1971 Topps #265 Jim Northrup
About Jim Northrup
Billy Martin's Tigers climbed back into contention in 1971, and Jim Northrup chafed at his tactics. Northrup hit .270 with 16 home runs and 71 RBI. He played 136 games, including 108 in the outfield and 32 at first base. His #265 is from the third series and shows him with the Tigers.
Jim Northrup was a left-handed hitting outfielder who played for the Detroit Tigers from 1964 to 1974, finishing his twelve-year career with the Montreal Expos and Baltimore Orioles in 1974-75. A streaky, clutch hitter with a short, quick inside-out stroke, he batted .267 for his career with 153 home runs and 610 RBI, playing all three outfield spots plus some first base. In 1968 he helped the Tigers win the World Series. He hit five grand slams that year, including three in a single week, and drove in the winning runs with a two-run triple off Bob Gibson in Game 7. Northrup grew up in Breckenridge, Michigan, and was a five-sport star at Alma College before signing with Detroit in 1961. After retiring he worked as a Tigers broadcaster and businessman. He was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. Northrup died in 2011.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Print variations
Two states of #265 are tracked individually: 265a - Small/No Black Blob and 265b - Dark Black Blob. The difference is on the front of the card (airbrush).
States catalogued by the PSA master set registry and the Trading Card Database; each is tracked here individually.
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Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 265a - Small/No Black Blob | |||||||||
| PSA | 259 | 0 | 14 | 121 | 81 | 22 | 6 | 15 | 0 |
| SGC | 19 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 265b - Dark Black Blob | |||||||||
| PSA | 143 | 0 | 3 | 46 | 46 | 26 | 15 | 6 | 1 |
| SGC | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Not designated by PSA | |||||||||
| PSA | 120 | 1 | 1 | 74 | 36 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 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. Where a grader registers a variation separately its population is listed under that variation; PSA slabs whose label names no variation are listed as not designated, while SGC slabs whose label names no variation are counted under 265a - Small/No Black Blob.
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Related cards
Team card: #336 Detroit Tigers
More Detroit Tigers cards:
- #3 Dick McAuliffe
- #39 Tigers 1971 Rookie Stars
- #71 1970 American League Strikeout Leaders
- #86 Mike Kilkenny
- #101 Les Cain
- #120 Willie Horton
- #133 Mickey Lolich
- #154 Cesar Gutierrez
- #180 Al Kaline
- #208 Billy Martin
- #229 Jim Hannan
- #296 Tom Timmermann
- #316 Fred Scherman
- #367 Dalton Jones
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #265 card?
It is card #265 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Northrup of the Detroit Tigers.
Why does one checklist show three versions of #265?
It lists a light-blob version between the dark-blob and small-blob cards; no other source does, so #265 Jim Northrup is tracked in its two states - with a dark black blob to the right of the photo, and with little or none.
Does 1971 Topps #265 have variations?
Yes. Two states are catalogued and tracked individually: 265a - Small/No Black Blob (Little or no black blob shows to the right of the photo - the cleaned-up printing and the base state here) and 265b - Dark Black Blob (A dark black blob shows to the right of the photo, believed to come from the early stages of printing only). Owning any one of them fills the #265 slot; the master set counts each state.
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.