1958 Topps #293 Gene Freese
About Gene Freese
Card #293 is a fourth-series 1958 Topps issue picturing Gene Freese in a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform. It follows a 1957 full season with the Pirates: 114 games, a .283 average, six home runs, 31 RBI and 44 runs, with 74 of those games at third base. He led National League third basemen with 16 errors that year, and on June 15, 1958 he was traded to St. Louis.
Eugene Lewis Freese, a right-handed third baseman born in Wheeling, West Virginia, played twelve major league seasons between 1955 and 1966 for the Pirates, Cardinals, Phillies, White Sox, Reds and Astros, traded or sold seven times along the way. A three-sport athlete at West Liberty State College, he signed with Pittsburgh as an amateur free agent in March 1953 and reached the majors in 1955 alongside his older brother George, taking the Pirates' rookie-of-the-year award from the Pittsburgh baseball writers over Roberto Clemente. His best work came from 1959 through 1961, culminating in career highs across the board for the pennant-winning 1961 Reds. A spring-training ankle fracture in 1962 cost him that form for good; he never again played 100 games in a season, and he retired after the 1968 minor league campaign. He finished at .254 with 877 hits, 115 home runs and 432 RBIs in 1,115 games, then made New Orleans home, running the Basin Lounge and entering the New Orleans Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.
Sources: Wikipedia · Retrosheet
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 271 | 0 | 14 | 98 | 90 | 39 | 15 | 15 | 0 |
| SGC | 18 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 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).
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Live auctions Buy It Now Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
More Pittsburgh Pirates cards:
- #4 Hank Foiles
- #45 Dick Groat
- #52 Roberto Clemente
- #52B Roberto Clemente (Yellow Team)
- #74 Roy Face
- #82 Ron Kline
- #94 Bob Skinner
- #104 Jim Pendleton
- #132 Vern Law
- #151 Buddy Pritchard
- #172 Don Gross
- #178 Ted Kluszewski
- #198 Bill Virdon
- #218 Dick Rand
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1958 Topps Gene Freese card?
It is card #293 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 Freese, Pittsburgh Pirates.
How many graded copies of the 1958 Topps Gene Freese #293 are there?
PSA has graded 271 copies and SGC 18 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.