1967 Topps #17 Jim Gosger
About Jim Gosger
Card #17 is an early first-series number and the only Gosger card captioned Kansas City Athletics, issued for what turned out to be the club's last season there before Charles Finley moved the franchise to Oakland. He had arrived in a six-player deal on June 13, 1966, heading west with pitchers Guido Grilli and Ken Sanders while Boston took Jose Tartabull, John Wyatt and Rollie Sheldon. Gosger then played almost every day in left and right field for Kansas City, hitting .224 with five home runs in 88 games. Manager Alvin Dark praised him anyway, noting that Gosger never let his troubles at the plate hurt his fielding and that he got the ball away quickly and accurately.
James Charles Gosger was born November 6, 1942, in Port Huron, Michigan, where he lettered in four sports at St. Stephen High School. Red Sox scout Maurice De Loof signed him in January 1962, during his second year at Port Huron Junior College. He broke into pro ball at Winston-Salem, batting .283 with 19 home runs and 83 RBI and making the Carolina League postseason all-star team alongside Rusty Staub, Tony Perez and Rico Petrocelli. Across parts of ten major league seasons (1963-1974) the left-handed-hitting outfielder played for the Red Sox, the Kansas City and Oakland Athletics, the expansion Seattle Pilots, the New York Mets and the Montreal Expos, appearing in 705 games and batting .226 with 30 home runs and 177 RBI; managers praised his hustle and his quick, accurate arm even as his bat cooled. Jim Bouton's diary Ball Four turned him into folklore: hiding in his roommate's closet, Gosger cracked a deadpan "Yeah, surrre," and the line became clubhouse slang. Called up by the Mets in September 1969, he started the September 12 doubleheader at Forbes Field and drew a $100 World Series share although he was ineligible for the postseason roster. He retired after 1974 and spent three decades back home in Port Huron as a high school and junior college football and basketball referee.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 337 | 5 | 60 | 192 | 48 | 21 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 10 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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. PSA registers a row for every one of the 624 states; SGC lists no separate row for the #149 white-streak state.
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Related cards
Team card: #262 Kansas City Athletics
More Kansas City Athletics cards:
- #33 Athletics 1967 Rookie Stars
- #54 Dick Green
- #74 Wes Stock
- #90 Jim Nash
- #110 Jack Aker
- #129 Phil Roof
- #157 Danny Cater
- #182 Ed Charles
- #209 Joe Nossek
- #227 Paul Lindblad
- #282 Johnny Odom
- #303 Gil Blanco
- #323 Mike Hershberger
- #344 Ossie Chavarria
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1967 Topps #17 card?
It is card #17 of the 609-card 1967 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Gosger of the Kansas City Athletics.
How many cards are in the 1967 Topps Baseball set?
609 cards, tracked as 624 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 609 without a gap - no number was skipped and none was used twice - and 15 cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, Baseball Almanac, BaseballCardPedia, 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 2026-10-12.