1965 Topps #501 Indians Rookie Stars - Ralph Gagliano / Jim Rittwage
On this card: Ralph Gagliano, Jim Rittwage
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
Ralph Gagliano's only card comes from the Rookie Stars subset in the sixth print series, sharing space with fellow Cleveland Indians farmhand Jim Rittwage. It arrived the same year he made his lone big-league appearance, entering a September game against the Yankees as a pinch-runner before being retired at second base on the next play. This is his recognized rookie card. A Memphis-born infielder whose entire big-league career was a single pinch-running appearance for Cleveland, sandwiched around four minor-league seasons and Army service in Germany during Vietnam.
This 1965 Topps Rookie Stars card, numbered 501 in the set's sixth print series, arrived five years before Jim Rittwage ever appeared in a major league game. The card pairs Rittwage with fellow Cleveland prospect Ralph Gagliano, presenting the two players together as the Indians looked ahead to their next wave of talent. It stands as a recognized rookie card for Rittwage, issued while he was still working his way up through Cleveland's system. A Cleveland-born right-hander who pitched his entire big-league career for the hometown Indians in September 1970, making eight appearances, three as a starter, before his career ended that same month.
Sources: Wikipedia (Ralph Gagliano) · Wikipedia (Jim Rittwage)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 542 | 1 | 102 | 310 | 75 | 22 | 16 | 14 | 2 |
| SGC | 22 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 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.
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Related cards
Team card: #481 Cleveland Indians
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- #92 Dick Howser
- #96 Sonny Siebert
- #105 Chico Salmon
- #128 Vic Davalillo
- #145 Luis Tiant
- #166 Indians 1965 Rookie Stars
- #185 Max Alvis
- #235 Chuck Hinton
- #262 Bud Daley
- #283 Fred Whitfield
- #301 Birdie Tebbetts
- #317 Don McMahon
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1965 Topps #501 card?
It is card #501 of the 598-card 1965 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ralph Gagliano and Jim Rittwage. 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 #501 a rookie card?
Yes - #501 is a rookie card for every player pictured on it: Ralph Gagliano and Jim Rittwage.
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.