1965 Topps #185 Max Alvis
About Max Alvis
Number 185 falls in the third series of the 1965 set. It reports the season the illness interrupted: 107 games, a .252 average, 18 home runs and 53 RBI, with his fielding percentage climbing anyway to .955, the best mark of his professional career to that point. Alvis was hitting .276 with 15 home runs at the break, drew his first All-Star selection, and got one at-bat after relieving Brooks Robinson late in the game. He finished 1965 with 88 runs, 21 home runs and another putout title.
Roy Maxwell Alvis, born February 2, 1938 in Jasper, Texas, was a dual-sport star at the University of Texas, a halfback and linebacker under Darrell Royal who also led the Southwest Conference in hitting at .403. Cleveland signed him in 1958, and after four minor league seasons he debuted on September 11, 1962. He took the Indians' third-base job out of spring training in 1963 and set career highs with a .274 average, 22 home runs, 67 RBI, 81 runs, 165 hits and 32 doubles, finishing 17th in the Most Valuable Player voting and taking the Cleveland writers' Man of the Year award. In late June 1964 he was hospitalized with spinal meningitis, diagnosed on a flight from Minnesota to Boston; he was back on the field in six weeks but, by his own account and his teammates', never regained the same strength or stamina. He was an All-Star in 1965 and 1967, led American League third basemen in putouts four times, and remained Cleveland's regular at the hot corner through 1968. A knee injury and surgery cut his 1969 short, and he closed out at Milwaukee in 1970, finishing nine seasons at .247 with 111 home runs, 421 runs and 373 RBI. Back home in Jasper he rose from loan officer to president of the First National Bank.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 276 | 2 | 62 | 145 | 43 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 10 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 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: #481 Cleveland Indians
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- #166 Indians 1965 Rookie Stars
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1965 Topps #185 card?
It is card #185 of the 598-card 1965 Topps Baseball set, picturing Max Alvis of the Cleveland Indians.
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.