1962 Topps #490 Clete Boyer
About Clete Boyer
Two Topps cards this year: his solo #490 from the sixth series, and #163 from the second, a combination card titled 'Hot Corner Guardians' that pairs him with Yankees infielder Billy Gardner. That one comes two ways, with and without a green tint, so collectors chase 163a and 163b separately. Both follow a .224 season with 11 home runs and 55 RBI in 1961, a year his glove did the talking -- he led American League third basemen in assists with 353. In the five-game World Series win over Cincinnati he threw out Gene Freese and Dick Gernert from his knees behind Whitey Ford's Game One shutout, then doubled home two runs in Game Four.
Cletis Leroy 'Clete' Boyer, born February 9, 1937, in Cassville, Missouri, grew up in Alba as one of fourteen children; all seven Boyer boys signed professional contracts, and two older brothers reached the majors -- Cardinals pitcher Cloyd, and Ken, the St. Louis third baseman named 1964 National League MVP. Kansas City signed Clete for a reported $35,000 bonus on May 30, 1955, and the bonus-baby rule sent him from Alba High School straight to the Athletics with no minor league time at all. A 13-player deal, finally completed on June 4, 1957, made him a Yankee, and he took over third base in 1960 on the strength of an arm and a glove teammates rated with anyone's. He played in five straight Yankees World Series from 1960 through 1964, winning in 1961 and 1962. Traded to Atlanta after the 1966 season, he put up career highs in 1967 and won a Gold Glove in 1969; with Ken already holding five, the Boyers became the first brothers to each win the award. He hit .242 with 162 home runs and 654 RBI across 16 major league seasons, then played four years in Japan for the Taiyo Whales, coached in the majors, and died June 4, 2007.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 364 | 0 | 10 | 99 | 138 | 72 | 27 | 18 | 0 |
| SGC | 36 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
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 Clete Boyer 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 #490 card?
It is card #490 of the 600-card 1962 Topps Baseball set, picturing Clete Boyer 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.