1966 Topps #554 Jim Northrup
About Jim Northrup
1966 Topps #554 is a high number from the set's seventh series. Northrup won the Tigers' starting right field job in 1966 as Al Kaline shifted to center, and he broke out at the plate with 24 doubles, 16 home runs and a .465 slugging mark. Detroit finished third that year under three managers, after Chuck Dressen died in midseason and successor Bob Swift had to step aside once he was diagnosed with cancer, leaving coach Frank Skaff to close out the schedule.
Jim Northrup was a left-handed hitting outfielder who spent ten of his twelve big-league seasons with the Detroit Tigers (1964-74), finishing his career with the Montreal Expos and Baltimore Orioles in 1974-75. A streaky, clutch hitter with a short, quick inside-out stroke, he batted .267 for his career with 153 home runs, 610 RBI and 603 runs over 1392 games, playing all three outfield spots plus some first base. He is remembered above all for the 1968 World Series champion Tigers: he hit five grand slams that season, including three in a single week, and drove in the winning runs with a two-run triple off Bob Gibson in Game 7. Northrup grew up in Breckenridge, Michigan, and was a five-sport star at Alma College before signing with Detroit in 1961. After retiring he worked as a Tigers broadcaster and businessman. He was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. Northrup died in 2011.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 347 | 2 | 37 | 131 | 82 | 60 | 22 | 13 | 0 |
| SGC | 28 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 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. Where SGC registers no separate row for a variation state, its slabs of that card are listed under the base state.
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Related cards
Team card: #583 Detroit Tigers
More Detroit Tigers cards:
- #20 Willie Horton
- #38 Ron Nischwitz
- #58 Dave Wickersham
- #81 Ray Oyler
- #98 Don Demeter
- #113 Hank Aguirre
- #145 Bill Freehan
- #161 Jerry Lumpe
- #187 Chuck Dressen
- #198 Mickey Stanley
- #209 Tigers 1966 Rookie Stars
- #218 American League 1965 Home Run Leaders
- #220 American League 1965 RBI Leaders
- #226 American League 1965 Strikeout Leaders
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1966 Topps #554 card?
It is card #554 of the 598-card 1966 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Northrup of the Detroit Tigers.
Why is #554 harder to find?
It is a high number card from the seventh and last print series, #523-598 - the scarce end of the set. Forty-three of its 76 cards are short prints, so scarcity is stated for the series as a whole.
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.