1962 Topps Baseball Cards – 25 Most Valuable … PLUS Bonus Listings!

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say, “1962 Topps baseball cards“?

If it’s anything other than those iconic, beloved, hated, celebrated, decried woodgrain borders … well, you just haven’t been paying attention to the hobby over the last 60 years or so.

Or, maybe you have been more focused on the many Mickey Mantle cards or Babe Ruth cards the set has to offer, or the classic cards of youngish players just emerging into the spotlight — Roberto Clemente, Sandy Koufax, Carl Yastrzemski, Lou Brock, and others.

Or, maybe, you have been distracted by the green glare (more on that below).

Whatever the case, there’s no doubt that the 1962 Topps baseball cards featured a creative design that really evoked the atmosphere of (circa) mid-century baseball, with player pictures posted to wooden backgrounds, and the corners rolling up, just like a flyer tacked to the outfield fence down at the old ballyard.

Now, 1962 Topps is not universally loved, but it was enough of a classic for Topps to basically resurrect the design for their 1987 set, complete with the divisiveness grainy borders always seem to engender among collectors.

Whatever your opinion of the ’62s (or the ’87s), though, you can’t deny their impact on the hobby, or that they carry plenty of value all these years later.

For proof of that, keep reading — below, we have detailed the 25 most valuable 1962 Topps baseball cards as determined by actual selling prices for specimens in PSA 7 condition (the most common grade handed out by PSA for the set).

Play ball … and watch out for splinters!

(Note: The following sections contain affiliate links to eBay and Amazon listings for the cards being discussed.)

1962 Topps Minnie Minoso (#28)

All of Minnie Minoso’s cards took a turn northward in terms of popularity and prices when he finally got the call to the Hall of Fame in 2022.

The delivery on this one is a bit unfortunate, though, as Topps used the news that the White Sox had traded Minoso to the Cardinals in November of 1961 to fire up the old airbrush.

So we’re left with a sort of concerned shot of the soon-to-be-38-year-old (presuming a 1961 picture) with a pitch black and logoless cap perched on his head.

Topps got Minoso in a real Cards uniform in their 1963 set – too bad he spent that season with the Washington Senators.

Washington released Minoso in November of ‘63, and he re-signed with the White Sox … but not until April 8, 1964. Topps squeezed him into their later series, at card #538, and in a ChiSox uniform.

All in all, then, Minoso’s mid-1960s cards accomplished this: an epic black airbrush job, a full season of the wrong uniform, and NO card commemorating his 109 games with the 1963 Senators.

Pretty nifty hat trick, huh?

Value: $125-200

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1962 Topps Babe Ruth – Babe Hits 60 (#139)

Babe Ruth made a big comeback in the summer of 1961, more than a quarter century after he hit his last big bomb and 13 years after he died.

Why? The home run chase, of course!

And, even though Roger Maris grabbed the single-season record, with Mickey Mantle hot on his heels most of the season, Ruth’s big “60” was still a vaunted number.

That’s what this card is all about – celebrating Ruth’s standard-setting 1927 performance, and it’s a sentiment that still resonates with collectors today.

Value: $150-200

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1962 Topps AL Home Run Leaders (#53)

This card represented a chance for Topps to get Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris together on the same hunk of real estate, though you have to wonder why they didn’t just make a special Maris-Mantle card to commemorate the duo’s historic home run chase the year before.

They did it with Mantle and Willie Mays, after all.

Oh well … Maris’ and Mantle’s heads make the cut here, and this card also serves to remind us that Harmon Killebrew and Jim Gentile put together pretty amazing seasons in 1961, even if the M & M Boys rendered everyone else an afterthought.

Value: $150-200

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1962 Topps Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth (#140)

The summer of 1961 had been all about the exploits of two Yankees teammates chasing down the ghost of another.

Topps used that hype to good effect the next year, lathering their 1962 set with multiple cards featuring Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, and Babe Ruth.

On this one, they extend the metaphor and make it more explicit by picturing an earlier pair of world-beating Bronx teammates – Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

While cards featuring players from the long-ago lagged among collectors for many decades, the hobby as a whole has grown to appreciate the historical significance of these looks back, and prices have risen accordingly in recent years.

This one will never challenge Mantle or even price supremacy in this set, but it’s a great, fun, and popular card, nonetheless.

