1962 Topps #106 Carl Sawatski
About Carl Sawatski
1962 Topps #106 is a first-series card, issued in the year Sawatski hit for the most power of his career. In 222 at-bats he hit 13 home runs, tying the Cardinals' single-season record for home runs by a catcher shared with Hal Smith, Walker Cooper and Eddie Ainsmith, and drove in 42 runs backing up Gene Oliver behind the plate. On September 9 at Crosley Field he turned an 0-and-2 pitch from Cincinnati's Jim Brosnan into a two-out, ninth-inning pinch grand slam, the only grand slam of his career, for a 5-3 win.
Carl Ernest Sawatski (1927-1991) was a left-handed-hitting, right-handed-throwing catcher who played eleven big-league seasons for the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals between 1948 and 1963. A self-converted catcher and prodigious minor-league slugger, he led four different leagues in home runs over his first five pro seasons and picked up the nickname "Swish" for the sound of his bat. He stuck for good with the pennant-winning 1957 Braves, pinch-hitting twice in their seven-game World Series win over the New York Yankees and striking out both times. A classic pull hitter kept as a backup catcher and pinch-hitter, he fit St. Louis best: over four years there the short right field at the Cardinals' Busch Stadium, the old Sportsman's Park, helped him bat .316 with 25 home runs at home against .193 on the road. He retired with 58 home runs, 213 RBIs and a .242 average in 633 games, then ran the Arkansas Travelers as general manager and served as Texas League president from 1976 until his death in 1991, earning the Warren Giles Award in 1987. He entered the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 298 | 0 | 16 | 134 | 117 | 24 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 20 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 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.
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: #61 St. Louis Cardinals Team
More St. Louis Cardinals cards:
- #14 Bill White
- #19 Ray Washburn
- #28 Minnie Minoso
- #50 Stan Musial
- #83 Larry Jackson
- #118 Julian Javier
- #149 Bob Duliba
- #167 Tim McCarver
- #198 Johnny Keane
- #202 Carl Warwick
- #223 Alex Grammas
- #241 Johnny Kucks
- #266 John Anderson
- #285 Curt Simmons
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1962 Topps #106 card?
It is card #106 of the 600-card 1962 Topps Baseball set, picturing Carl Sawatski of the St. Louis Cardinals.
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.