1962 Topps #417 Joe Azcue
About Joe Azcue
Topps #417 in the 1962 set pictures Azcue with the Kansas City Athletics, part of print series five and recognized as his rookie card. Haywood Sullivan was manager Hank Bauer's primary catcher that season, so Azcue worked as the backup, getting into 72 games and hitting .229 with 25 RBIs in 223 at-bats. One afternoon stood out: on June 17 against Minnesota he went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in a 10-6 win and stole home in the bottom of the fourth. He finished his career with only five stolen bases, and just two of them were steals of home - that one and another the following summer.
Jose Joaquin Azcue Lopez, a catcher from Cienfuegos, Cuba, signed with the Cincinnati Reds organization in 1956 and worked his way up through Class D, B and A ball while starring in Cuban League winter ball for the Cienfuegos Elefantes, helping them win back-to-back pennants and a Caribbean Series title. He reached the majors with Cincinnati in August 1960 but hit just .097 in 14 games, and that December the Milwaukee Braves purchased his contract. A year later Milwaukee traded him to the Kansas City Athletics, and in May 1963 Kansas City dealt him to the Cleveland Indians, where he spent parts of seven seasons and became the club's regular catcher. A right-handed hitter and thrower known for a strong arm - in 1966 he threw out 62 percent of attempted base stealers, one of the best single-season rates in major league history - Azcue earned his only All-Star selection in 1968 and led American League catchers in fielding percentage in both 1967 and 1968. Traded to Boston in April 1969, he also played for the California Angels and Milwaukee Brewers before retiring in 1972 with a .252 average over eleven seasons. He later managed in the minors and worked for decades in the auto industry.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 199 | 0 | 6 | 65 | 90 | 21 | 8 | 9 | 0 |
| SGC | 8 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 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.
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Related cards
Team card: #384 Kansas City Athletics Team
More Kansas City Athletics cards:
- #13 Dick Howser
- #38 Gene Stephens
- #82 Deron Johnson
- #122 Norm Bass
- #127 Pride of the A's
- #147 Bill Kunkel
- #168 Leo Posada
- #184 Haywood Sullivan
- #246 Art Ditmar
- #254 Gordon Windhorn
- #275 Norm Siebern
- #305 Jerry Lumpe
- #333 Frank Cipriani
- #342 Ed Rakow
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1962 Topps #417 card?
It is card #417 of the 600-card 1962 Topps Baseball set, picturing Joe Azcue of the Kansas City Athletics.
Is 1962 Topps #417 a rookie card?
Yes - #417 is the 1962 Topps rookie card of Joe Azcue.
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.