1963 Topps #208 1963 Rookie Stars
On this card: Ron Herbel, John Miller, Ron Taylor, Wally Wolf
The rookie-card designation on this card belongs to Herbel, Miller and Wolf, not to Ron Taylor.
About this card
The twenty Rookie Stars cards, four players each and all titled "1963 Rookie Stars", carry the rookie class - Pete Rose on #537, Willie Stargell on #553, Tony Oliva and Ed Kranepool on #228, Rusty Staub on #544, Bill Freehan on #466 and Dave McNally on #562. Three of them (#169, #208, #544) are rookie cards for only some of the men pictured.
The story on this card
Topps put Herbel on a card before he ever threw a big-league pitch. Card #208 is a series-three Rookie Stars issue that packs four organizations onto one front: Herbel of the Giants, John Miller of the Orioles, Ron Taylor of the Cardinals and Wally Wolf of the Colt .45's. It is the recognised rookie card for three of the four names on it: Herbel, Miller and Wolf. Herbel did not reach San Francisco until September, when the Giants called him up and used him twice in relief, both times against the Mets, starting with his debut on the 10th at the Polo Grounds. Ron Herbel was a San Francisco Giants pitcher through most of the 1960s, a journeyman right-hander remembered today less for his 42 career wins than for a .029 career batting average, the lowest in major-league history among players with 100 or more at-bats.
Miller opened 1963 at Triple-A Rochester rather than Baltimore, and an 8-4 start there came apart when he pulled a back muscle and developed elbow trouble that threw off his delivery; he lost eleven straight decisions. The Orioles recalled him that September anyway, and he went 1-1 with a 3.18 ERA in three games, two of them starts, his win a scattershot seven-inning outing against Detroit in which he allowed four hits and walked nine. Topps had already put him in the set on the strength of his September 1962 debut. Card #208 is a third-series Rookie Stars panel crowding four players from four different organizations onto one front -- Miller with Ron Herbel, Ron Taylor and Wally Wolf -- and it is Miller's rookie card. A Baltimore-born right-hander who signed with his hometown Orioles, John Miller earned a World Series ring in 1966 before shoulder trouble ended his five-season career; he spent 28 years afterward as a Baltimore County firefighter.
Cleveland traded Taylor and infielder Jack Kubiszyn to St. Louis for first baseman Fred Whitfield on December 15, 1962, and he spent Stan Musial's farewell season as a Cardinals swingman: nine wins, seven losses, 11 saves and a 2.84 ERA with 91 strikeouts in 133 1/3 innings over 54 games, nine of them starts. It is the recognized rookie card of Ron Herbel, John Miller and Wally Wolf; Taylor, shown in a Cardinals cap beside the Giants, Orioles and Colt .45's prospects, already had his own rookie card from a year earlier. Toronto right-hander who pitched 11 big-league seasons, won World Series rings with the 1964 Cardinals and the 1969 Miracle Mets, then took a medical degree and served more than three decades as the Toronto Blue Jays' team physician.
Before his 1969 debut, Wolf appeared on a multi-player Rookie Stars card in the 1963 Topps set, card number 208, part of the set's third print series. The card grouped him with fellow rookies Ron Herbel, John Miller, and Ron Taylor, representing the San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Cardinals, and Houston Colt .45's. Right-handed pitcher who threw six games for the California Angels in 1969 and 1970, his only two big-league seasons, before his career ended in May 1970.
Sources: Wikipedia (Ron Herbel) · Wikipedia (John Miller (pitcher)) · Wikipedia (Ron Taylor) · Wikipedia (Wally Wolf) · SABR BioProject
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 207 | 1 | 4 | 74 | 61 | 26 | 21 | 13 | 7 |
| SGC | 22 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 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.
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Related cards
Team cards: #417 San Francisco Giants, #377 Baltimore Orioles, #524 St. Louis Cardinals, #312 Houston Colt .45's
More San Francisco Giants cards:
- #3 1962 National League Home Run Leaders
- #7 1962 National League Pitching Leaders
- #9 1962 National League Strikeout Leaders
- #30 Harvey Kuenn
- #50 Bill Pierce
- #61 Ernie Bowman
More Baltimore Orioles cards:
- #4 1962 American League Home Run Leaders
- #6 1962 American League E.R.A. Leaders
- #12 Steve Barber
- #19 Pete Burnside
- #41 Charlie Lau
- #65 Jackie Brandt
More St. Louis Cardinals cards:
- #1 1962 National League Batting Leaders
- #5 1962 National League E.R.A. Leaders
- #9 1962 National League Strikeout Leaders
- #22 Curt Simmons
- #49 Dal Maxvill
- #54 1963 Rookie Stars
More Houston Colt .45's cards:
- #9 1962 National League Strikeout Leaders
- #24 Bob Bruce
- #45 Bob Aspromonte
- #77 Al Spangler
- #99 Jim Umbricht
- #119 Bob Lillis
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #208 card?
It is card #208 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ron Herbel, John Miller, Ron Taylor and Wally Wolf. The twenty Rookie Stars cards, four players each and all titled "1963 Rookie Stars", carry the rookie class - Pete Rose on #537, Willie Stargell on #553, Tony Oliva and Ed Kranepool on #228, Rusty Staub on #544, Bill Freehan on #466 and Dave McNally on #562. Three of them (#169, #208, #544) are rookie cards for only some of the men pictured.
Is #208 a rookie card for all four players?
No. The rookie-card designation belongs to Ron Herbel, John Miller and Wally Wolf; Ron Taylor's first Topps card is 1962 #591.
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.