1962 Topps #86 Donn Clendenon
About Donn Clendenon
Clendenon's first Topps card, #86, is a series-1 rookie issue, and it catches him before first base was his: Dick Stuart still owned the bag in Pittsburgh, and Clendenon had not yet played an inning there in the majors. The back reports a nine-game September call-up in 1961, when the 26-year-old went 11-for-35, .314, with two RBI. He platooned into the summer of 1962, took over at first in late July, hit .302 in 80 games and finished runner-up to Ken Hubbs for National League Rookie of the Year.
Donn Alvin Clendenon was born July 15, 1935, in Neosho, Missouri, and grew up in Atlanta, a nine-sport letterman at Booker T. Washington High School and a twelve-letter man at Morehouse College, where Martin Luther King Jr. was his "big brother." Signed by Pittsburgh in 1957, the first baseman debuted in September 1961, took the job when Dick Stuart was traded to Boston, and peaked in 1966 at .299 with 28 home runs and a career-high 98 RBI for the Pirates lineup called the Lumber Company. Montreal took him in the 1968 expansion draft and dealt him to Houston for Rusty Staub; he refused to report over manager Harry Walker and stayed an Expo. Traded to the Mets that June, he was named 1969 World Series MVP, batting .357 with three home runs against Baltimore. He finished at .274 with 159 home runs and 682 RBI over twelve seasons, later took a law degree from Duquesne University, worked as an addictions counselor, and died of leukemia in 2005, the year the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame inducted him.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 500 | 0 | 8 | 188 | 178 | 60 | 33 | 33 | 0 |
| SGC | 54 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 23 | 7 | 7 | 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.
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: #409 Pittsburgh Pirates Team
More Pittsburgh Pirates cards:
- #10 Bob Clemente
- #36 Don Leppert
- #67 Harvey Haddix
- #95 Don Hoak
- #115 Bob Skinner
- #160 Dick Stuart
- #179 Tom Sturdivant
- #210 Roy Face
- #229 Jesus McFarlane
- #252 Earl Francis
- #270 Dick Groat
- #295 Vern Law
- #326 Tom Parsons
- #353 Bill Mazeroski
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1962 Topps #86 card?
It is card #86 of the 600-card 1962 Topps Baseball set, picturing Donn Clendenon of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Is 1962 Topps #86 a rookie card?
Yes - #86 is the 1962 Topps rookie card of Donn Clendenon.
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.