1963 Topps #556 Al Worthington
About Al Worthington
1963 Topps #556 is the first of his six cards in Topps' 1960s run, and it puts him with the Cincinnati Reds, who claimed him in the Rule 5 draft on November 26, 1962, after two Triple-A seasons in the White Sox chain. He pitched his first big-league game in nearly three years on April 10 and settled in as a bullpen mainstay, working 50 games with a 4-4 record, a 2.99 ERA and 10 saves while finishing 32 of them. Card #556 falls in the seventh print series, a high number and the only high number among his six cards from this run.
Al Worthington was born February 5, 1929, in Birmingham, Alabama, the seventh of ten children; two older brothers played minor-league ball. He pitched at the University of Alabama, signed with Nashville in 1951 for $1,500, and reached the New York Giants in July 1953, opening his career with back-to-back shutouts. Over 14 seasons he pitched for the Giants, Red Sox, White Sox, Reds and Twins, going 75-82 with a 3.39 ERA and 110 saves in 602 games. He was on the roster for the Giants' 1954 World Series sweep but never got into it. A sinkerballer who added a slider and curve, he became a born-again Christian at a 1958 Billy Graham crusade in San Francisco; in 1959 he confronted Giants manager Bill Rigney about a man stealing signs from the grandstand with binoculars, and in September 1960 he left the White Sox outright rather than pitch for a club that was doing the same. His best years came as Minnesota's closer, including the 1965 pennant winners. He coached Twins pitchers in 1972 and 1973, then built Liberty University's baseball program from scratch across thirteen seasons. He is in the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, not the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He died June 18, 2026, at 97.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 216 | 0 | 14 | 100 | 74 | 21 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 18 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 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 card: #63 Cincinnati Reds
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
- #37 Jerry Lynch
- #70 Jim O'Toole
- #90 Gordy Coleman
- #116 Jim Brosnan
- #133 Gene Freese
- #158 1963 Rookie Stars
- #178 Johnny Edwards
- #194 Joe Nuxhall
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #556 card?
It is card #556 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Al Worthington of the Cincinnati Reds.
Why is #556 harder to find?
It is a high number card from the seventh print series, #512-576 - the last and scarcest run in the set. Price guides often band the highs as #523-576, but the printing break falls between #511 and #512.
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.