1965 Topps #8 National League 1964 ERA Leaders - Sandy Koufax / Don Drysdale
On this card: Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale
About this card
Cards #1-12 are the League Leaders subset: twelve cards listing the 1964 leaders in six categories - batting average, home runs, runs batted in, earned run average, pitching and strikeouts - the American League card first and the National League card second in each pair.
The story on this card
Card 8 in the 1965 Topps set is the National League ERA Leaders board, part of the League Leaders subset that opens the set. It spotlights the two pitchers who owned the category in 1964: Sandy Koufax topped the league at 1.74, his best mark yet, going 19-5 over 223 innings for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Don Drysdale, his rotation mate on that same Dodgers staff, finished right behind him at 2.18 while working 321.1 innings and going 18-16. The two, Dodgers teammates since 1956, had anchored the rotation together since the early 1960s, and pairing them on one card put the National League's two best earned run averages side by side. Both men's photos run above their names, team and 1964 ERA figures.
Sandy Koufax was the Dodgers' left-hander nicknamed 'the Left Arm of God,' whose five-year run of dominance from 1962 to 1966 brought three unanimous Cy Young Awards and four no-hitters, including a perfect game, before an arthritic elbow forced his retirement at 30. Don Drysdale was the Dodgers' intimidating right-hander for 14 seasons, the 1962 Cy Young winner and a three-time World Series champion who in 1968 ran off six straight shutouts and a record 58 2/3 scoreless innings.
Sources: Wikipedia (Sandy Koufax) · Wikipedia (Don Drysdale) · SABR BioProject (Sandy Koufax) · SABR BioProject (Don Drysdale) · National Baseball Hall of Fame (1) · National Baseball Hall of Fame (2) · Baseball Almanac (Don Drysdale)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 1,657 | 4 | 61 | 331 | 311 | 319 | 204 | 402 | 25 |
| SGC | 497 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 70 | 101 | 112 | 179 | 15 |
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: #126 Los Angeles Dodgers
More Los Angeles Dodgers cards:
- #12 National League 1964 Strikeout Leaders
- #40 Frank Howard
- #59 Nate Oliver
- #77 Doug Camilli
- #98 Bob Miller
- #112 Derrell Griffith
- #119 John Kennedy
- #196 Ron Fairly
- #217 Walt Alston
- #238 Joe Moeller
- #247 Wally Moon
- #260 Don Drysdale
- #279 Dick Tracewski
- #300 Sandy Koufax
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1965 Topps #8 card?
It is card #8 of the 598-card 1965 Topps Baseball set, picturing Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. Cards #1-12 are the League Leaders subset: twelve cards listing the 1964 leaders in six categories - batting average, home runs, runs batted in, earned run average, pitching and strikeouts - the American League card first and the National League card second in each pair.
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.