1965 Topps #232 Steve Blass
About Steve Blass
Blass did not appear with the Pirates in 1965, spending the full season with their International League affiliate in Columbus, Ohio after a 5-8 rookie debut the year before. This 1965 Topps card, printed number 232 in the third series, was issued during that minor-league season and carries his rookie card designation with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Steve Blass pitched his entire ten-season career for the Pittsburgh Pirates, breaking in during 1964 and settling in as a rotation regular from 1966 on. He peaked between 1968 and 1972, topping out with an 18-6, 2.12 ERA season in 1968 and a 19-8 mark in 1972 that made him an All-Star and Cy Young runner-up. His signature moment came in the 1971 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles, where he threw two complete-game victories, including the clincher in Game Seven, finishing runner-up for Series MVP behind Roberto Clemente. After 1972 he lost his control almost overnight, a decline so sudden and unexplained that it entered the baseball lexicon as its own syndrome. He pitched sparingly in 1973 and 1974 before retiring, then spent decades afterward as a Pirates broadcaster, later inducted into the Pittsburgh Pirates and Charleston, West Virginia baseball halls of fame. A right-hander who signed with Pittsburgh out of a Connecticut high school in 1960, he finished with a 103-76 record and a 3.63 ERA over 1,597.1 innings.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 280 | 5 | 41 | 142 | 47 | 20 | 14 | 11 | 0 |
| SGC | 20 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
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
- #143 Pirates 1965 Rookie Stars
- #160 Bob Clemente
- #195 Bob Veale
- #218 Dick Schofield
- #246 Tom Butters
- #265 Jim Pagliaroni
- #291 Jerry Lynch
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1965 Topps #232 card?
It is card #232 of the 598-card 1965 Topps Baseball set, picturing Steve Blass of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Is 1965 Topps #232 a rookie card?
Yes - #232 is the 1965 Topps rookie card of Steve Blass.
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.