1963 Topps #255 Bob Shaw
About Bob Shaw
Two 1963 Topps cards cover Shaw's finest season. Card #5, "1962 National League E.R.A. Leaders," puts his 2.80 mark second behind Sandy Koufax's 2.54 and ahead of Bob Purkey, Don Drysdale and Bob Gibson - the only Topps card of the decade he shares with anyone else, and the company is first-rate. His solo third-series card #255 covers the season that got him there: 15-9 for Milwaukee with the best ERA on the staff, 12 complete games and his lone All-Star selection, capped by a two-inning save in the first of that summer's two All-Star Games, ended when former White Sox teammate Luis Aparicio flied out to center.
Born in the Bronx and raised in Garden City on Long Island, Bob Shaw signed with the Detroit Tigers for a $1,000 bonus and reached pro ball in 1953 with Class D Jamestown. Detroit traded the right-hander to the Chicago White Sox in June 1958, and in 1959 he became a cornerstone of the pennant-winning Go-Go Sox: rooming with Hall of Famer Early Wynn, he went 18-6 with a 2.69 ERA and led American League starters with a .750 winning percentage, then won Game 5 of the World Series, beating Sandy Koufax 1-0 in front of 92,706 at the Los Angeles Coliseum, still the largest crowd ever to watch a Series game. Kansas City, Milwaukee, San Francisco, the Mets and the Cubs followed in an 11-season career worth 108-98, 32 saves, a 3.52 ERA and one All-Star selection, in 1962 with the Braves. He picked up a nasty spitball in Milwaukee and later taught it to Gaylord Perry, who told the story in his own book. On May 4, 1963 he balked five times in one game, a major-league record. He later coached the Brewers' pitchers and took Jensen Beach Post 126 to the 1986 American Legion World Series title.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 330 | 0 | 37 | 179 | 87 | 15 | 9 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 19 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 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
More Bob Shaw in this set: #5 League Leaders
Team card: #503 Milwaukee Braves
More Milwaukee Braves cards:
- #1 1962 National League Batting Leaders
- #3 1962 National League Home Run Leaders
- #5 1962 National League E.R.A. Leaders
- #46 Tommie Aaron
- #62 Bob Hendley
- #73 Bobby Bragan
- #74 Denver Lemaster
- #109 Lee Maye
- #126 Bob Uecker
- #137 Mack Jones
- #156 Roy McMillan
- #179 Ron Piche
- #201 Cecil Butler
- #238 Lou Johnson
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #255 card?
It is card #255 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bob Shaw of the Milwaukee Braves.
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.