1963 Topps #164 Bubba Morton
About Bubba Morton
The 1963 Tigers gave Morton almost nothing: 1-for-11 across six games before Detroit sold his contract to the Milwaukee Braves on May 4. The Braves, winless in seven games against left-handed starters, wanted his right-handed bat; he managed only 5-for-28 in 15 games, roomed with Hank Aaron, and was optioned to Triple-A Toronto on June 17. Number 164 is a plain second-series card, with the 1962 issue already out. It shows him in Detroit flannels, the last Topps card that would.
Wycliffe Nathaniel Morton, known as Bubba, was born December 13, 1931, in Washington, D.C., served four years in the Coast Guard as a radio operator, then enrolled at Howard University, where he majored in engineering and lettered in football and baseball. Detroit signed him in March 1955 as the third Black player in the organization's history, and he spent six seasons in the minors, opening 1957 as one of the first two Black players for the Durham Bulls and winning the Venezuelan winter-league batting title at .389 after the 1960 season. A right-handed spray hitter with speed and excellent defense, he made Detroit's roster in 1961 and played parts of seven big-league seasons as a platoon outfielder and pinch-hitter for the Tigers, Milwaukee Braves, and California Angels, finishing with a .267 average, 14 home runs, and 128 RBIs in 451 games. After a 1970 season in Japan with the Toei Flyers he settled in Seattle, and in December 1971 he was hired to run the University of Washington baseball program, becoming the school's first Black head coach in any sport; he held the job through 1976. He died in Seattle on January 14, 2006.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 295 | 0 | 11 | 148 | 105 | 23 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 21 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 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: #552 Detroit Tigers
More Detroit Tigers cards:
- #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
- #25 Al Kaline
- #44 Terry Fox
- #64 Dick McAuliffe
- #84 Ron Kline
- #134 Bob Scheffing
- #140 Frank Lary
- #169 1963 Rookie Stars
- #177 Bubba Phillips
- #218 Tiger Twirlers
- #224 Mike Roarke
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #164 card?
It is card #164 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bubba Morton of the Detroit Tigers.
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.