1963 Topps #523 Bill Kunkel
About Bill Kunkel
The Yankees took him in the Rule 5 draft on November 26, 1962, the second time he changed teams that way, and he stuck in the New York bullpen: 22 relief outings, a 3-2 record and a 2.72 ERA over 46 1/3 innings, the sharpest of his three big league seasons. He threw his last major league pitch on September 21 and made the World Series roster, but never got the call as Los Angeles swept New York in four. Card 523 is a high number from the seventh series, and the only one of his three Topps cards that shows him with New York.
William Gustave James Kunkel, born July 7, 1936 in Hoboken, New Jersey, was a right-handed relief pitcher whose early climb was interrupted by two years of military service. Originally signed by the Boston Red Sox in 1955, he pitched in the Brooklyn Dodgers and Los Angeles Dodgers farm systems before Kansas City took him in the November 1960 Rule 5 draft. He lasted three big league seasons, working between Triple-A stops, and finished 6-6 with a 4.29 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 142 2/3 innings. He refereed two National Basketball Association seasons and one in the American Basketball Association while climbing the minor league umpiring ladder, debuted as an American League umpire in September 1968, and went full time in 1969. Over 17 seasons he worked 2,227 regular season games, two World Series (1974 and 1980), two All-Star Games and four League Championship Series, calling his last game in August 1984. He remains the most recent former major leaguer to umpire in the majors. Cancer took him in May 1985, at 48; his son Jeff was a major league shortstop from 1984 to 1992.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 284 | 0 | 13 | 134 | 91 | 32 | 9 | 4 | 1 |
| SGC | 20 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 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: #247 New York Yankees
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
- #38 Bud Daley
- #42 Stan Williams
- #54 1963 Rookie Stars
- #60 Elston Howard
- #92 Hector Lopez
- #120 Roger Maris
- #142 World Series Game #1 - Yanks' Ford Wins Series Opener
- #144 World Series Game #3 - Maris Sparks Yankee Rally
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #523 card?
It is card #523 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bill Kunkel of the New York Yankees.
Why is #523 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.