If 1963 Topps baseball cards have a claim to fame, it’s this …
They were the first set not named “1952 Topps” to feature a modern rookie card that drove the hobby to new heights.
In case you can’t quite pull the name from your memory banks, let me help you out — Pete Rose lit the hobby on fire when the Montreal Expos traded him back to the Cincinnati Reds in 1984.
That move came just in time for Rose to make his assault on Ty Cobb‘s all-time hit record, and it sent all his cards through the roof, led by his 1963 Topps rookie card.
But, while the Rose tide lifted all the cardboard ships around him, this set is loaded with plenty of other stellar pasteboards.
Here, then, are the 12 most valuable 1963 Topps baseball cards, as ranked according to PSA 7 values in the PSA Sports Market Report Price Guide.
Batter up!
(Note: The following sections contain affiliate links to eBay and Amazon listings for the cards being discussed.)
1963 Topps Pete Rose Rookie Card (#537)
Along about 1983, just as Mickey Mantle rookie cards were starting to pull away from the realm of “possible” for average folks, and as Ron Kittle and Darryl Strawberry were stirring the RC fires from the other end, a funny thing happened.
Old man Pete Rose found himself in another pennant run with the Philadelphia Phillies, and folks began to rumble — in earnest — that Pete was on the verge of breaking Ty Cobb’s all-time hit record.
Now, “verge” was a relative thing, as Rose was still a good year or two from the mark, but still … maybe time to start stocking up on Charlie Hustle cardboard?
And so, that’s just waht collectors — and investors/speculators — did. By the time Rose had run through a quick stint with the Montreal Expos in 1984 and returned home to manage the Cincinnati Reds late that season,
we were all frothing at the idea he’d set the record on the Riverfront.
Rose’s 1963 Topps rookie card soared past $100, then $200, and on an on. As he stood on first base next to Steve Garvey on September 11, 1985, after slapping an Eric Show offering for hit number 4192, Pete’s rookie rounded $350 and headed toward $500.
Like the rest of the hobby, and especially like everything Pete Rose, this card took it on the chin during the bust years and, especially, as Rose’s betting scandal unfolded.
These days, though, we pretty much know who we’re dealing with here and enough fans want to see Rose in the Hall of Fame, or at least to remember his Hall of Fame career, to push this card over $6000 in PSA 7 condition.
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1963 Topps Mickey Mantle (#200)
The Mick looks a little put off on this card to me. The way I see it, there are three possible explanations:
- The green-blue-color scheme does not flatter his natural skintones and Yankees pinstripes.
- The black-and-white inset is not befitting of baseball royalty, no matter how classic collectors say the contrast looks.
- The Pete Rose rookie card has relegated Mantle to the unfamiliar position of second place in card values for a 1960s set.
Whatever the case, this is still a primetime Mantle card that sells for close to $2000 in PSA 7.
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1963 Topps Willie Mays (#300)
Mays suffered through a down year in 1963, when he hit “only” 38 home runs. Had he clubbed two more, he would have run off five straight years with at least 40, beginning in 1961 and stretching through 1965.
It all worked out for the legend, though, as that ’65 season was one of his absolute best — he smacked 52 bombs and nabbed NL MVP honors.
And, of course, he’d retire in 1973 with 660 home runs, more than 300 stolen bases, and a reputation as one of a handful of the greatest players ever.
This mid-career Mays card sells for around $800 these days.
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1963 Topps Roberto Clemente (#540)
Clemente is one of those rare athletes who seems to have only become more popular since he left his sport.
Of course, Clemente didn’t just retire from baseball, or fade from the scene — he died in a tragic plane crash while on a relief mission after the 1972 season.
A quick election to Cooperstown, coupled with exactly 3000 hits and a well-established legend with the Pittsburgh Pirates all conspired to make Clemente one of the most beloved sports figures of the last 70 years.
Today, this 1963 “Bob” card is about a $700+ item in graded NM condition.
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1963 Topps Hank Aaron (#390)
Like Mays, Aaron was a model of consistency, seemingly always hitting 30-40 home runs, driving in 100-130 runs, batting above .300.
In 1963, Hammer did his work for the Milwaukee Braves, and he turned in a typical 44