1962 Topps #229 Jesus McFarlane
About Jesus McFarlane
Card #229 sits in the third series of the 1962 Topps set, and it is McFarlane's recognized rookie card. The timing fit: he was on the Pittsburgh roster that spring and caught his first big-league game on April 23 against the Mets. The look was brief. All eight of his 1962 appearances came in a two-week window that closed on May 5, and he finished with two hits and one RBI in 23 at-bats. The rest of the year he caught for Triple-A Columbus, where he hit .308 with 11 home runs and 61 RBI, the kind of line that had put him on the Pirates radar to begin with.
Orlando de Jesus McFarlane Quesada was a Cuban catcher, born in Victoria de las Tunas and signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1958. He spent two seasons in the Pirates farm system, then caught for Almendares in the Cuban League in the 1959-60 and 1960-61 winters. When the Cuban government replaced the professional league with amateur baseball, he moved to the United States for good. In 1961 he hit .301 with 21 home runs and 27 stolen bases for the Class A Asheville Tourists and was named the best prospect in the South Atlantic League. He debuted with Pittsburgh on April 23, 1962 and played parts of five big-league seasons through 1968 for the Pirates, Detroit Tigers and California Angels, batting .240 with five home runs in 124 games while spending much of that span in the minors. Across ten minor league seasons he hit .285 with 129 home runs. He twice led the Dominican winter league in home runs for the Aguilas Cibaenas, also played in Venezuela, and settled in Ponce, Puerto Rico, where he caught for the Leones, was married at their ballpark, and died in 2007.
Sources: Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 198 | 1 | 9 | 76 | 81 | 19 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| SGC | 14 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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.
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: #409 Pittsburgh Pirates Team
More Pittsburgh Pirates cards:
- #10 Bob Clemente
- #36 Don Leppert
- #67 Harvey Haddix
- #86 Donn Clendenon
- #95 Don Hoak
- #115 Bob Skinner
- #160 Dick Stuart
- #179 Tom Sturdivant
- #210 Roy Face
- #252 Earl Francis
- #270 Dick Groat
- #295 Vern Law
- #326 Tom Parsons
- #353 Bill Mazeroski
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1962 Topps #229 card?
It is card #229 of the 600-card 1962 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jesus McFarlane of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Is 1962 Topps #229 a rookie card?
Yes - #229 is the 1962 Topps rookie card of Jesus McFarlane.
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.