1971 Topps #165 Cesar Tovar
About Cesar Tovar
Tovar's second-series #165 pictures him with the Twins in the year he moved mostly to left field. He hit .311 with 204 hits, the highest one-year total by a Venezuelan player until Magglio Ordonez had 216 in 2007. He also hit one home run in 157 games. SPORT magazine's poll of players on the game's most competitive man named him a runner-up to Pete Rose, alongside Frank Robinson and Bob Gibson. He received MVP votes in every season from 1967 through 1971.
Cesar Tovar was a Venezuelan infielder-outfielder who spent 1965-1976 in the majors, most of it as the leadoff hitter for the Minnesota Twins. Signed by the Cincinnati Reds organization and later traded to Minnesota, he broke into the big leagues in 1965 and became known for his all-out hustle and versatility, playing every position on the diamond. On September 22, 1968, he played all nine fielding positions in a single game, a feat only a handful of players in history have matched. He batted ahead of Tony Oliva and Harmon Killebrew on Twins teams that won back-to-back American League West titles in 1969 and 1970. He led the American League in doubles and triples in 1970 and in hits in 1971. After Minnesota he played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, and New York Yankees before retiring in 1976 with a .278 career average and 46 home runs. He stole 226 bases in 1,488 games.
Sources: SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 278 | 1 | 6 | 118 | 113 | 22 | 11 | 7 | 0 |
| SGC | 11 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-10-19. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted.
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Related cards
Team card: #522 Minnesota Twins
More Minnesota Twins cards:
- #7 Jim Holt
- #26 Bert Blyleven
- #61 1970 American League Batting Leaders
- #65 1970 American League Home Run Leaders
- #69 1970 American League Pitching Leaders
- #74 Twins 1971 Rookie Stars
- #95 Luis Tiant
- #127 Danny Thompson
- #141 Frank Quilici
- #189 George Mitterwald
- #210 Rod Carew
- #245 Jim Kaat
- #271 Bill Zepp
- #290 Tony Oliva
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #165 card?
It is card #165 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Cesar Tovar of the Minnesota Twins.
How many cards are in the 1971 Topps Baseball set?
752 cards, tracked as 761 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 752 with none skipped, issued in six print series (132/131/130/130/120/109 cards), the sixth (#644-752) the high numbers; seven cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately - the #42, #265 and #306 photo pairs and the #123, #206, #369 and #619 checklists, #369 and #619 in three printings each.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA (its price guide, master set registry and set article), BaseballCardPedia, 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 2026-10-25.