1962 Topps #408 Gus Bell
Uncorrected error: The first line of the back should read "After nine seasons..."
About Gus Bell
New York started Bell in right field in the first game the Mets ever played, April 11, 1962, and his second-inning single off Larry Jackson gave the franchise its first hit and its first base runner in an 11-4 loss at St. Louis; he was also the first Met to wear number 3. Little else went right -- 15 hits in 101 at-bats over 30 games -- and on May 21 New York sent him to Milwaukee to complete the November 1961 deal that had brought slugger Frank Thomas to the Mets. He batted .285 in 79 games as a Brave. Card #408, from the fifth series, is the only one of his 1960s Topps cards issued with the Mets.
Gus Bell -- born David Russell Bell in Louisville, Kentucky, on November 15, 1928 -- batted left, threw right, and played fifteen major league seasons in the outfield for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets and Milwaukee Braves. He debuted for Pittsburgh on May 30, 1950, led the National League with 12 triples in 1951, and hit for the cycle against the Phillies on June 4 of that year; grandson David matched him in 2004, the only grandfather-grandson cycle pair in major league history. A trade on October 14, 1952 sent Bell to Cincinnati, where he spent nine seasons, first in center field and later in right. He was a four-time All-Star (1953, 1954, 1956 and 1957), drove in 100 or more runs four times, hit .300 with 30 home runs and 105 RBI in 1953, and set a career high with 115 RBI in 1959. Cincinnati elected him to its team Hall of Fame in 1964. He finished with 1,823 hits, 206 home runs, 942 RBI and a .281 average, then worked for an auto dealership, ran a temporary employment agency, and scouted for the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers. His son Buddy and grandsons David and Mike all reached the majors.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 259 | 0 | 19 | 111 | 84 | 29 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| SGC | 19 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 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 #408 card?
It is card #408 of the 600-card 1962 Topps Baseball set, picturing Gus Bell of the New York Mets.
Does 1962 Topps #408 have an error?
The first line of the back should read "After nine seasons...". It was never corrected, so there is no variation to chase - every copy of #408 reads the same way.
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.