1962 Topps #25 Ernie Banks
About Ernie Banks
Banks's lone 1962 card, first-series #25, reports a .278 season with 29 home runs and 80 RBI, numbers that hide how strange 1961 had been. The Cubs were running Wrigley's College of Coaches that year, rotating head coaches instead of naming a manager, and they pushed Banks out of the infield: 23 starts in left field and a few games at first base before he went back to shortstop, his 717-game playing streak ending in June on a bad knee.
Ernest Banks of Dallas turned pro in 1950 with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League, then spent two Army years in Germany during the Korean War. The Cubs bought his contract in September 1953, and he became the first Black player to appear in a game for Chicago, debuting on the 17th without ever spending a day in the minors. A shortstop until he became the Cubs' regular first baseman in 1962, Banks was the first National League player to win back-to-back MVP awards, in 1958 and 1959, both for losing clubs. He hit a major-league-best 47 home runs in 1958, led the NL in RBI both seasons with 129 and then 143, and in 1960 won the first Gold Glove given a Cub. Called Mr. Cub and Mr. Sunshine for the disposition behind his standing invitation to play two, he was an All-Star in 11 seasons, played in 14 All-Star Games, and hit 512 home runs, the 500th on May 12, 1970, at Wrigley Field. He retired after 1971 having never played a postseason game. His No. 14 became the first number the Cubs retired, in 1982; he entered the Hall of Fame in 1977 on the first ballot, took the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013, and died in Chicago in 2015.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 3,068 | 0 | 23 | 246 | 682 | 729 | 509 | 876 | 3 |
| SGC | 1,149 | 0 | 3 | 34 | 135 | 234 | 246 | 471 | 26 |
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: #552 Chicago Cubs Team
More Chicago Cubs cards:
- #47 Bob Will
- #66 Cuno Barragan
- #89 Barney Schultz
- #119 Danny Murphy
- #170 Ron Santo
- #191 Jim Brewer
- #240 George Altman
- #264 Dick Ellsworth
- #274 Sammy Taylor
- #288 Billy Williams
- #309 Moe Morhardt
- #359 Bobby Locke
- #372 Jack Curtis
- #387 Lou Brock
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1962 Topps #25 card?
It is card #25 of the 600-card 1962 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs.
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.