1962 Topps #273 Gary Bell
About Gary Bell
Card #273, a third-series issue in the 1962 set, reports a season of pure starting work. Bell took the ball 34 times in 1961, started every one of those games, pitched 228 innings and struck out 163, the most in any season to that point in his career. The won-lost line was unkind, 12-16 with a 4.10 ERA, and it was his last full year in the rotation before Cleveland shifted him to relief.
Wilbur Gary Bell was a right-handed pitcher from San Antonio, Texas, who spent twelve big league seasons (1958-1969) with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Pilots and Chicago White Sox. He signed with Cleveland over the Yankees and Red Sox, reasoning that an aging Indians staff of Bob Feller, Bob Lemon, Mike Garcia and Early Wynn would open a door for him, and he debuted in relief on June 1, 1958. He went 12-10 that first year and finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting. Known as 'Ding Dong,' Bell was a four-time All-Star, chosen for both 1960 games and again in 1966 and 1968, and Cleveland shuffled him between the rotation and the bullpen under at least nine managers across ten seasons there. He finished 121-117 with a 3.68 ERA, 51 saves and 1,378 strikeouts in 519 games, then settled back in San Antonio, where he opened his own sporting-goods business in 1987.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 171 | 0 | 9 | 74 | 59 | 18 | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 10 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 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 #273 card?
It is card #273 of the 600-card 1962 Topps Baseball set, picturing Gary Bell of the Cleveland Indians.
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.