1963 Topps #5 1962 National League E.R.A. Leaders
On this card: Sandy Koufax, Bob Shaw, Bob Purkey, Don Drysdale, Bob Gibson
About this card
Cards #1-10 are the 1962 League Leaders - the ten cards that open the set, one statistical category per pair with the National League card first and the American League card second: batting (#1-2), home runs (#3-4), earned run average (#5-6), pitching (#7-8) and strikeouts (#9-10).
The story on this card
This card presents the 1962 National League earned run average leaders. Sandy Koufax topped the league at 2.54 for the Dodgers, followed by Bob Shaw at 2.80 for Milwaukee, Bob Purkey at 2.81 for Cincinnati, Don Drysdale at 2.83 for Los Angeles, and Bob Gibson for St. Louis. All five were established National League starters in 1962: Koufax and Drysdale anchored the Dodgers rotation, Shaw had shifted from the American League to Milwaukee, and Purkey had been the staff ace for a Reds club that won the 1961 pennant. The card belongs to the League Leaders subset in Topps' first series for 1963, showing all five names and ERA figures together.
Sandy Koufax was the Dodgers' left-hander nicknamed 'the Left Arm of God,' whose five-year run of dominance from 1962 to 1966 brought three unanimous Cy Young Awards and four no-hitters, including a perfect game, before an arthritic elbow forced his retirement at 30. Bob Shaw was a well-traveled right-hander who won 18 games and beat Sandy Koufax 1-0 in the 1959 World Series for the pennant-winning White Sox, later making the 1962 All-Star team with Milwaukee and setting the major-league record for balks in a game. Bob Purkey - Pittsburgh-born knuckleballer who won 129 games in thirteen seasons for the Pirates, Reds, and Cardinals, peaking at 23-5 for Cincinnati in 1962 and losing a complete-game Game Three of the 1961 World Series. Don Drysdale was the Dodgers' intimidating right-hander for 14 seasons, the 1962 Cy Young winner and a three-time World Series champion who in 1968 ran off six straight shutouts and a record 58 2/3 scoreless innings. Bob Gibson pitched all seventeen of his seasons for the Cardinals, a two-time Cy Young winner and two-time World Series Most Valuable Player whose 1.12 earned run average in 1968 still measures pitching dominance.
Sources: Wikipedia (Sandy Koufax) · Wikipedia (Bob Shaw) · Wikipedia (Bob Purkey) · Wikipedia (Don Drysdale) · SABR BioProject (Sandy Koufax) · SABR BioProject (Bob Shaw) · SABR BioProject (Bob Purkey) · SABR BioProject (Don Drysdale) · National Baseball Hall of Fame
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 897 | 0 | 11 | 138 | 214 | 197 | 117 | 215 | 5 |
| SGC | 243 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 26 | 47 | 59 | 99 | 3 |
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.
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Related cards
Team cards: #337 Los Angeles Dodgers, #503 Milwaukee Braves, #63 Cincinnati Reds, #524 St. Louis Cardinals
More Los Angeles Dodgers cards:
- #1 1962 National League Batting Leaders
- #7 1962 National League Pitching Leaders
- #9 1962 National League Strikeout Leaders
- #11 Lee Walls
- #53 Joe Moeller
- #68 Friendly Foes
More Milwaukee Braves cards:
- #1 1962 National League Batting Leaders
- #3 1962 National League Home Run Leaders
- #46 Tommie Aaron
- #62 Bob Hendley
- #73 Bobby Bragan
- #74 Denver Lemaster
More Cincinnati Reds cards:
- #1 1962 National League Batting Leaders
- #3 1962 National League Home Run Leaders
- #7 1962 National League Pitching Leaders
- #21 Marty Keough
- #29 1963 Rookie Stars
- #37 Jerry Lynch
More St. Louis Cardinals cards:
- #1 1962 National League Batting Leaders
- #9 1962 National League Strikeout Leaders
- #22 Curt Simmons
- #49 Dal Maxvill
- #54 1963 Rookie Stars
- #83 Charley James
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #5 card?
It is card #5 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Sandy Koufax, Bob Shaw, Bob Purkey, Don Drysdale and Bob Gibson. Cards #1-10 are the 1962 League Leaders - the ten cards that open the set, one statistical category per pair with the National League card first and the American League card second: batting (#1-2), home runs (#3-4), earned run average (#5-6), pitching (#7-8) and strikeouts (#9-10).
How many cards are in the 1963 Topps Baseball set?
576 cards, tracked as 583 collectible states. The numbers run from 1 to 576 with no gaps and no number used twice, and seven cards carry a catalogued print variation - three checklists, the two Rookie Stars cards also printed with a "1962" heading, and the #341 Jack Baldschun and #454 Art Fowler print states - that the master set counts separately.
Sources: 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.