1963 Topps #24 Bob Bruce
About Bob Bruce
Card #24 turns up in the first series and covers Bruce's first summer in Houston: 10-9 with a 4.06 ERA over 32 games, 27 of them starts, six complete games, 175 innings and 135 strikeouts. He began the year in the bullpen, earned a May 10 start on the strength of four straight scoreless relief outings, and held the rotation from there, tying Turk Farrell for the team lead in wins. Those 135 strikeouts fed a Colt .45s staff total of 1,047, only the fifth big-league staff ever to clear 1,000 in a season. He also swung the best bat of his career that year, hitting .200 with seven runs batted in.
Robert James Bruce was born May 16, 1933, a birth the record books place in New York City and his family history places in Detroit; either way he grew up in Highland Park, the small city ringed by Detroit. He did not take baseball seriously until his senior year at Highland Park High, then won a scholarship to Alma College, where a 19-strikeout game against the University of Detroit brought scouts around. The Tigers signed the 6-foot-3 right-hander for a $20,000 bonus, and after Army service interrupted his climb he reached the majors on September 14, 1959. Bruce worked as a swingman in 50 games for Detroit before Houston acquired him for veteran Sam Jones on December 1, 1961, and the move to the expansion Colt .45s made him a rotation regular. He is remembered in Houston as the man who threw the first pitch in Astrodome history. Traded to Atlanta on the last day of 1966 in the package that brought Eddie Mathews to Houston, Bruce closed a nine-year, 219-game career with the Braves, finishing 49-71 with a 3.85 ERA, 733 strikeouts and six shutouts over 1,122.1 innings. He later ran his own real estate brokerage near Dallas, and died March 14, 2017, in Plano, Texas.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 258 | 0 | 13 | 120 | 84 | 23 | 13 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 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.
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 card: #312 Houston Colt .45's
More Houston Colt .45's cards:
- #9 1962 National League Strikeout Leaders
- #45 Bob Aspromonte
- #77 Al Spangler
- #99 Jim Umbricht
- #119 Bob Lillis
- #141 Manny Mota
- #153 Hal Smith
- #158 1963 Rookie Stars
- #189 Dave Giusti
- #204 Don Nottebart
- #208 1963 Rookie Stars
- #230 Pete Runnels
- #262 Ellis Burton
- #277 Dick Farrell
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #24 card?
It is card #24 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bob Bruce of the Houston Colt .45's.
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.