1966 Topps #12 John Tsitouris
About John Tsitouris
Card #12 falls early in Topps' first series, printed while Tsitouris still held a Cincinnati roster spot. Don Heffner, who had managed him at San Diego and argued he deserved another chance, took over the Reds that October; Tsitouris wrote the club a letter of thanks and worked off 18 pounds before camp. It bought him one inning. A rough April 19 relief appearance was his only major-league work of the year, and Cincinnati shipped him to Triple-A Buffalo, where in June he threw his first shutout in two years, 2-0 over Toledo.
John Philip Tsitouris was a right-handed pitcher born May 4, 1936 in Monroe, North Carolina, the son of a Greek immigrant who owned restaurants in town. In 1954 he became the first player signed by new Detroit scout Rick Ferrell, and he reached the majors in June 1957, picking up the win in relief against Baltimore in his debut. A temper outburst at Triple-A Charleston that September soured the Tigers on him, and he was traded to Kansas City in November. Three uneven seasons with the Athletics followed, including a jaw broken by a line drive in batting practice in May 1960. Cincinnati acquired him and John Briggs in a January 1961 deal for Joe Nuxhall. Named San Diego's most valuable pitcher after a 13-8 Pacific Coast League season in 1962, he earned a September call-up to the Reds, and in 1963 pitching coach Jim Turner converted him from a thrower into a pitcher, producing his best mark, 12-8 with a 3.16 ERA. He stayed on the Cincinnati staff through 1965, was optioned out in 1966, and pitched his last big-league game in April 1968. He finished 34-38 with a 4.13 ERA over parts of eleven seasons, then followed his father-in-law into automobile sales. He died in Monroe in 2015.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 208 | 2 | 19 | 108 | 48 | 15 | 10 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 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.
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Related cards
Team card: #59 Cincinnati Reds
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- #196 Don Pavletich
- #214 Tommy Harper
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- #233 Dom Zanni
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1966 Topps #12 card?
It is card #12 of the 598-card 1966 Topps Baseball set, picturing John Tsitouris of the Cincinnati Reds.
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.