1962 Topps #219 Al Downing
About Al Downing
Downing's 1962 Topps card, #219 in the set's third series, is his rookie issue, arriving the year after his July 19, 1961 debut. The rookie left-hander appeared in just five games that first season, going 0-1 with an 8.00 ERA over 9 innings and 12 strikeouts. The card itself reached collectors during a summer he spent almost entirely at Triple-A Richmond, pitching exactly one big-league inning all year.
Alphonso Erwin Downing, a left-handed pitcher born June 28, 1941, in Trenton, New Jersey, signed with the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1961 and reached the majors that July at age 20, becoming the first Black pitcher in franchise history when he took the mound on July 19. He spent parts of nine seasons in pinstripes, breaking out in 1963 at 13-5 with a 2.56 ERA and leading the American League with 217 strikeouts in 1964. On August 11, 1967, the year of his only All-Star selection, he struck out the side on nine pitches against Cleveland, the majors' first immaculate inning since 1964. Traded to Oakland before 1970 and to Milwaukee that June, he found a second act with the Los Angeles Dodgers, winning 20 games with a league-leading five shutouts in 1971 and taking National League Comeback Player of the Year. He is remembered above all for one pitch: on April 8, 1974, he surrendered Hank Aaron's record-breaking 715th home run. He finished 123-107 with a 3.22 ERA and 1,639 strikeouts over 17 seasons, later broadcasting for the Dodgers.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 363 | 0 | 5 | 103 | 130 | 75 | 26 | 24 | 0 |
| SGC | 37 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-09-24. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8), and PSA's qualified grades are counted separately from the straight-grade rows shown here. Slabs of the three cards printed #139 are joined by description, never by number alone. PSA registers the green tints as a separate set; a tint's population is listed under that state of the card it belongs to.
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Related cards
Team card: #251 New York Yankees Team
More New York Yankees cards:
- #1 Roger Maris
- #18 Managers' Dream
- #31 Tom Tresh
- #48 Ralph Terry
- #65 Bobby Richardson
- #88 Ralph Houk
- #93 John Blanchard
- #110 Bill Skowron
- #136 Babe Ruth Special: Babe Joins Yanks
- #137 Babe Ruth Special: Babe and Mgr. Huggins
- #138 Babe Ruth Special: The Famous Slugger
- #139a Hal Reniff
- #139b Hal Reniff
- #139c Babe Ruth Special: Babe Hits 60
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1962 Topps #219 card?
It is card #219 of the 600-card 1962 Topps Baseball set, picturing Al Downing of the New York Yankees.
Is 1962 Topps #219 a rookie card?
Yes - #219 is the 1962 Topps rookie card of Al Downing.
How many cards are in the 1962 Topps Baseball set?
600 cards, tracked as 708 collectible states. The numbers run from 1 to 598 with no gaps, but three different cards were printed #139 - two Hal Reniff poses, catalogued 139a and 139b, and the Babe Hits 60 Babe Ruth Special, 139c - so 598 numbers make 600 cards; 93 cards carry catalogued print variations, the series-2 green tints among them, that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Baseball Almanac, Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, BaseballCardPedia, The Topps Archives, Baseball-Reference, the SABR BioProject and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, PSA & SGC population reports. Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-10-03.