1965 Topps #243 Reds Rookie Stars - Ted Davidson / Tommy Helms
On this card: Ted Davidson, Tommy Helms
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
Card 243 is part of the 1965 Topps Rookie Stars subset, a series-3 issue shared with fellow Reds rookie Tommy Helms and recognized as Davidson's rookie card. It arrived the same summer he made his major league debut, called up from Triple-A San Diego in late July to join the Reds bullpen for a series against the Houston Astros. Apart from a single spot start against the Cubs that August, Davidson worked exclusively in relief as a rookie, picking up his first big league wins down the stretch. A sinker-slider left-hander who relieved for the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves in the mid-1960s, best remembered for surviving a 1967 shooting and returning to the mound that same season.
Helms spent most of 1965 back with San Diego, hitting .319 there, but a September call-up to Cincinnati saw him hit .381 in a brief look, including a 4-for-4 doubleheader on September 1. It is a Rookie Stars issue shared with Reds teammate Ted Davidson and is recognized as Helms's rookie card. A natural shortstop moved to third, then to second, Tommy Helms won 1966 NL Rookie of the Year and two Gold Gloves, anchoring the Cincinnati Reds infield through the early 1970s.
Sources: Wikipedia (Ted Davidson) · Wikipedia (Tommy Helms) · SABR BioProject (Ted Davidson) · SABR BioProject (Tommy Helms)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 297 | 3 | 32 | 126 | 78 | 30 | 11 | 15 | 2 |
| SGC | 14 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1965 Topps #243 card?
It is card #243 of the 598-card 1965 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ted Davidson and Tommy Helms. 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 #243 a rookie card?
Yes - #243 is a rookie card for every player pictured on it: Ted Davidson and Tommy Helms.
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.