1962 Topps #244 Don Gile
About Don Gile
Out of options, Boston carried Gile all season, his only full year in the majors: unused in April, used once in May, a self-described futility player who mostly threw batting practice. He had appeared in 16 games through September 25 without a hit, 0-for-34 on the year. Then came the September 30 doubleheader against Washington at Fenway Park. He blooped a single in the opener, and in the nightcap, with the game tied 1-1 in the ninth, he drove a Jack Jenkins pitch into the left-field nets for a two-run walk-off and a 3-1 win, the last at-bat of his career. His 1962 Topps card, #244 with the Red Sox, sits in the third series.
Donald Loren Gile was a 6-foot-6, 220-pound catcher and first baseman, nicknamed "Bear", who reached the majors with the Boston Red Sox for all or part of four seasons between 1959 and 1962. Born in Modesto, California, on April 19, 1935, he grew up in San Mateo, where his high school yearbook called him the team's power hitter, then batted .516 for the University of Arizona in 1954 and reached the College World Series with the Wildcats. Scout Tom Downey signed him for Boston in 1955 on a $4,000 bonus. His right-handed power had a New York columnist asking in print whether he was the next Jimmie Foxx, but Gile never pushed past the Red Sox depth in front of him and finished at .150 (18-for-120) with three home runs and nine RBIs in 58 games. Those three homers came in three different seasons, off three different pitchers from three different teams, and the third was the last swing of his major league career. He hit far better in the minors, leading the Eastern League with 23 home runs for Allentown in 1958, and played a final professional season in 1963. Gile died in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on March 5, 2021, at 85.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 201 | 0 | 12 | 88 | 71 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 0 |
| SGC | 13 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 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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Related cards
Team card: #334 Boston Red Sox Team
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1962 Topps #244 card?
It is card #244 of the 600-card 1962 Topps Baseball set, picturing Don Gile of the Boston Red Sox.
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.