Value: $175-215

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1962 Topps Willie Mays All-Star (#395)

By 1962, Topps had figured out that the key to a successful baseball card set (besides, you know, holding a monopoly on the market) was cramming as many cards of the top stars as possible onto the checklist.

All-Star cards helped accomplish that goal, and no one was more All-Star-y in the 1960s than Willie Mays.

The Say Hey Kid looks great here, too, finishing up his swing against a blue baseball sky. Needless to say, collectors have noticed.

Value: $175-250

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1962 Topps Juan Marichal (#505)

Juan Marichal made his major league debut on July 19, 1960, a 12-strikeout, one-hit, one-walk masterpiece shutout against the Philadelphia Phillies at Candlestick Park.

It would take a couple of years before Marichal would start to get his due, making the National League All-Star squad in 1962, just as this interesting second-year card was making its way into collector hands.

And, don’t those billowing white undersleeves just scream “Candlestick,” as if the Dominican Dandy is inviting us to reminisce about his stunning first game while girding himself for the cold winds to come as he built his Hall of Fame career by the bay?

Value: $200-230

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1962 Topps Yogi Berra (#360)

This wasn’t Berra’s last Yankees card, but it WAS his last Yankees card showing him as *just* a player, and the only one to show him as just an outfielder.

It was also the last really great looking Yogi Berra card, too.

As subjective as that may sound, those extreme closeup catcher-coach and manager cards that ran through 1965 – and looped in the Mets – can’t hold a candle to the old-school aesthetics of Larry in pinstripes, holding a bat against a blue-sky background, all wrapped in wood.

Value: $200-230

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1962 Topps Carl Yastrzemski (#425)

Did the 1962 Topps Carl Yastrzemski baseball card know something the rest of the world didn’t?

There we see the young Red Sox left fielder, fresh off a rookie season that was merely OK, kneeling with three bats over his left shoulder.

That season, the 22-year-old would lift his batting average to .296 (from .266 the year before), then go on to win the American League batting crown in 1963.

That was the first of (yes!) three hitting titles for Yastrzemski, one of which helped him nab the Triple Crown in 1967.

So, do those three bats on the ‘62 Topps Yaz symbolize the coming three batting titles?

Probably not, but you just never know what the Baseball Gods have in store for us.

Value: $200-250

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1962 Topps Joe Torre Rookie Card (#218)

For the first 35 years or so of its existence, the 1962 Topps Joe Torre rookie card was about as popular as a 1986 Topps Traded Kurt Stillwell would become.

Which is to say that, sure, there were some collectors who appreciated the 1971 National League MVP’s on-field talents and his so-so managerial work with the Mets, Braves, and Cardinals,, but not enough to make even Torre’s RC much of a spectacle.

Then, of course, the 1990s Yankees happened, and that magical run yielded four World Series rings and a Hall of Fame plaque for Torre … and new life for his dusty old rookie card.

Value: $250-300

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1962 Topps Willie McCovey (#544)

After copping the National League Rookie of the Year award in 1959 despite appearing in just 52 games, Willie McCovey found playing time tough to come by in 1960 and 1961.

Splitting time at first base with fellow youngster Orlando Cepeda, Stretch struggled enough in 1960 that he eventually got bounced back to the minors.

That stay was short, but McCovey remained mostly a missing man in the big leagues through 1962 as manager Alvin Dark played him sparingly.

That all changed in 1963, though, when McCovey took over left field on a full-time basis and led the league with 44 home runs. It was all up from there for Big Mac and his baseball cards, including this admittedly mundane-looking 1962 entry.

Value: $270-300

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1962 Topps Mickey Mantle – The Switch Hitter Connects (#318)

You couldn’t very well produce a baseball card set in the 1960s and not try to squeeze in as many Mickey Mantle cards as possible.

So, yes, the 1962 Topps set gives us a Mantle base card, a Mantle All-Star card, Mantle on a home runs leaders card, and … of course … a “The Switch Hitter Connects” card.

It really serves no purpose other than beefing up the Mantle count, and collectors have been thankful for Topps’ Mick greed for six decades counting.

Value: $250-325

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1962 Topps Billy Williams (#288)

While his Chicago Cubs were stumbling to a 64-90-2 record in 1961, young Billy Williams seized the opportunity presented by a struggling club and stepped in to grab the starting left field job.

