1958 Topps #358 Gene Baker
About Gene Baker
Card #358 sits in the fifth series of the 494-card 1958 Topps set and shows Baker with the Pittsburgh Pirates. His 1957 line was .264 with 3 home runs and 46 RBI in 123 games, split between the Cubs and Pirates after a May 1 trade that sent him and Dee Fondy to Pittsburgh for Dale Long and Lee Walls. With Bill Mazeroski at second base, Baker played mainly third base for the Pirates, and in 1958 he got into only 29 games.
Eugene Walter Baker was born June 15, 1925, in Davenport, Iowa, where he made all-state first team in high school basketball before serving in the Navy and playing shortstop for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League in 1948 and 1949. He joined the Chicago Cubs organization in 1950, and Chicago bought his contract from Triple-A Los Angeles on September 1, 1953. A week later the Cubs bought Ernie Banks, and Baker shifted to second base so Banks could play short, giving the majors their first Black keystone combination; the two roomed together. Baker debuted on September 20, 1953, hit .275 as a 1954 rookie, and made the 1955 National League All-Star team. Traded to Pittsburgh in May 1957, he moved to third base until a ruptured knee ligament in July 1958 nearly ended his career. He returned as a utility infielder on the Pirates' 1960 World Series champions, then in June 1961 became the first Black manager in Organized Baseball with Class D Batavia and, in 1962, its first Black coach at Triple-A Columbus. On September 21, 1963, he became the first African American to manage a major league game. He spent 23 years as the Pirates' chief Midwest scout and died December 1, 1999.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 237 | 0 | 7 | 87 | 74 | 41 | 14 | 14 | 0 |
| SGC | 15 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-07-09. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8). PSA counts are straight-graded (the +/Q qualifier rows are excluded).
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1958 Topps Gene Baker card?
It is card #358 of the 1958 Topps Baseball set - Topps' sixth flagship issue: 494 cards numbered 1-495 (#145 was never issued), with die-cut player photos on solid-color backgrounds and the first team logos on Topps fronts. It pictures Gene Baker, Pittsburgh Pirates.
How many graded copies of the 1958 Topps Gene Baker #358 are there?
PSA has graded 237 copies and SGC 15 as of the 2026-07-09 snapshot. Population is a scarcity guide, not a price - high-grade 1958s are notoriously tough because of the set's chronic centering and print-quality issues.
How many cards are in the 1958 Topps set?
494 issued cards, numbered 1-495 - #145 (Ed Bouchee) was pulled before release and never issued, leaving a permanent gap. The PSA master census counts 534 items: the 494 base cards plus 33 yellow-letter variations, 4 numerical checklist-back team cards, the 'Herrer' #433 error, and 2 unnumbered ad cards.
Sources: PSA CardFacts, Beckett, BaseballCardPedia, Baseball-Reference, PSA & SGC population reports, and hobby press-sheet research (Topps Archives, 2026). Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-09-30.