1962 Topps #35 Don Schwall
About Don Schwall
Card 35 in the 1962 Topps first series is Schwall's recognized rookie card, and it follows the season that made his name. Boston brought him up from Triple-A in May 1961, he won his first six decisions, and his record stood at 13-2 in mid-August. In between he pitched the middle three innings of that year's second All-Star Game at Fenway Park, a 1-1 tie halted by rain in the ninth, and struck out Stan Musial, which he called his biggest thrill of the year. A kidney ailment then cost him two weeks and much of his edge; he still finished 15-7 with a 3.22 ERA, ten complete games and Rookie of the Year honors.
Don Schwall was born March 2, 1936 in Hanover Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, just outside Wilkes-Barre, and grew up in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where basketball was his principal sport. A 6-foot-6 center at the University of Oklahoma, he met Wilt Chamberlain's Kansas teams three times and in one February 1957 meeting outscored him 30 points to 11, but he pitched only sparingly for the Sooners before Red Sox scout Wog Rice signed him in December 1957 for what Rice called the largest bonus ever paid an Oklahoman. Three minor league summers followed: 23-6 at Class D Alpine in 1959, then 16-9 for Triple-A Minneapolis in 1960 as a teammate of Carl Yastrzemski, who would be his Boston roommate the next spring. Called up in May 1961, Schwall won his first six decisions, pitched in that season's second All-Star Game, and was voted American League Rookie of the Year. A sub-par 1962 sent him to Pittsburgh, where he worked as both starter and reliever until a June 1966 trade to Atlanta. He finished 49-48 with 408 strikeouts and a 3.72 ERA over seven seasons, then built a second career as an investment banker.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 243 | 0 | 11 | 104 | 81 | 29 | 7 | 11 | 0 |
| SGC | 20 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 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.
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: #334 Boston Red Sox Team
More Boston Red Sox cards:
- #3 Pete Runnels
- #81 Jim Pagliaroni
- #101 Carroll Hardy
- #117 Gary Geiger
- #153 Pumpsie Green
- #187 Gene Conley
- #201 Ike Delock
- #225 Frank Malzone
- #244 Don Gile
- #276 Hal Kolstad
- #301 Galen Cisco
- #336 Billy Muffett
- #345 Chuck Schilling
- #368 Bob Tillman
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1962 Topps #35 card?
It is card #35 of the 600-card 1962 Topps Baseball set, picturing Don Schwall of the Boston Red Sox.
Is 1962 Topps #35 a rookie card?
Yes - #35 is the 1962 Topps rookie card of Don Schwall.
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.