1963 Topps #408 Billy Gardner
About Billy Gardner
Card #408 comes from the fifth series and is the last of Gardner's three cards across the decade's Topps sets, a Red Sox issue for a reserve infielder running out of road. Boston used him in just 36 games in 1963, and he hit .190 with a single run batted in all season. His final big-league appearance came on September 11, and the Red Sox released him on October 2. He was not done with the game: 1964 took him to the Seattle Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League, where he batted .224 in 101 games, and by 1965 he was back with Boston as Billy Herman's third-base coach.
William Frederick Gardner, a Connecticut-born infielder nicknamed Shotgun for his strong throwing arm, reached the majors with the New York Giants on April 22, 1954 and collected a World Series ring that fall without appearing in the sweep of Cleveland. The Giants sold his contract to Baltimore for $20,000 in April 1956, and he became the Orioles regular second baseman for four straight seasons. His career year was 1957: he led the American League in doubles with 36, at-bats with 644 and plate appearances with 718, hit .262, played all 154 games, and led American League second basemen in fielding percentage at .987. Washington acquired him for 1960, he moved with that franchise to Minnesota, and a 1961 trade landed him with the Yankees, where he picked up a second championship as a utility infielder. A 1962 deal sent him to Boston, where his ten-year playing career ended. He spent decades afterward as a minor- and major-league coach and manager, piloting the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals in the 1980s, and died in Connecticut in January 2024 at the age of 96.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 220 | 0 | 13 | 112 | 73 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
| SGC | 11 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 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: #202 Boston Red Sox
More Boston Red Sox cards:
- #2 1962 American League Batting Leaders
- #28 Mike Fornieles
- #52 Chuck Schilling
- #76 Earl Wilson
- #96 Lou Clinton
- #115 Carl Yastrzemski
- #136 Ike Delock
- #168 Russ Nixon
- #188 Eddie Bressoud
- #216 Gene Conley
- #232 Frank Malzone
- #251 Jack Lamabe
- #253 1963 Rookie Stars
- #285 Dick Stuart
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #408 card?
It is card #408 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Billy Gardner of the Boston Red Sox.
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.