1963 Topps #407 1963 Rookie Stars
On this card: Frank Kostro, Chico Ruiz, Dick Simpson, Larry Elliot
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
1963 Topps #407 is a Rookie Stars foursome from the fifth series, pairing Kostro with Chico Ruiz, Dick Simpson and Larry Elliot for the Tigers, Reds, Angels and Pirates - and it is a recognized rookie card. Detroit had given him his first look the previous September: he struck out pinch-hitting against Chicago's Eddie Fisher in his September 2 debut, doubled off Minnesota's Jim Kaat five days later for his first hit, then started 10 games at third base and finished at .268, 11 hits in 41 at-bats. The callup capped his best minor-league year, a .321, 97-RBI season at Triple-A Denver that made him the American Association's postseason all-star utilityman after he filled in at six positions. A right-handed utility man from the Pennsylvania coal country, Frank Kostro started just 80 big-league games at five positions over seven seasons with Detroit, the Angels and Minnesota, living off the bench as a pinch-hitter.
Ruiz spent 1962 and 1963 with the Pacific Coast League's San Diego Padres, topping the circuit in steals both seasons for the fourth and fifth such titles in a row; the 1963 edition brought 50 steals, 11 home runs and a .298 average. His first Topps card, #407, is a four-player Rookie Stars panel shared with Frank Kostro, Dick Simpson and Larry Elliot, prospects out of the Tigers, Angels and Pirates chains rather than teammates, and it is a recognised rookie card for all four. The number belongs to the 1963 fifth series, part of a mid-number run Topps printed in smaller quantities than the middle series before it. Chico Ruiz was a light-hitting Reds and Angels utility infielder remembered above all for stealing home off Art Mahaffey on September 21, 1964, the daring play that launched the Phillies' historic ten-game collapse in that year's NL pennant race.
Card #407, Simpson's rookie card, is a series-5 'Rookie Stars' issue that catches him the spring after his September 1962 debut with the Angels, when the 19-year-old pinch-hit a single off Cleveland's Mudcat Grant in his first big-league at-bat, then appeared in five more games that season. Topps groups him with three unrelated farmhands pictured for their own clubs rather than a shared team photo: Detroit's Frank Kostro, Cincinnati's Chico Ruiz and Pittsburgh's Larry Elliot. Dick Simpson was an Angels-bred outfielder who spent seven big-league seasons with six clubs, best known as one of three players, with pitchers Milt Pappas and Jack Baldschun, the Reds got from Baltimore for Frank Robinson in December 1965.
Elliot made the Pirates out of spring training in 1963 but appeared in only four games, all as a pinch hitter, before the cutdown sent him back to the Triple-A Columbus Jets, where he answered with 26 home runs. Topps card #407 is his slice of that season: a four-player Rookie Stars entry from the fifth print series, teaming him with Frank Kostro, Chico Ruiz and Dick Simpson, the Tigers, Reds and Angels sharing the panel with his Pirates. Collectors recognize it as Elliot's rookie card. A San Diego-raised, left-handed-hitting outfielder who slugged his way through the Pirates' and Mets' farm systems, Larry Elliot logged parts of four big-league seasons in the 1960s before being dealt for future 'Miracle Mets' third baseman Ed Charles.
Sources: Wikipedia (Frank Kostro) · Wikipedia (Chico Ruiz) · Wikipedia (Dick Simpson) · Wikipedia (Larry Elliot) · SABR BioProject (Frank Kostro) · SABR BioProject (Chico Ruiz 2) · SABR BioProject (Dick Simpson)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 285 | 0 | 15 | 138 | 76 | 21 | 15 | 15 | 5 |
| SGC | 17 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 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.
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 cards: #552 Detroit Tigers, #63 Cincinnati Reds, #39 Los Angeles Angels, #151 Pittsburgh Pirates
More Detroit Tigers cards:
- #4 1962 American League Home Run Leaders
- #6 1962 American League E.R.A. Leaders
- #8 1962 American League Pitching Leaders
- #10 1962 American League Strikeout Leaders
- #25 Al Kaline
- #44 Terry Fox
More Cincinnati Reds cards:
- #1 1962 National League Batting Leaders
- #3 1962 National League Home Run Leaders
- #5 1962 National League E.R.A. Leaders
- #7 1962 National League Pitching Leaders
- #21 Marty Keough
- #29 1963 Rookie Stars
More Los Angeles Angels cards:
- #4 1962 American League Home Run Leaders
- #6 1962 American League E.R.A. Leaders
- #17 Ryne Duren
- #33 Bo Belinsky
- #57 Billy Moran
- #98 George Thomas
More Pittsburgh Pirates cards:
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #407 card?
It is card #407 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Frank Kostro, Chico Ruiz, Dick Simpson and Larry Elliot. 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 1963 Topps #407 a rookie card?
Yes - #407 is a rookie card for every player pictured on it: Frank Kostro, Chico Ruiz, Dick Simpson and Larry Elliot.
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.