The result was a Rookie of the Year campaign that yielded 25 home runs and 86 RBI, the opening salvo of what turned out to be a Hall of Fame career.

Williams’ 1962 Topps card is a nice looking effort that features the Rookie All-Star trophy, but it’s not actually his rookie card – that had come in 1961.

Still, this is a great early card of a Hall of Famer, and one with the added demand that comes with any Cubs star.

Value: $250-350

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1962 Topps Frank Robinson (#350)

It got a bit lost in the glare coming from the American League, but Frank Robinson put together an amazing summer in 1961, batting .323 with 37 home runs, 124 RBI, 117 runs scored, and 22 stolen bases, against only three times caught.

Strikingly, none of those numbers led the National League, but it all added up to surprise pennant for the Cincinnati Reds and Robinson’s first MVP award.

Of course, his second MVP award came five years later, after the Reds infamously traded the “old 30” superstar to the Baltimore Orioles.

That second run – in 1966 – featured a Triple Crown, also helping to dim the memory of ‘61.

Not to worry, though, because that magic Cincy season is captured for all of eternity on Robinson’s gorgeous 1962 Topps baseball card.

Value: $300-400

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1962 Topps Gaylord Perry Rookie Card (#199)

The 1962 Topps Gaylord Perry rookie card pulls off a feat that almost none of his other cards managed – it made him look like something other than an old man.

There’s no Vaseline evident on this one, either, though there is plenty of airbrush glop on that San Francisco Giants cap … which also has a suspicious whitish glare over the left corner (to our right).

So, maybe there is something fishy going on here, after all.

Still, this is a 60-year-old rookie card of a Hall of Famer who was well-known for his wile, so collections will always have room to slide this one in.

Value: $350-360

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1962 Topps Bob Gibson (#530)

Bob Gibson posted his first winning record (13-12) in 1961, but he also led the National League with 119 walks allowed. In 1962, he would lead the Senior Circuit with five shutouts, but it would be another two seasons before he picked up any MVP votes and another three before he won 20 games for the first time (1965).

By 1968, though, Gibson was maybe the most dominant starter in all of baseball, and his 22-9, 1.12 ERA, 268 strikeout line helped make that summer the Year of the Pitcher.

You can bet hobbyists across the land were scouring their collections that fall to find this and other early Gibson cards as he nabbed the NL Cy Young and MVP awards just after leading the Cardinals into an epic seven-game World Series (loss) against the Detroit Tigers.

Value: $420-450

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1962 Topps Sandy Koufax (#5)

In 1961, Sandy Koufax cut nearly 0.4 of a run off his 1960 ERA (3.91 to 3.52) and flipped his won-loss fortunes into the black – from 8-13 to 18-13.

That surely had Dodgers fans and the hobby thinking the 26-year-old might have something bigger up his left sleeve for 1962, and boy, were they right!

As collectors were pulling this cloud-gazing shot from wax packs, the Left Arm of God was busy taking the next step on the “ace” ladder. Though his record fell to 11-4 in 1962, Koufax led the National League with a stingy 2.54 ERA and set the stage for the legendary stretch to follow.

From a hobby standpoint, it hardly matters at all that Koufax’s career was cut short by elbow issues (other than adding a bit of mystique) – we love his pasteboards and pretty much always have.

Value: $450-460

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1962 Topps Roberto Clemente (#10)

Roberto Clemente became an All-Star for the first time in 1960, helping the Pittsburgh Pirates win the National League pennant en route to their historic seven-game World Series showdown with the mighty New York Yankees.

But Clemente’s real breakout came in 1961, when he won the first of four National League batting titles (.351) and set a course for the Hall of Fame.

The next spring, Topps unleashed this stunning look at The Great One, confident and focused in the cage as he prepared to exact more pain on the Bucs’ next opponent.

The image of this card has been plastered all over hobby periodicals and websites in the ensuing decades – it never gets old, and it never loses its appeal.

Value: $475-550

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1962 Topps Mickey Mantle All-Star (#471)

One tried and true formula for baseball card success in the 1950s and 1960s went something like this:

Put Mickey Mantle on a card

Repeat step 1

It’s a recipe that still works wonders in the old-card market today, where you can expect just about ANY card of The Mick to stand near the top of any “most valuable” list.

This fetching All-Star card is no exception, though it’s downright affordable when compared to its base-Mantle counterpart.

