1968 Topps #523 John Tsitouris
About John Tsitouris
Card #523 comes out of Topps' sixth series, and it outlasted the career it pictures. A rare strong spring and an injury-thinned staff won him the Reds' third start of the season; he was tied 1-1 into the seventh when Phil Niekro, the Hall of Fame knuckleballer, hit the first home run of his major-league career off him. Tsitouris did not last past the fifth inning in either of his next two starts, stood 0-3 with a 7.11 ERA after April 24, and was optioned to Indianapolis in May once Gary Nolan was recalled. He never pitched in the majors again.
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 | 229 | 12 | 57 | 101 | 38 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 11 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 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. Slabs of the yellow team-letter #49 and #66 are 1968 Milton Bradley game cards and are not counted here.
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Related cards
Team card: #574 Cincinnati Reds
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- #130 Tony Perez
- #133 Fred Whitfield
- #148 Dave Bristol
- #171 Don Nottebart
- #196 Gary Nolan
- #213 Chico Ruiz
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- #247 Reds 1968 Rookie Stars
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1968 Topps #523 card?
It is card #523 of the 598-card 1968 Topps Baseball set, picturing John Tsitouris of the Cincinnati Reds.
Is 1968 Topps #523 a scarce card?
It is from the sixth print series (cards 458-533). Together with series 7 it forms the #458-598 block that hobby sources price at a modest premium; several catalogs call these cards high numbers outright.
How many cards are in the 1968 Topps Baseball set?
598 cards, tracked as 606 collectible states. The numbers run from 1 to 598 without a gap and no printed number carries two different cards; eight cards - six of the seven checklists, #10 AL Pitching Leaders and #400 Mike McCormick - carry a catalogued print variation that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, BaseballCardPedia, Baseball Almanac, Beckett, 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.