1965 Topps #143 Pirates Rookie Stars - John Gelnar / Jerry May
On this card: John Gelnar, Jerry May
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
This card carries John Gelnar as one of two Rookie Stars pictured for the Pittsburgh Pirates, sharing the panel with catcher Jerry May. Gelnar had reached the majors with the Pirates the year before, pitching in relief in a handful of games, and the Topps design leans on that brief look to introduce him as a rookie arm in the organization. The card sits in the set's second print series, and it stands as a recognized rookie card for Gelnar. A right-handed pitcher out of Granite, Oklahoma and the University of Oklahoma, he worked in relief and spot-start roles for the Pirates, Pilots and Brewers before returning to Oklahoma to farm and ranch.
Card #143 was Jerry May's first Topps card, making it his recognized rookie card. A Rookie Stars issue from the set's second print series, it is shared with fellow Pirates prospect John Gelnar, with May a young reserve catcher still working his way up behind starter Jim Pagliaroni, having appeared in only a handful of games that season. It pairs two young Pittsburgh farmhands on one shared card. A defense-first catcher who anchored the Pittsburgh Pirates' staff from 1967 through 1969 and caught Dock Ellis's 1970 no-hitter, valued far more for his strong throwing arm than for his bat.
Sources: Wikipedia (John Gelnar) · Wikipedia (Jerry May)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 278 | 5 | 38 | 148 | 46 | 24 | 9 | 4 | 4 |
| SGC | 11 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 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: #209 Pittsburgh Pirates
More Pittsburgh Pirates cards:
- #2 National League 1964 Batting Leaders
- #12 National League 1964 Strikeout Leaders
- #25 Al McBean
- #54 Joe Gibbon
- #69 Bill Virdon
- #95 Bill Mazeroski
- #121 Gene Alley
- #160 Bob Clemente
- #195 Bob Veale
- #218 Dick Schofield
- #232 Steve Blass
- #246 Tom Butters
- #265 Jim Pagliaroni
- #291 Jerry Lynch
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1965 Topps #143 card?
It is card #143 of the 598-card 1965 Topps Baseball set, picturing John Gelnar and Jerry May. 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 #143 a rookie card?
Yes - #143 is a rookie card for every player pictured on it: John Gelnar and Jerry May.
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.