Sandy Koufax is considered one of the greatest left-handed pitchers of all time and his baseball cards from 1966 are highly sought after by collectors. Koufax retired at the young age of 30 after experiencing arthritis in his pitching elbow that severely limited his effectiveness on the mound. His final season of 1965 saw him win his third Cy Young award while leading the National League in wins, ERA, and strikeouts.
In 1966, Topps was the only company producing baseball cards and they included Koufax in their main 366 card set as well as in several multi-player and team sets. With Koufax retiring after the 1965 season, his 1966 Topps cards took on greater significance as the last baseball cards featuring him as an active major league player. This has made his 1966 Topps cards some of the most valuable from that year.
The most common and widely available Sandy Koufax card from 1966 Topps is his base card, which is card number 138 in the set. In near mint to mint condition, this card in recent years has sold for prices ranging from $50-$150. In excellent condition, prices fall to $30-80 while very good condition sees $20-50. In poor condition, a 1966 Koufax base card may still fetch $10-20 due to its popularity. The design features Koufax from his 1965 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers in a classic straight-on photo with team name across the top.
A more valuable Sandy Koufax card from 1966 Topps is found in the high number subset, which covers cards 267-366 in the set. Koufax’s card is number 319 and it shows a headshot photo of him in a Dodgers uniform. In near mint to mint condition, this card routinely sells for $150-300. Excellent condition sees $100-200 while very good is $75-150 and poor is around $30-75 still. The high number cards are considered more scarce than the base cards by collectors.
One of the most iconic Sandy Koufax cards comes from the 1966 Topps team issue set, where Koufax is featured prominently on the Los Angeles Dodgers team card. High graded examples of this card in near mint to mint condition have sold at auction for over $1000. PSA 9 and BGS 9 examples usually sell in the $500-800 range while PSA 8 and BGS 8 are more around $300-500. Even in excellent condition this is a highly sought after card reaching the $200-400 level. The team design places emphasis on Koufax and Don Drysdale as the star pitchers for the Dodgers.
In 1966 Topps also had multi-player cards featuring several stars together. One of the most valuable for Koufax collectors is the National League Leaders card showing Koufax, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron. High graded versions have reached over $1000. Near mint examples usually sell in the $400-700 range while excellent is $200-400. This card highlights Koufax’s dominance as a pitcher in his final season. Other less valuable but still desirable multi-player cards include those pairing Koufax with Don Drysdale and Jim Gilliam on Dodgers cards priced $50-150 depending on condition.
When acquiring 1966 Sandy Koufax cards, condition is extremely important to the value. Higher grades from services like PSA and BGS can increase prices significantly. Also, the rarer and more visually appealing the card design is in highlighting Koufax, the more collectors are willing to pay. Prices for his cards have steadily increased over the decades as fewer high grade examples remain in existence. For a true Koufax enthusiast, finding a PSA 10 or BGS Black Label example of any of his 1966 cards could cost thousands of dollars to acquire. The 1966 Sandy Koufax baseball cards represent the last hurrah of one of the game’s all-time great pitchers and their collectibility and value shows no signs of slowing down.
