1962 Topps #451 Jose Tartabull
About Jose Tartabull
Kansas City handed the 23-year-old the center-field job out of 1962 spring training, and he debuted April 10 as a ninth-inning defensive replacement on Opening Day against Minnesota. He started 67 games in center, got into 107 overall, and hit .277 with 86 hits, 49 runs and 19 steals in 24 tries, plus 21 pinch-hit and 11 pinch-run appearances. Card #451 sits in the sixth series of the 1962 Topps set. It is his recognized rookie card.
Jose Milages Tartabull Guzman, born November 27, 1938, in Cienfuegos, Cuba, was a left-handed-hitting, left-handed-throwing outfielder built around speed. In Cienfuegos he made gloves from scraps of leather, idolized Willie Mays and followed the Yankees. American scouts brought him out of Cuba to Regina, Saskatchewan, in 1957, and Giants scout Alex Pompez signed him in 1958. He led the Class-A Texas League in runs and stolen bases in 1961, then was dealt to Kansas City for 1962. Over nine seasons (1962-1970) with the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics and Boston Red Sox he hit .261 with two home runs in 1,857 at-bats, slapping line drives and high hoppers and stealing 81 bases. He later coached and managed in the minors; his son Danny Tartabull became an All-Star.
Sources: SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 256 | 0 | 11 | 118 | 73 | 34 | 8 | 11 | 1 |
| SGC | 16 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 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.
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: #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 #451 card?
It is card #451 of the 600-card 1962 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jose Tartabull of the Kansas City Athletics.
Is 1962 Topps #451 a rookie card?
Yes - #451 is the 1962 Topps rookie card of Jose Tartabull.
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.