1962 Topps #281 Jake Gibbs
About Jake Gibbs
Gibbs's first Topps card, #281 in the third series, lists him at third base, the job the Yankees signed him to do before they moved him behind the plate. It is a recognized rookie card issued on college fame rather than any big-league record: he spent 1962 at Richmond in an injury-shortened season, reached New York on September 11, and got into two games without coming to bat.
Jake Gibbs, born Jerry Dean Gibbs in Grenada, Mississippi, in 1938, was a two-sport star at Ole Miss. He led the Rebels to their first SEC baseball championship in 1959, and in the 1961 Sugar Bowl he ran for both touchdowns and took MVP honors in a 14-6 win over Rice that capped a 10-0-1 season the Football Writers Association of America crowned national champion. A unanimous All-America quarterback and the 1960 SEC Player of the Year, he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns and the Houston Oilers and chose baseball anyway, signing with New York in 1961 for a bonus reported at $100,000 or more; the Yankees turned the young infielder into a catcher in 1963. His whole ten-year career, 1962 through 1971, was spent in the Bronx, .233 with 25 home runs and 146 RBI in 538 games, first backing up Elston Howard, then catching regularly in 1967 and 1968, finally giving way to Thurman Munson. He went home to coach Ole Miss baseball for 19 seasons, 1972 through 1990, winning 485 games, and entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 286 | 0 | 11 | 88 | 124 | 40 | 12 | 11 | 0 |
| SGC | 25 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 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.
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Related cards
Team card: #251 New York Yankees Team
More New York Yankees cards:
- #1 Roger Maris
- #18 Managers' Dream
- #31 Tom Tresh
- #48 Ralph Terry
- #65 Bobby Richardson
- #88 Ralph Houk
- #93 John Blanchard
- #110 Bill Skowron
- #136 Babe Ruth Special: Babe Joins Yanks
- #137 Babe Ruth Special: Babe and Mgr. Huggins
- #138 Babe Ruth Special: The Famous Slugger
- #139a Hal Reniff
- #139b Hal Reniff
- #139c Babe Ruth Special: Babe Hits 60
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1962 Topps #281 card?
It is card #281 of the 600-card 1962 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jake Gibbs of the New York Yankees.
Is 1962 Topps #281 a rookie card?
Yes - #281 is the 1962 Topps rookie card of Jake Gibbs.
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.