rookie Stars - Dan Coombs / Jack McClure / Gene Ratliff
On this card: Dan Coombs, Jack McClure, Gene Ratliff
A late Rookie Stars issue that reverts to the plain HOUSTON banner.
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
Coombs' Topps rookie card is #553, a Houston 1965 Rookie Stars issue shared with Jack McClure and Gene Ratliff under the plain HOUSTON banner. It sits in the seventh series, among the high numbers collectors work through as the set's short-print zone. The season behind it was 1964: seven games, one of them a start, a 1-1 record, 14 strikeouts over 18 innings and a 5.00 ERA for a Colt .45s team. Danny Coombs was a 6-foot-5 left-hander who spent seven seasons in the Houston bullpen before San Diego bought him and made him a starter, winning ten games in 1970; he finished 19-27 with a 4.08 ERA.
Card 553, a high number from Topps' seventh 1965 series inside the short-print zone, is a Houston Astros Rookie Stars card shared with Dan Coombs and Gene Ratliff. It is McClure's only Topps card, and it is a recognized rookie card. He had signed with Houston the year before at 18 and spent 1964 with Single-A Modesto and Double-A San Antonio; by the time this card appeared he was playing for Single-A Durham and Double-A Amarillo, the high point of a three-season career that ended in 1966 without a major league appearance. Signed by Houston out of Asher, Oklahoma at 18 and nicknamed "Kid," Jack McClure spent three seasons in the Astros' low minors, topping out at Double-A Amarillo in 1965 before his career ended the following year.
Ratliff made his major league debut with the Houston Astros on May 15, 1965, playing his final game that August 8 after four total games and four at-bats without a hit. His 1965 Topps card, number 553, is a high number from the set's seventh print series, inside its short-print zone, and stands as his rookie card. It is a multi-player Rookie Stars issue pairing Ratliff with fellow Astros farmhands Dan Coombs and Jack McClure, all pictured under the Houston banner. A tall right-handed batter from Macon, Georgia, who got a brief four-game look with the Houston Astros in 1965 before his major league career ended.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball Almanac (Dan Coombs) · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 411 | 6 | 73 | 215 | 73 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 2 |
| SGC | 25 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 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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- #80 Turk Farrell
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- #164 Al Spangler
- #175 Bob Aspromonte
- #179 Hal Woodeshick
- #212 Ron Brand
- #240 Bob Bruce
- #257 Jim Wynn
- #274 Lum Harris
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- #321 Rusty Staub
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1965 Topps #553 card?
It is card #553 of the 598-card 1965 Topps Baseball set, picturing Dan Coombs, Jack McClure and Gene Ratliff. 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 #553 a rookie card?
Yes - #553 is a rookie card for every player pictured on it: Dan Coombs, Jack McClure and Gene Ratliff.
Is 1965 Topps #553 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.