1965 Topps #49 Orioles Rookie Stars - Curt Blefary / John Miller
On this card: Curt Blefary, John Miller
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
In 1965, his major league debut season, Blefary batted .260 with 22 home runs and 70 RBIs for the Baltimore Orioles, winning the American League Rookie of the Year award. Part of the Rookie Stars subset shared with John Miller, it is a recognized rookie card from an early print series. Blefary played mostly left field as a rookie, splitting the position with Boog Powell. 1965 American League Rookie of the Year, Curt Blefary spent eight big-league seasons as a versatile outfielder, first baseman, and catcher, helping the Baltimore Orioles win the 1966 World Series before finishing his career with the Astros, Yankees, Athletics, and Padres.
The card came out first, in the opening series that spring, when Miller was still a Triple-A arm: #49 pairs him with fellow Oriole Curt Blefary under the Rookie Stars banner, and it is Blefary's rookie card. Blefary went on to win American League Rookie of the Year that season, hitting .260 with 22 home runs. Miller's own summer took longer to arrive. He was 6-2 with four shutouts at Indianapolis when Baltimore called him up on June 17; about a month later the Orioles released the veteran Robin Roberts and handed Miller the open rotation spot. He made 16 starts the rest of the way and went 6-4 with a 3.18 ERA, the best work of his major-league life, though he completed only one game. A Baltimore-born right-hander who signed with his hometown Orioles, John Miller earned a World Series ring in 1966 before shoulder trouble ended his five-season career; he spent 28 years afterward as a Baltimore County firefighter.
Sources: Wikipedia (Curt Blefary) · Wikipedia (John Miller (pitcher)) · SABR BioProject · Baseball Almanac (John Miller)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 414 | 5 | 59 | 218 | 76 | 29 | 10 | 13 | 4 |
| SGC | 19 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 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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Related cards
Team card: #572 Baltimore Orioles
More Baltimore Orioles cards:
- #1 American League 1964 Batting Leaders
- #3 American League 1964 Home Run Leaders
- #5 American League 1964 RBI Leaders
- #9 American League 1964 Pitching Leaders
- #15 Robin Roberts
- #33 Jackie Brandt
- #67 Harvey Haddix
- #94 Charlie Lau
- #113 Steve Barber
- #150 Brooks Robinson
- #169 Dave Vineyard
- #188 Sam Bowens
- #204 Russ Snyder
- #231 Jerry Adair
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1965 Topps #49 card?
It is card #49 of the 598-card 1965 Topps Baseball set, picturing Curt Blefary and John Miller. 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 #49 a rookie card?
Yes - #49 is the rookie card of Curt Blefary. John Miller had already appeared on an earlier Topps card, so it is not his rookie card.
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.