The 1965 Topps Baseball Card #297 features Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Willie Davis. During the 1965 season covered on this card, Davis was entering his fourth season in the majors after being called up by the Dodgers in 1962 at just 20 years old.

Willie Davis was born in 1942 in Batesville, Mississippi. He grew up playing baseball in the segregated South and faced racism throughout his childhood and early career. However, Davis possessed incredible natural athleticism and speed that allowed him to break into the big leagues despite facing discrimination. Standing at 6’1″ and 175 lbs, Davis was a lean and athletic outfielder known for his defensive prowess in center field and above average speed on the bases.

In 1965, Davis was coming off a breakout campaign in 1964 where he batted .273 with 31 stolen bases and established himself as the Dodgers’ everyday center fielder. He was just entering his prime at 23 years old and looking to build on his success. The 1965 season would end up being one of Davis’ best campaigns.

This 1965 Topps card does a good job of capturing Willie Davis during this stage of his career. He is shown in a classic Dodgers home blue uniform posing for a head shot. As was common for 1965 Topps designs, the solid blue border and white font title at the top provide a clean and simple look. In the bottom right, statistics from the 1964 season are listed to give fans an idea of what Davis had accomplished up to that point.

In 1965, Davis built upon his breakout 1964 season by having arguably his best campaign to date. He batted .311 which was 15 points higher than the previous year and led the National League. Davis also slugged 12 home runs and stole 32 bases while playing stellar defense in center field as the Dodgers won the NL pennant. His .311 average ended up being good enough to win the NL batting title that season.

Davis’ incredible 1965 season led to him receiving MVP votes and establishing himself as one of the premier outfielders in baseball. He fell just short of winning the award which instead went to his Dodgers teammate Sandy Koufax. Even so, 1965 stood as Davis’ career year in both batting average and OPS+. He formed a formidable outfield alongside left fielder Tommy Davis and right fielder Ron Fairly to help lead the Dodgers to the pennant.

In the 1965 World Series against the Minnesota Twins, Davis continued his excellent postseason by batting .333 in the Fall Classic. The Dodgers fell short in seven hard fought games. Still, 1965 remained the apex of Davis’ career both individually and team success wise up to that point at just 23 years old. He emerged as a true star player for the Dodgers.

The 1965 season captured on this Topps card proved to be the high water mark for Willie Davis statistically. He continued playing at an All-Star level for several more seasons but was never able to replicate the incredible .311 batting average or 32 stolen bases of 1965. Davis spent nine seasons with the Dodgers from 1962-1970 before also playing for the Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres before retiring in 1977. Over his 16 year career, Davis batted .279 with 111 home runs and 356 stolen bases while winning a Gold Glove award in 1966.

The 1965 Topps Baseball Card #297 serves as a reminder of Willie Davis’ career year that season and emergence as an MVP caliber player for the Dodgers. At just 23 years old in 1965, it seemed Davis had many more great seasons ahead of him. While he didn’t continually put up those superstar numbers, Davis established himself as a terrific all-around center fielder and leadoff hitter for Los Angeles during the 1960s. This card captures Willie Davis during the offensive apex of his impressive big league career.