1963 Topps #427 Bernie Allen
The card front carries the Topps All-Star Rookie trophy, awarded to him for his 1962 season.
About Bernie Allen
The follow-up went badly. Coaches rebuilt Allen's swing that spring, turning a spray hitter into a pull hitter, and after an 0-for-4 on June 21 he sat at .197 and was briefly benched in favor of Johnny Goryl. He rallied to finish at .240 over 139 games, but his fielding slipped from .983 to .976 and he started only 110 games at second base. Card #427 carries the Topps All-Star Rookie trophy, the emblem Topps printed for the players it named to its 1962 rookie team.
Bernard Keith Allen (born April 16, 1939, in East Liverpool, Ohio) was a three-sport star in high school and Purdue's starting quarterback before he chose baseball, signing with the Minnesota Twins in 1961 after turning down more money from the not-yet-playing New York Mets. Eighty minor-league games later he opened 1962 as the Twins' second baseman, the job Billy Martin had just vacated; Martin, released that spring after Allen outplayed him, taught him the position anyway. Allen's rookie year was the best of his career. A June 1964 collision with Don Zimmer tore the ligaments in his left knee, and he was never again the hitter he had been as a rookie. He spent 1965 rehabbing while Minnesota went to the World Series, then went to Washington with Camilo Pascual for Ron Kline in December 1966. He served as player representative for the Twins, Senators and Yankees, and hit through astigmatism in his right eye by wearing a single contact lens. Twelve big-league seasons left him 815 hits, 73 home runs and a .239 average; Purdue put him in its Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 265 | 0 | 32 | 121 | 74 | 17 | 15 | 5 | 1 |
| SGC | 17 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 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: #162 Minnesota Twins
More Minnesota Twins cards:
- #4 1962 American League Home Run Leaders
- #8 1962 American League Pitching Leaders
- #10 1962 American League Strikeout Leaders
- #26 Ray Moore
- #40 Vic Power
- #75 Bob Allison
- #89 Dick Stigman
- #110 Rich Rollins
- #127 Bill Tuttle
- #165 Jim Kaat
- #186 Jerry Zimmerman
- #198 Lenny Green
- #220 Camilo Pascual
- #228 1963 Rookie Stars
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #427 card?
It is card #427 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bernie Allen of the Minnesota Twins.
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.