1968 Topps #165 Tony Oliva
A look-alike exists from the 1968 Milton Bradley Win-A-Card game, told apart by its yellow-tinged back.
About Tony Oliva
Three cards again. #165 is his second-series portrait, and a look-alike from that year's Milton Bradley Win-A-Card game exists, told apart by its yellow-tinged back. #371 belongs to the Sporting News All-Star run, whose card backs join into a puzzle. #480, "Manager's Dream," is a sixth-series card posing him with Chico Cardenas and Bob Clemente, a made-up trio drawn from three different clubs. The line on the backs: .289, 17 homers, 83 RBI and an AL-best 34 doubles.
Tony Oliva came out of Pinar del Rio, Cuba, born Pedro Oliva, and reached the United States in the spring of 1961 carrying his brother Antonio's papers, which is how he became Tony; his given name, Pedro, followed him into print for years, though everyone called him Tony. He spent his whole major league career, 1962 through 1976, with the Minnesota Twins, first in right field and later as a designated hitter. After short callups in 1962 and 1963 he was a near-unanimous American League Rookie of the Year in 1964 and took the batting title in the same season, something no player had done before, while leading the league in hits, doubles, runs and total bases. He repeated as batting champion in 1965, when the Twins won the pennant, and won a third crown at .337 in 1971. A Gold Glove came in 1966, and he was an All-Star in each of his first eight full seasons. Knee, leg and shoulder trouble then took the rest: ten games in 1972, then four closing years as the Twins' designated hitter. He finished at .304 with 220 home runs and 947 RBI, coached in Minnesota, had his number 6 retired in 1991, and was voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in December 2021 for the class of 2022.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 635 | 6 | 46 | 175 | 129 | 107 | 58 | 113 | 1 |
| SGC | 127 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 25 | 40 | 16 | 25 | 5 |
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
More Tony Oliva in this set: #371 Sporting News All-Stars, #480 Combo
Team card: #137 Minnesota Twins
More Minnesota Twins cards:
- #4 American League 1967 RBI Leaders
- #6 American League 1967 Home Run Leaders
- #10 American League 1967 Pitching Leaders
- #12 American League 1967 Strikeout Leaders
- #28 Ted Uhlaender
- #44 Frank Kostro
- #64 Jim Merritt
- #80 Rod Carew
- #91 Jim Ollom
- #111 Rich Reese
- #181 Jerry Zimmerman
- #206 Cal Ermer
- #220 Harmon Killebrew
- #243 Rich Rollins
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1968 Topps #165 card?
It is card #165 of the 598-card 1968 Topps Baseball set, picturing Tony Oliva of the Minnesota Twins.
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.