1963 Topps #54 1963 Rookie Stars
On this card: Nelson Mathews, Harry Fanok, Dave DeBusschere, Jack Cullen
Two front variations exist: the corrected card reads 1963 Rookie Stars and the error reads 1962 Rookie Stars. Either version counts toward a complete set.
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
Card 54 is a first-series Rookie Stars panel, and Topps overproduced that early run. It is Mathews' recognized rookie card. He is the Cub in the group, joined by Harry Fanok, Jack Cullen and Dave DeBusschere, the White Sox pitcher who became a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer with the New York Knicks. Two fronts exist: the corrected card reads 1963 Rookie Stars, while an error version heads it 1962 Rookie Stars, and either one counts toward a complete set. Mathews spent all of 1963 on the Chicago roster, starting 45 games in center field and appearing in 61 games in all, but he hit only .155. A 6-foot-4 outfielder from Columbia, Illinois who split a six-year career between the Cubs and Athletics, hitting 22 home runs and leading the American League in strikeouts during his one full season as a regular in 1964.
Topps gave Fanok a first-series slot at #54, a four-player Rookie Stars panel shared with Nelson Mathews, Dave DeBusschere and Jack Cullen that takes in the Cubs, White Sox, Yankees and Cardinals. It is his recognized rookie card, and it turns up two ways: the front line was printed as 1962 Rookie Stars before Topps corrected it to 1963. He broke camp with the big club, debuting April 16. Working only in relief, he won each of his first two outings and went 2-1 with a save across 12 games, striking out 25 against 21 walks in 25 2/3 innings. Sent back to Triple-A Atlanta after not quite two months, he struck out 146 batters in 127 innings there. A switch-hitting New Jersey fireballer who won his first two Cardinals outings in 1963, then lost his natural delivery to his manager's tinkering and his shoulder on an August night in the minors.
1963 Topps #54 is a first-series Rookie Stars card, and it packs four prospects onto one front: DeBusschere with the Chicago White Sox alongside Nelson Mathews, Harry Fanok and Jack Cullen, the panel spanning the Cubs, Yankees and Cardinals as well. It is his recognized rookie card, printed after the 21-year-old right-hander debuted on April 22, 1962 and worked 18 innings over 12 games without a decision that summer. Two front states circulate: the corrected heading that reads 1963 Rookie Stars, and the version mistakenly printed 1962 Rookie Stars. Chicago White Sox pitcher who split his early twenties between the mound and the Detroit Pistons, later becoming an eight-time NBA All-Star and two-time champion with the New York Knicks before his 1983 Basketball Hall of Fame induction.
Card #54 in the 1963 first series is a four-player Rookie Stars panel, and it is Cullen's recognized rookie card. He shares it with Nelson Mathews of the Cubs, Harry Fanok of the Cardinals and Dave DeBusschere of the White Sox, who doubled as a Detroit Pistons forward and was later elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Two front states exist, the corrected one headed 1963 Rookie Stars and an error version printed 1962 Rookie Stars. Cullen himself never got back to the Bronx that year, spending all of 1963 at Triple-A while the Yankees won 104 games and the pennant before the Dodgers swept them in the World Series. Belleville, New Jersey right-hander who signed with the Yankees in 1959, reached the majors in September 1962, and went 4-4 with a 3.07 ERA across 19 games for New York through 1966.
Sources: Wikipedia (Nelson Mathews) · Wikipedia (Dave DeBusschere) · Wikipedia (Harry Fanok) · Wikipedia (Jack Cullen) · SABR BioProject (Harry Fanok) · SABR BioProject (Dave Debusschere)
Print variations
Two states of #54 are tracked individually: 54a - 1963 Rookie Stars on front and 54b - 1962 Rookie Stars on front. The difference is on the front of the card (year error).
States catalogued by the PSA master set registry and the Trading Card Database; each is tracked here individually.
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54a - 1963 Rookie Stars on front | |||||||||
| PSA | 410 | 0 | 9 | 128 | 144 | 63 | 33 | 32 | 1 |
| SGC | 70 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 15 | 22 | 13 | 8 | 0 |
| 54b - 1962 Rookie Stars on front | |||||||||
| PSA | 424 | 0 | 10 | 147 | 134 | 73 | 33 | 23 | 4 |
| SGC | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 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. Where a grader registers a variation separately its population is listed under that variation.
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: #222 Chicago Cubs, #288 Chicago White Sox, #247 New York Yankees, #524 St. Louis Cardinals
More Chicago Cubs cards:
- #3 1962 National League Home Run Leaders
- #15 Ken Hubbs
- #31 Cal Koonce
- #58 Bob Will
- #81 Jimmie Schaffer
- #95 Larry Jackson
More Chicago White Sox cards:
- #2 1962 American League Batting Leaders
- #6 1962 American League E.R.A. Leaders
- #8 1962 American League Pitching Leaders
- #10 1962 American League Strikeout Leaders
- #16 Al Smith
- #35 John Buzhardt
More New York Yankees cards:
- #2 1962 American League Batting Leaders
- #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
- #20 Tony Kubek
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
- #83 Charley James
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #54 card?
It is card #54 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Nelson Mathews, Harry Fanok, Dave DeBusschere and Jack Cullen. 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 #54 a rookie card?
Yes - #54 is a rookie card for every player pictured on it: Nelson Mathews, Harry Fanok, Dave DeBusschere and Jack Cullen.
Does 1963 Topps #54 have variations?
Yes. Two states are catalogued and tracked separately: 54a - 1963 Rookie Stars on front (The corrected card: "1963 Rookie Stars" on the front - the base state. PSA's population registry lists the "1962" error card first) and 54b - 1962 Rookie Stars on front (The error card: the front (and back) read "1962 Rookie Stars" on a 1963 card. Hobby letters call this 54A; letters are never identity here). Owning any one of them fills the #54 slot; the master set counts each state.
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.