1958 Topps #452 Roman Mejias
About Roman Mejias
Roman Mejias is shown with the Pittsburgh Pirates on 1958 Topps #452, part of Series Six in a 494-card set. In 1957 the Cuban outfielder batted .275 in 58 games, then led the Havana club with 43 RBI that winter and took Player of the Year honors. Before 1958 The Sporting News predicted he was about to blossom.
Roman Mejias Gomez, born August 9, 1925 at the Central Manuelita sugar mill in Cuba's Las Villas province, was a right-handed outfielder who played nine big-league seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Colt .45s and Boston Red Sox, in 1955 and from 1957 through 1964. American records listed his birthplace for decades as nearby Abreus. Pirates scout George Sisler signed him out of a 1953 Havana tryout camp, and Mejias was Pittsburgh's Opening Day right fielder as a 1955 rookie, ahead of his roommate Roberto Clemente; once Clemente claimed the job he settled in as a spare outfielder behind Clemente, Bill Virdon and Bob Skinner. Houston took him in the October 1961 National League expansion draft and finally played him every day. A six-foot, 175-pound right fielder remembered for his warmth and enthusiasm, he batted .254 with 449 hits, 54 home runs and 202 runs batted in across 627 games. He was a player-coach for Boston's Triple-A Toronto club in 1965, closed his playing career with the Sankei Atoms in Japan in 1966, and was elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in exile in 1997. He died in Sun City, California, on February 22, 2023, at 97.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 369 | 0 | 9 | 148 | 121 | 56 | 26 | 8 | 1 |
| SGC | 27 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 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 Roman Mejias card?
It is card #452 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 Roman Mejias, Pittsburgh Pirates.
How many graded copies of the 1958 Topps Roman Mejias #452 are there?
PSA has graded 369 copies and SGC 27 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.