1962 Topps #338 Billy Gardner
About Billy Gardner
Two cards, both Yankees, both printed while his New York stay was already ending. #163 is the second-series combination card titled Hot Corner Guardians, pairing Gardner with Clete Boyer - apt, since 33 of his 41 games with the 1961 Yankees came at third base rather than second. It exists in two collectible states, a no-green-tint printing and a green-tint printing. #338, a fourth-series solo issue, is the plainer of the pair. Gardner got into just four games for New York in 1962, drawing one plate appearance and striking out, before the June 12 trade to Boston for Tom Umphlett and cash; he then hit .271 in 53 games for the Red Sox.
William Frederick Gardner, a Connecticut-born infielder nicknamed Shotgun for his strong throwing arm, reached the majors with the New York Giants on April 22, 1954 and collected a World Series ring that fall without appearing in the sweep of Cleveland. The Giants sold his contract to Baltimore for $20,000 in April 1956, and he became the Orioles regular second baseman for four straight seasons. His career year was 1957: he led the American League in doubles with 36, at-bats with 644 and plate appearances with 718, hit .262, played all 154 games, and led American League second basemen in fielding percentage at .987. Washington acquired him for 1960, he moved with that franchise to Minnesota, and a 1961 trade landed him with the Yankees, where he picked up a second championship as a utility infielder. A 1962 deal sent him to Boston, where his ten-year playing career ended. He spent decades afterward as a minor- and major-league coach and manager, piloting the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals in the 1980s, and died in Connecticut in January 2024 at the age of 96.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 230 | 1 | 6 | 60 | 101 | 39 | 13 | 10 | 0 |
| SGC | 14 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 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.
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Related cards
More Billy Gardner in this set: #163 Combo
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 #338 card?
It is card #338 of the 600-card 1962 Topps Baseball set, picturing Billy Gardner of the New York Yankees.
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.