James Thomas Northrup
Detroit Tigers
Outfield
Bats: Left Throws: Right Height: 6'3" Weight: 190
Born: November 24, 1939, Breckenridge, MI
Signed: Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent before 1960 season
Major League Teams: Detroit Tigers 1964-74; Montreal Expos 1974; Baltimore Orioles 1974-75
World Series Appearances: Detroit Tigers 1968
Died: June 8, 2011, Grand Blanc, MI (age 71)
Slugger Jim Northrup played over a decade with the Tigers, hitting at least 10 home runs in eight different seasons and playing as the regular right fielder on the 1968 World Championship team. He shifted to center field for the World Series, as Tigers' manager Mayo Smith (#40) moved regular center fielder Mickey Stanley (#13) to shortstop to replace the light-hitting Ray Oyler (#178). Northrup led that Tigers squad in hits (153) and RBIs (90) and had a game-winning two-run triple off the Cardinals' Bob Gibson (#200) in the decisive Game 7 of the Series. He hit four grand slams during the regular season and another in Game 6 of the World Series. Northrup was dealt to the Expos in August 1974 and he'd play the last two seasons of his career with the Expos and Orioles. Northrup collected 1,254 hits in the majors while batting .267 with 153 home runs and 610 RBIs.
Died: June 8, 2011, Grand Blanc, MI (age 71)
Slugger Jim Northrup played over a decade with the Tigers, hitting at least 10 home runs in eight different seasons and playing as the regular right fielder on the 1968 World Championship team. He shifted to center field for the World Series, as Tigers' manager Mayo Smith (#40) moved regular center fielder Mickey Stanley (#13) to shortstop to replace the light-hitting Ray Oyler (#178). Northrup led that Tigers squad in hits (153) and RBIs (90) and had a game-winning two-run triple off the Cardinals' Bob Gibson (#200) in the decisive Game 7 of the Series. He hit four grand slams during the regular season and another in Game 6 of the World Series. Northrup was dealt to the Expos in August 1974 and he'd play the last two seasons of his career with the Expos and Orioles. Northrup collected 1,254 hits in the majors while batting .267 with 153 home runs and 610 RBIs.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
The Card / Tigers Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
1969 Season
Northrup followed up his career year in 1968 with another solid season in 1969. Now the team's regular center fielder, he batted .295 in 148 games, with a career-high 25 home runs and 66 RBIs. Northrup was sixth in the American League with 31 doubles. He led all Tigers position players with a 5.0 bWAR. On August 28th, Northrup became the first Tiger since Ty Cobb to have a 6 for 6 game, capping the feat with a 13th-inning walk-off home run.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #259
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1965-75
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2004 Upper Deck Legends Timeless Teams #75
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 85 in the Beckett online database as of 3/21/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Building the Set / Card #489
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.
Having had success the prior two shows at Uncle Dick's Cards with his well-organized, neon common binders, I opted to pull up a chair once again at the friendly dealer's array of tables. The aim was simple: Clear out Uncle Dick's 1969 Topps commons, starting off where I had left off the year before with card #501 and going through the end of the set, card #664. In less than 25 minutes, I completed my quest, and this is the 45th of 98 commons pulled from the binder. After a generous dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, this card cost me less than $2.
The Card / Tigers Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
This is most likely the only card from the 1969 Topps set to feature a tractor in the background. There's a front office guy (maybe?) in a suit next to the tractor, just to make things a little more interesting. This is Northrup's third and final appearance in the set, as he was featured on the American League RBI Leaders card (#3) and was front and center on the World Series Game 6 card (#167). The back of the card highlights his career grand slams and shows his two World Series home run balls hitting a hapless cardinal in mid-flight.
Accuracy Index: Northrup's card earns a +5 and sadly doesn't earn any extra points for the tractor cameo.
1969 Season
Northrup followed up his career year in 1968 with another solid season in 1969. Now the team's regular center fielder, he batted .295 in 148 games, with a career-high 25 home runs and 66 RBIs. Northrup was sixth in the American League with 31 doubles. He led all Tigers position players with a 5.0 bWAR. On August 28th, Northrup became the first Tiger since Ty Cobb to have a 6 for 6 game, capping the feat with a 13th-inning walk-off home run.
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First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #259
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1965-75
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2004 Upper Deck Legends Timeless Teams #75
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 85 in the Beckett online database as of 3/21/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog
1965 Topps Blog
#579 Dave Nelson - Cleveland Indians / #581 Gary Nolan - Cincinnati Reds