1965 Topps #597 Twins Rookie Stars - Joe Nossek / Dick Reese / John Sevcik
On this card: Joe Nossek, Dick Reese, John Sevcik
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
By 1965 Nossek had won a bench job with the pennant-winning Twins, hitting .218 while playing strong defense in the outfield and some third base, then starting in center for most of that fall's World Series against the Dodgers. This high-number Rookie Stars card, from the set's seventh print series and inside its short-print zone, groups him with fellow Twins farmhands Dick Reese and John Sevcik and is the rookie card of Reese and Sevcik; his own came a year earlier, on a 1964 Twins Rookie Stars card. A defense-first Twins and A's outfielder of the mid-1960s who started in center for most of Minnesota's 1965 World Series before a long career as a coach.
Reese's cardboard debut came on 1965 Topps #597, a high-number Twins Rookie Stars card issued in the set's seventh and final series alongside Joe Nossek and John Sevcik; the card prints his name as Dick Reese. On the field that year he appeared in 14 games for Minnesota, batting .286 in limited at-bats while seeing time at first base and in the outfield. A steady-gloved Twins first baseman and outfielder through the 1960s and early 1970s, Reese hit his career-best .322 in 1969 and later became a major figure in the spirits industry as CEO of Jim Beam Brands.
Sevcik's only major-league season came with the pennant-winning 1965 Minnesota Twins, where signing-bonus rules kept him on the roster as a third catcher behind Earl Battey and Jerry Zimmerman rather than in the minors. He appeared in just 12 games, mostly from the bullpen, and collected one hit in 16 at-bats: a double off Baltimore's Wally Bunker on September 28. He did not appear in that year's World Series. His high-number 1965 Topps card is a multi-player Rookie Stars issue shared with fellow Twins farmhands Joe Nossek and Dick Reese. Twin-born Missouri Tigers catcher who signed with the Twins after the 1964 College World Series and spent his only major-league season, 1965, on Minnesota's pennant-winning roster.
Sources: Wikipedia (Joe Nossek) · Wikipedia (Rich Reese) · Wikipedia (John Sevcik) · SABR BioProject (Joe Nossek) · SABR BioProject (Rich Reese) · SABR BioProject (John Sevcik)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 284 | 1 | 25 | 112 | 76 | 35 | 18 | 14 | 3 |
| SGC | 22 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 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.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Shop 1965 Topps cards Live auctions Buy It Now on eBay Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
Team card: #24 Minnesota Twins
More Minnesota Twins cards:
- #1 American League 1964 Batting Leaders
- #3 American League 1964 Home Run Leaders
- #5 American League 1964 RBI Leaders
- #11 American League 1964 Strikeout Leaders
- #39 Gerry Arrigo
- #62 Jim Kaat
- #90 Rich Rollins
- #108 Don Mincher
- #122 Bill Pleis
- #157 Zoilo Versalles
- #171 Jim Roland
- #180 Bob Allison
- #201 Twins 1965 Rookie Stars
- #216 Al Worthington
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1965 Topps #597 card?
It is card #597 of the 598-card 1965 Topps Baseball set, picturing Joe Nossek, Dick Reese and John Sevcik. 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 #597 a rookie card?
Yes - #597 is the rookie card of Dick Reese and John Sevcik. Joe Nossek had already appeared on an earlier Topps card, so it is not his rookie card.
Is 1965 Topps #597 a scarce card?
It is a high number card from the seventh and last series, #507-598. Unlike most 1960s Topps sets the 1965 highs are not scarce as a run - the premium sits on the short-printed cards inside #523-598. It is also a short-print zone card. Forty-four of the 76 cards in #523-598 were short-printed; #507-522 was not. The zone is stated as a range because the catalogs disagree on exactly which cards, so no single card is marked.
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.