1962 Topps #381 Chico Cardenas
The Chico pictured is Leo Cardenas, the Reds shortstop, not Cincinnati utilityman Chico Ruiz.
About Chico Cardenas
The 1962 Topps wood-grain set gave Cardenas card #381, a series-5 issue, and the back is the fun one: a .308 average with five home runs in 198 at-bats during 1961. He out-homered platoon partner Eddie Kasko five to two in 271 fewer trips to the plate and pushed his way into the Reds' pennant run. Cincinnati took the National League and then lost the World Series to the Yankees in five games; Cardenas got into three of them as a pinch-hitter, going 1-for-3 with a double. The Chico on this card is Leo Cardenas, the shortstop -- not Reds utilityman Chico Ruiz, who did not reach the majors until April 1964.
Leonardo Lazaro Cardenas Alfonso was born December 17, 1938 in Matanzas, Cuba, one of 15 children. He came to the United States in 1956 for a $500 bonus, claiming to be 17 -- the minimum age a major-league team could sign -- when he was 16, and he was among the last Cuban players out before the borders were sealed. Playing for the Havana Sugar Kings in 1959, he was hit by a stray bullet when celebrating fans fired rifles in the grandstand. Cardenas reached Cincinnati on July 25, 1960 and held the Reds' shortstop job for seven seasons, so steady in the field that he was known as Mr. Automatic. Teammates called him Chico, and later Leo. He was a five-time All-Star and won the National League Gold Glove at shortstop in 1965. Traded to Minnesota, he fielded .985 in 1971, the highest mark by an American League shortstop since records began in 1901, and was voted the Twins' most valuable player. He finished with the California Angels, Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers, batting .257 with 1,725 hits, 118 home runs and 689 RBI over 16 seasons. Cincinnati voted him into the Reds Hall of Fame in 1981.
Sources: Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 189 | 0 | 4 | 81 | 66 | 24 | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| SGC | 14 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 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
Team card: #465 Cincinnati Reds Team
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- #103 Don Blasingame
- #120 Bob Purkey
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- #151 Johnny Klippstein
- #171 Dave Sisler
- #172 Fred Hutchinson
- #193 Eddie Kasko
- #205 Gene Freese
- #233 World Series Game #2 - Jay Ties It Up
- #258 Marty Keough
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1962 Topps #381 card?
It is card #381 of the 600-card 1962 Topps Baseball set, picturing Chico Cardenas of the Cincinnati Reds.
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.