1962 Topps #260 Bill Pierce
About Bill Pierce
Card No. 260, from the set's third series, catches Pierce at 35 in his first year with the Giants, and the change revived him. He won his first eight starts, finished 16-6 with a 3.49 ERA, and was untouchable in the Candlestick Park wind, winning all 11 of his home starts. After the Giants and Dodgers tied for the pennant, he opened the three-game playoff against Sandy Koufax with a three-hit, 8-0 shutout, then retired the side in the ninth inning of the deciding game to clinch it. He started twice in the World Series against the Yankees, carrying a scoreless Game 3 into the seventh before three runs beat him, and beating Whitey Ford 5-2 on a three-hitter in Game 6.
Walter William Pierce was born April 2, 1927, in Detroit and grew up in Highland Park, where he did not play organized ball until he was 15 and took the mound only after his sandlot team's pitcher left for a club with better uniforms. Six shutouts as a high school junior earned him the nickname Mr. Zero, and his hometown Tigers signed him for a $15,000 bonus; he debuted in June 1945, weeks after turning 18. Worried about his wildness, Detroit traded him to the White Sox in November 1948 for catcher Aaron Robinson and $10,000, a deal historians rank among the most one-sided ever made. In Chicago the slightly built left-hander became the American League's best southpaw: seven All-Star selections, the 1953 strikeout title, a league-leading 1.97 ERA in 1955 that was the only mark under 2.00 by a qualifier between 1947 and 1962, 20 wins in 1956 and again in 1957, and a near-perfect game against Washington on June 27, 1958. Three seasons in San Francisco closed out a career of 211 wins and a 3.27 ERA. The White Sox retired his No. 19 in 1987 and unveiled a statue of him in 2007. He died July 31, 2015.
Sources: SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 187 | 0 | 3 | 63 | 96 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 15 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1962 Topps #260 card?
It is card #260 of the 600-card 1962 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bill Pierce of the San Francisco Giants.
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.