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Harmon Clayton Killebrew
Minnesota Twins
Third Base-First Base
Born: June 29, 1936, Payette, ID
Signed: Signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent, June 19, 1954
Major League Teams: Washington Senators 1954-60; Minnesota Twins 1961-74; Kansas City Royals 1975
World Series Appearances: Minnesota Twins 1965
Died: May 17, 2011, Scottsdale, AZ (age 74)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1984
Harmon Killebrew was one of the most prolific sluggers of his era, and upon his retirement he was fourth on the major league all-time home run list and second to Babe Ruth in the American League. Killebrew led the league six times in home runs and three times in RBIs. He was a 13-time All-Star and received MVP votes in 11 different seasons. He helped lead the Twins to the their first pennant in 1965, and while he hit .286 in the World Series, the Dodgers prevailed in seven games. In 1967, he hit the longest home run ever recorded at Minnesota's Metropolitan Stadium at 520 feet. Killebrew attained career highs in home runs (49) and RBIs (140) in 1969 and won the league's MVP honors that season. He wrapped up his 22-year big league career with a final season with the Royals, serving as the team's designated hitter. When the Royals visited Minnesota in early May 1975, the Twins held a pre-game ceremony to retire Killebrew's #3. He was inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in 1984, and was in the inaugural class of the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2,435 games, Killebrew accumulated 2,086 hits while batting .256. He hit 573 career home runs to go along with 1,584 RBIs.
After retiring as a player, Killebrew served as a broadcaster for the Twins, Athletics and Angels between 1976 and 1988. He also briefly served as a hitting instructor with the Athletics. Nicknamed "Killer" on the field, by all accounts Killebrew was one of the kindest and most well-respected men to ever play the game.
Died: May 17, 2011, Scottsdale, AZ (age 74)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1984
Harmon Killebrew was one of the most prolific sluggers of his era, and upon his retirement he was fourth on the major league all-time home run list and second to Babe Ruth in the American League. Killebrew led the league six times in home runs and three times in RBIs. He was a 13-time All-Star and received MVP votes in 11 different seasons. He helped lead the Twins to the their first pennant in 1965, and while he hit .286 in the World Series, the Dodgers prevailed in seven games. In 1967, he hit the longest home run ever recorded at Minnesota's Metropolitan Stadium at 520 feet. Killebrew attained career highs in home runs (49) and RBIs (140) in 1969 and won the league's MVP honors that season. He wrapped up his 22-year big league career with a final season with the Royals, serving as the team's designated hitter. When the Royals visited Minnesota in early May 1975, the Twins held a pre-game ceremony to retire Killebrew's #3. He was inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in 1984, and was in the inaugural class of the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2,435 games, Killebrew accumulated 2,086 hits while batting .256. He hit 573 career home runs to go along with 1,584 RBIs.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #593
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime)
I took my time and found 32 commons and semi-stars needed before asking to see the dealer's star cards from the set. It turned out this first purchase was also my biggest, as I spent over half my allotted budget here, America's Pastime from Fair Lawn, New Jersey, before moving on to my second stop. This was the 34th of 36 total cards bought from America's Pastime, and the 34th of 91 cards for set added overall on the day. Killebrew was the second of four star cards I'd add from America's Pastime, and the most expensive card I added at the show.
The Card / Twins Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
Building the Set / Card #593
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime)
On Sunday morning, September 21st, I made the hour-long drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest installment of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, known to its friends as The Philly Show. The show has a legitimate official sponsor (eBay) and the advertisement for the event notes the show is in its 50th year. I hadn't attended a baseball card show since the last Philly Show in December, and I was flying solo to this one as our oldest son is in his first month of college at Villanova. I posted a full summary of the show over at The Phillies Room.
I made stops at six tables at the show, all yielding needed cards for our 1969 Topps set, and I left the show with just 16 more cards to go for my version of a complete set. The first place I stopped was a table with well-organized and well-marked binders of commons and semi-stars with 20% Off notes across the front of each binder.
This is such an iconic card, and a card I first saw when I added the 1982 Topps Kmart box set to my relatively new and growing collection. Topps has reprinted the card a few times, most notably within its 2002 Topps Archives-related releases. There's no room for a cartoon on the back of the card, just lines of incredibly impressive stats.
Accuracy Index: The Killer earns a +5.
Inserts: Killebrew is included as one of the 48 decals in the Topps Decals insert set.
1969 Season
His MVP season, along with career highs in home runs and RBIs, Killebrew batted .276 with a league-leading 145 walks and a .427 on-base percentage. He started in all 162 games for the Twins, although he was often replaced late in the game with a pinch-runner or defensive upgrade. True to the position designation on his card, Killebrew started 96 games at third base and 66 games at first base. He topped Boog Powell (#15) for league MVP honors, earning 16 first place votes to Powell's six votes. Frank Robinson (#250) captured the remaining two votes.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1955 Topps #124
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (20): 1955-56, 1958-75
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2025 Topps Holiday Evergreen #E-18
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 2,008 in the Beckett online database as of 11/8/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
1969 Season
His MVP season, along with career highs in home runs and RBIs, Killebrew batted .276 with a league-leading 145 walks and a .427 on-base percentage. He started in all 162 games for the Twins, although he was often replaced late in the game with a pinch-runner or defensive upgrade. True to the position designation on his card, Killebrew started 96 games at third base and 66 games at first base. He topped Boog Powell (#15) for league MVP honors, earning 16 first place votes to Powell's six votes. Frank Robinson (#250) captured the remaining two votes.
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First Mainstream Card: 1955 Topps #124
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (20): 1955-56, 1958-75
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2025 Topps Holiday Evergreen #E-18
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 2,008 in the Beckett online database as of 11/8/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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