1965 Topps #300 Sandy Koufax
About Sandy Koufax
Two 1965 cards: number 8, the National League ERA Leaders, from the first series, and number 300, his own, from series four. Number 8 has him on top of the 1964 list at 1.74 with Don Drysdale beside him. That year had been heading somewhere special - 19-5, seven shutouts and a third no-hitter, 3-0 at Philadelphia on June 4 with a single baserunner all afternoon - until he jammed the elbow diving back to second base in August and was diagnosed with traumatic arthritis. He never pitched again that season, and the Dodgers finished tied for sixth without him.
Sanford Koufax, born Sanford Braun in Brooklyn, signed with his hometown Dodgers in December 1954 as a bonus-rule player and never spent a day in the minor leagues; the missing apprenticeship left him wild for six seasons. The turn came in 1961, when a tightened delivery and a catcher's advice to stop overthrowing made him a winning pitcher. He led the National League in earned run average five straight years, 1962 through 1966, and was an All-Star in each of his last six seasons. He threw four no-hitters, one of them a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs on September 9, 1965, and won the Cy Young Award three times, in 1963, 1965 and 1966, each time unanimously and as the sport's only winner before the award split by league. He added the 1963 National League Most Valuable Player award and the pitching Triple Crown in all three Cy Young years, was World Series MVP in 1963 and 1965, and led the Dodgers to titles both years; his refusal to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 Series on Yom Kippur made him a lasting figure in American Jewish life. Arthritis in his elbow forced him out after 1966 at 30, and he entered the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972, at 36 the youngest player ever inducted.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · National Baseball Hall of Fame
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 4,371 | 0 | 70 | 565 | 724 | 816 | 660 | 1,529 | 7 |
| SGC | 1,478 | 1 | 3 | 65 | 148 | 217 | 322 | 703 | 19 |
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
More Sandy Koufax in this set: #8 League Leaders
Team card: #126 Los Angeles Dodgers
More Los Angeles Dodgers cards:
- #8 National League 1964 ERA Leaders
- #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
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1965 Topps #300 card?
It is card #300 of the 598-card 1965 Topps Baseball set, picturing Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
What are the key cards in the 1965 Topps set?
The #350 Mickey Mantle is the grail of the set. The other major keys are #250 Willie Mays, #300 Sandy Koufax, #170 Hank Aaron, #160 Roberto Clemente (printed "Bob" Clemente), #207 Pete Rose, #510 Ernie Banks and #460 Richie (Dick) Allen, plus four Hall of Fame rookies on Rookie Stars cards: #16 Joe Morgan, #477 Steve Carlton, #526 Jim (Catfish) Hunter and #581 Tony Perez. The short-printed cards inside #523-598 are the hardest to find.
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.