1963 Topps #31 Cal Koonce
About Cal Koonce
Number 31 in the 1963 Topps first series puts Koonce in a Cubs cap on his recognized rookie card. The back looks at 1962, when the 21-year-old was the best starter on a Chicago club that lost 103 games and was run not by a manager but by Philip Wrigley's rotating College of Coaches. Koonce went 10-10 with a 3.97 ERA over 190 2/3 innings in 35 games, 30 of them starts, and on July 13 at Wrigley Field he beat Cincinnati 1-0 on a one-hitter, losing the no-hit bid on Don Blasingame's fourth-inning single. It was the first of his three career shutouts.
Calvin Lee Koonce, a right-handed pitcher born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on November 18, 1940, grew up in Hope Mills and played baseball and basketball at Campbell College, then a two-year school, where he earned junior college All-American honors in 1961. The Cubs signed him that May, and he reached Chicago in April 1962. Over parts of ten seasons with the Cubs, New York Mets and Boston Red Sox through 1971 he went 47-49 with a 3.78 ERA, 504 strikeouts and 24 saves in 334 games, 90 of them starts, moving from the rotation to the bullpen as he went. His best year came in 1968 with the Mets, and he was a reliable relief arm on the 1969 World Series champions under Gil Hodges. A Campbell man like Gaylord Perry, Koonce admitted while still active that he loaded an occasional pitch with perspiration. He later coached seven seasons at his alma mater, Campbell University, retiring in 1986 as its winningest baseball coach at 174-123 and as Big South Coach of the Year, and he was inducted into the Campbell Sports Hall of Fame in 1987. He scouted for the Texas Rangers, ran the minor league Fayetteville Generals, and died of lymphoma on October 28, 1993, at 52.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 220 | 0 | 5 | 87 | 79 | 32 | 13 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 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
Team card: #222 Chicago Cubs
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- #3 1962 National League Home Run Leaders
- #15 Ken Hubbs
- #54 1963 Rookie Stars
- #58 Bob Will
- #81 Jimmie Schaffer
- #95 Larry Jackson
- #113 Don Landrum
- #175 Bob Buhl
- #193 Andre Rodgers
- #212 Glen Hobbie
- #242 Power Plus
- #252 Ron Santo
- #272 Danny Murphy
- #287 Dick Bertell
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #31 card?
It is card #31 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Cal Koonce of the Chicago Cubs.
Is 1963 Topps #31 a rookie card?
Yes - #31 is the 1963 Topps rookie card of Cal Koonce.
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.