Value: $600-800

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1962 Topps Managers’ Dream (Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays) (#18)

Every other multiplayer card in the history of the game is vying for second place when it comes to fame, star power, and most appearances on collector want lists.

What’s number one.

A single card showing Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays together in their prime already features more talent than some later sets featuring hundreds of cards. But add in the constellation of All-Stars lined up behind them, and this one is untouchable.

It’s Willie, Mickey, and The Crew, and it’s a hobby standard.

Value: $750-800

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1962 Topps Bob Uecker Rookie Card (#594)

This card’s lofty standing among the best that 1962 Topps has to offer was both a long time coming and an unavoidable destiny.

Start with a big league career that produced an even .200 batting average and -1.0 WAR (yes, negative) …

Add in a series of iconic beer commercials …

Swirl around some movie star juice …

And top it all off with a half-century-and-counting broadcasting career …

It’s just the right cocktail to fuel prices for a high-number rookie card … Mendoza Line or no.

Value: $750-850

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1962 Topps Lou Brock Rookie Card (#387)

Even though the June 1964 deal that sent Lou Brock to the St. Louis Cardinals for Ernie Broglio (with other pieces on both sides) is among the most lauded – or reviled, if you’re a Wrigley Wrooter – in history, it’s still jarring to see Brock in a Chicago Cubs uniform.

After all, by the time Brock set the all-time single-season stolen base mark (in 1974) and the all-time career mark (1977, previously held by Ty Cobb), collectors were well-versed in his Cards cards.

Then, as Brock passed 3000 hits in 1979 just before his retirement then turned toward a plaque in Cooperstown, his rookie card picked up steam with the coming of the 1980s hobby boom.

And, there’s something poetic about the fact that Brock’s RC came in the 1962 topps wood-grained classic, the same set that missed out (again) on Maury Wills’ monster stolen base summer.

Because, whose record of 104 do you think Brock toppled on September 10, 1974?

Yeah it was that infamous fake-card denizen of the 1982 Kmart set.

Value: $700-1000

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1962 Topps Hank Aaron (#320)

The story for Hank Aaron in the early 1960s was much the same as it was throughout his big league career – he was among the greatest players in the game, but seldom got his due.

Sure, Aaron was an All-Star every year, but with “just” 30-45 home runs every year, his power numbers got swallowed up by the Ruth-chasers. Of course, we all know Aaron got the last laugh on that front when he smacked #715 in 1974, but that was still more than a decade away when this card was issued.

As with many Aaron cards of the era, this one hasn’t seen as much of the hobby limelight over the decades as those of Mays, Mantle, Maris, and others, but it’s climbed steadily over the decades to stand among the greats.

Sounds sorta familiar, huh?

Value: $750-1000

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1962 Topps Roger Maris (#1)

With all due respect to Mantle and Mays and Brock, and even to Managers’ Dream, THIS is the most iconic card of the 1962 Topps baseball card set.

Here we have the Yankees reluctant superstar, fresh off breaking Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record, but looking tired and tired of it all. Beleaguered, even.

But Roger Maris persevered through all the naysaying and the media crush that accompanied his homer chase in 1961, even through the slings and arrows of commissioner Ford Frick and those like-minded cronies who suggested that Roger’s new mark might ought to come with an asterisk.

In the end, Maris got Tracy Stallard, got number 61, got the Babe, got his second straight American League MVP award.

The next spring, Rajah landed card #1 in one of the most distinctive Topps sets ever. And, though Maris was never quite the same after that hellish run of ‘61, he – and his faraway gaze as he tries to swing away the trials of the grind and just play baseball – are hobby legends.

Value: $900-1000

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1962 Topps Willie Mays (#300)

By a lot of measures, Mays had an even better 1962 campaign than Mantle did, and the Say Hey Kid wasn’t that far off his Bronx counterpart’s excellence in 1961, either.

It’s just that Mays 1) didn’t challenge any home run records in 1961 and 2) didn’t steal 100 bases in 1962.

In other words, Mays played those two seasons in the shadow of bigger stories – Maris/Mantle/Ruth in ‘61 and Maury Wills’ wheels o’ fire in ‘62.

That left Willie with sixth- and second-place showings in National League MVP voting, respectively. But he did manage to help his Giants into that 1962 World Series against the Yanks (where he didn’t fare much better than Mantle – .250, no dingers, a single RBI).

