1965 Topps #172 Jim Piersall
About Jim Piersall
Card #172, a series-2 issue, reports Piersall's 1964 season as the Angels' fourth outfielder: 80 hits in 255 at-bats over 87 games for a .314 average, with 11 doubles, 2 home runs and 13 runs batted in. It was his best average since 1961 and the last time he would finish a season at .300 or better. The job was not guaranteed - Los Angeles had released him on September 20, 1963 and did not re-sign him until April 10, 1964.
James Anthony Piersall, born November 14, 1929 in Waterbury, Connecticut, played 17 major-league seasons (1950, 1952-1967) as an outfielder for the Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, New York Mets and Los Angeles/California Angels. Prized for his center-field glove, he made two All-Star teams (1954, 1956), won Gold Gloves in 1958 and 1961, and finished at .272 with 104 home runs and 591 RBI in 1,734 games. In 1952, the rookie season that collapsed into a publicized breakdown, he was calling himself the 'Waterbury Wizard' after his hometown; that summer ended at Westborough State Hospital with electroshock treatment. His recovery became the 1955 memoir Fear Strikes Out, written with Al Hirshberg, and the 1957 film starring Anthony Perkins. The showmanship never stopped: he batted in a Beatles wig and played air guitar on his bat. After retiring in 1967 he broadcast for decades, most famously beside Harry Caray on Chicago White Sox games beginning in 1977. The Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame inducted him in September 2010. He died June 3, 2017 in Wheaton, Illinois.
Sources: SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2) · Baseball Almanac (3)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 358 | 5 | 66 | 164 | 73 | 24 | 16 | 10 | 0 |
| SGC | 29 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 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: #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
- #194 Angels 1965 Rookie Stars
- #210 Jim Fregosi
- #229 Lou Clinton
- #242 George Brunet
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1965 Topps #172 card?
It is card #172 of the 598-card 1965 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Piersall of the Los Angeles Angels.
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.