1962 Topps #343 Albie Pearson
About Albie Pearson
Card #343, a fourth-series number, reports the Angels' first season. Pearson walked in the opening inning of the franchise's first game and scored its first run when Ted Kluszewski homered behind him in a 7-0 win at Baltimore. He started in center, spent a month mostly pinch-hitting, then held right field from June 19 on, finishing 1961 at .288 with 123 hits, 92 runs, seven home runs, 41 RBI and 96 walks against 40 strikeouts.
Albert Gregory Pearson, born September 12, 1934 in Alhambra, California, was the shortest man in the major leagues, a left-handed hitter and thrower listed at 5 feet 5 inches and 140 pounds. The Boston Red Sox signed him as a pitcher in 1953, and he spent five years in their farm system without reaching the majors; the January 1958 trade that sent him to Washington for Pete Runnels finally got him a job. He hit .275 as the Senators' center fielder and won American League Rookie of the Year. A .188 start in 1959 cost him that job, Washington traded him to Baltimore for Lenny Green, and the Orioles had him back in the minors by 1960. Hearing that Los Angeles had been granted an expansion club, he wrote general manager Fred Haney asking to be taken, and Haney spent the last of the Angels' 30 draft picks on him. Six seasons with the Angels followed, ended by two ruptured discs from a spring training slide in 1966. He retired a .270 hitter with 831 hits, 485 runs and a .369 on-base percentage in 988 games, was ordained a minister in 1972, and in 1997 he and his wife Helen sold their house to found Father's Heart Ranch for abused and neglected boys. He died February 21, 2023.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 197 | 2 | 0 | 44 | 91 | 31 | 12 | 17 | 0 |
| SGC | 11 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 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.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Live auctions Buy It Now on eBay Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
Team card: #132 Los Angeles Angels Team
More Los Angeles Angels cards:
- #11 Tom Morgan
- #39 Joe Koppe
- #68 Ken L. Hunt
- #96 Eli Grba
- #128 Art Fowler
- #154 Lee Thomas
- #176 Eddie Yost
- #194 Dean Chance
- #209 Jim Fregosi
- #257 Jack Spring
- #268 Ken McBride
- #287 George Witt
- #369 Ted Bowsfield
- #388 Ryne Duren
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1962 Topps #343 card?
It is card #343 of the 600-card 1962 Topps Baseball set, picturing Albie Pearson of the Los Angeles Angels.
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.