You can bet that Mays’ 1962 Topps card lagged behind Mantle, and probably Maris, as a big-time “pull” that summer. But this is a great-looking mid-career issue that collectors have elevated to its proper position near the top of any 1960s wishlist.

Value: $1300-1800

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1962 Topps Mickey Mantle (#200)

Like most Mickey Mantle baseball cards, this one is a hobby icon, made all the more so by its appearance in the 1982 Topps Kmart box set. That inclusion came courtesy of Mantle’s 1962 American League MVP award, his third and final such honor.

That came on the heels of a second-place finish to teammate Roger Maris in the 1961 MVP race … and in the race to topple Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record.

Though Mantle missed out on both of those titles, his Yanks won another World Series in 1961 and followed up with Mantle’s final crown in 1962, when New York beat the San Francisco Giants in a thrilling seven-game Fall Classic.

That October was not The Mick’s best showing (.120 batting average, no home runs or RBI), but collectors had this classic woody pasteboard to keep them company and remind them of the days when Mantle’s bat was hot as a summer sidewalk.

His cards pretty much still are that hot, across the board, and this one is no exception.

Condition: https://www.psacard.com/auctionprices/baseball-cards/1962-topps/49757#g=7

Value: $3500-4000

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Error Cards!

Alright, so those beauties are the top of the heap amongst 1962 Topps baseball cards, at least among the “regular” population, anyway.

Regular?

Yeah, that distinction is important because 1962 Topps also brought us a huge swath of variations, chief among them the entire 88-card second series.

Each and every one of those cards (#89-176) exists in two version — the regular, and the extra special “green tint” variety, wherein something funky happened on the way from the cardboard mill to the wax pack.

Leaving the cards tinted green.

So, you know, they get the qualifier, “green tint.”

Or, sometimes, “green sky,” if there’s sky involved.

And, many of the cards feature slightly different photos or cropping between the green and non-green versions. Just enough of a difference to make you feel uneasy if you see one, and then the other. Sort of like the hotel layout in The Shining.

Generally, speaking, the greenies (ahem) are more valuable than the regulars.

To wit, here are a handful of the most famous and valuable of the Green Tint Specials.

Shine on, green stuff!

1962 Topps Billy Hoeft – Green Sky (#134)

Billy Hoeft was an All-Star in 1955 and won 20 games in 1956, but not many of his cards appear on hobby hot lists.

This one doesn’t either, really, but the “green sky” version is pretty tough to come by and commands a premium whenever it changes hands.

Value: $150-205

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1962 Topps Babe Ruth – Babe Hits 60 (Green Tint) (#139)

Remember that year Babe Ruth hit 60 green baseballs into the ether, setting an all-time mark that would stand forever, or at least until 1961?

Yeah, I don’t either because 1) I wasn’t around in 1927 and 2) I’m pretty sure they didn’t use green balls that summer.

But maybe they did. Who knows, really?

Still, this is a variation of a Babe Ruth card, so you know it’s going to attract some attention. And some collector dollars.

Value: $750-1500

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1962 Topps Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth – Green Tint (#140)

Remember that time Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig caught a stomach bug at the same time and ended up turning a little green? When they hugged each other for comfort?

Yeah, again, me either.

Could have happened, though.

What did happen for sure, though, is that the 1962 Topps Gehrig-Ruth card got bit by the Green Tint Tarantula, unleashing another desirable variation.

Value: $100-150

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1962 Topps Babe Ruth – Twilight Years (Green Tint) (#141)

You remember that time Babe Ruth led the Boston Braves into a shootout in the old west while a green dust storm swirled around him?

No?

Well, then, take a look at his green-tint 1962 Topps Twilight Years entry.

And think twice about telling me this schtick is getting old, because it’s not quite over yet.

Value: $100-200

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1962 Topps Al Kaline- Green Tint (#150)

Remember that time Al Kaline went all transition-stage-Hulk, shooting beams of green-hot anger into the far reaches of Tiger Stadium when he found out that WAR was a thing, and that both he and teammate Norm Cash trounced AL MVP Roger Maris in the what-is-it-good-for stat in 1961?

But that Mickey Mantle killed them all?

No?

Well, it happened, right there on the green-tint version of card #150 in the 1962 Topps baseball card set.

Value: $150-200

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