1962 Topps #436 Felix Mantilla
About Felix Mantilla
Card #436, a series-five issue, is Mantilla's only Topps card as a New York Met. He batted second and played shortstop in the first game in franchise history, at St. Louis on April 11, 1962, then settled in as the regular third baseman, 95 of his 141 games. Everyday work brought 466 at-bats, more than 200 above any season Milwaukee gave him, and a .275 average with 11 home runs and 59 RBI, second on a 40-120 club only to Richie Ashburn's .306.
Felix Mantilla, called El Gato, the Cat, for his agility, was born July 29, 1934, in Isabela, Puerto Rico, and was playing organized ball there by age nine. He was on the Puerto Rican team that won the 1951 Amateur World Series, signed with the Boston Braves in 1952 for a $400 bonus, and in 1953 joined Hank Aaron and Horace Garner in integrating the Jacksonville Braves of the South Atlantic League, where the three shared a home in a segregated city and were booed for their color. He debuted with Milwaukee on June 21, 1956, and over eleven seasons played every position but pitcher and catcher. He won the 1957 World Series and returned to the Series in 1958. On May 26, 1959, he led off the thirteenth inning by reaching on Don Hoak's throwing error, ending Harvey Haddix's twelve perfect innings, then scored the winning run on Joe Adcock's drive. He finished at .261 with 89 home runs and 330 RBI, helped found the Felix Mantilla Little League in Milwaukee in 1972, and was inducted into the Puerto Rico Sports Hall of Fame. He died January 10, 2025, at 90.
Sources: SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 211 | 1 | 17 | 109 | 53 | 19 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 19 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1962 Topps #436 card?
It is card #436 of the 600-card 1962 Topps Baseball set, picturing Felix Mantilla of the New York Mets.
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.