1966 Topps #45 Jim Gentile
About Jim Gentile
Card #45 is a first-series card, and it shows Gentile in a Houston uniform. Kansas City traded him to Houston on June 4, 1965 for pitcher Jesse Hickman, with infielder Ernie Fazio arriving that October as the player to be named. Gentile was tied with Mickey Mantle for the league home run lead at ten when Charlie Finley moved him, and he managed only seven more the rest of the way, none in the cavernous Astrodome. The two stops came to 119 games, his fewest as a regular, and 17 homers, his first year short of twenty.
James Edward Gentile, a left-handed-hitting first baseman born June 3, 1934 in San Francisco, played nine major league seasons between 1957 and 1966 for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Athletics, Houston Astros and Cleveland Indians. Brooklyn signed him in 1952 out of Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, turned the high school pitcher into a first baseman, then left him eight years in the minors behind All-Star Gil Hodges. Roy Campanella had already named him Diamond Jim. The Dodgers finally dealt him to Baltimore on October 19, 1959, and at 26 he took the job for keeps: both All-Star teams in 1960, 1961 and 1962, and a 1961 line of .302 with 46 home runs and 141 RBI, five of those homers grand slams, an American League record that held until 1987. He finished third in that MVP vote behind Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. Gentile retired at .260 with 179 home runs and 549 RBI, and the Orioles elected him to their club Hall of Fame in 1989, a team honor rather than Cooperstown.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 236 | 2 | 20 | 108 | 71 | 17 | 10 | 8 | 0 |
| SGC | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 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. Where SGC registers no separate row for a variation state, its slabs of that card are listed under the base state.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Shop 1966 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
More Houston Astros cards:
- #21 Don Nottebart
- #64 Bob Bruce
- #86 John Bateman
- #106 Rusty Staub
- #122 Joe Gaines
- #147 Lum Harris
- #162 Lee Maye
- #174 Ron Taylor
- #195 Joe Morgan
- #228 Larry Dierker
- #244 Astros 1966 Rookie Stars
- #258 Dave Giusti
- #273 Astro Aces
- #297 Jim Owens
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1966 Topps #45 card?
It is card #45 of the 598-card 1966 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Gentile of the Houston Astros.
How many cards are in the 1966 Topps Baseball set?
598 cards, tracked as 613 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 598 with no gaps and no number used twice, and 14 cards carry catalogued print variations - five checklists, the trade and sold statement backs, the three-state #43 Don Landrum, three team-card dot pairs and the #161 Jerry Lumpe white streak - that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, 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.