1963 Topps #267 Carl Sawatski
About Carl Sawatski
1963 Topps #267 falls in the set's third series. It is his card from what turned out to be his last big-league season. Tim McCarver took over as the everyday St. Louis catcher and caught 127 games, and Sawatski's share fell to 56 games and 105 at-bats, though he squeezed six home runs and 14 RBIs out of them and hit .340 at home. On April 17 against Pittsburgh he homered off Tom Sturdivant, singled an inning later and stole second base, the first steal of his 11-year career.
Carl Ernest Sawatski (1927-1991) was a left-handed-hitting, right-handed-throwing catcher who played eleven big-league seasons for the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals between 1948 and 1963. A self-converted catcher and prodigious minor-league slugger, he led four different leagues in home runs over his first five pro seasons and picked up the nickname "Swish" for the sound of his bat. He stuck for good with the pennant-winning 1957 Braves, pinch-hitting twice in their seven-game World Series win over the New York Yankees and striking out both times. A classic pull hitter kept as a backup catcher and pinch-hitter, he fit St. Louis best: over four years there the short right field at the Cardinals' Busch Stadium, the old Sportsman's Park, helped him bat .316 with 25 home runs at home against .193 on the road. He retired with 58 home runs, 213 RBIs and a .242 average in 633 games, then ran the Arkansas Travelers as general manager and served as Texas League president from 1976 until his death in 1991, earning the Warren Giles Award in 1987. He entered the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 243 | 0 | 19 | 139 | 64 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 15 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 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: #524 St. Louis Cardinals
More St. Louis Cardinals cards:
- #1 1962 National League Batting Leaders
- #5 1962 National League E.R.A. Leaders
- #9 1962 National League Strikeout Leaders
- #22 Curt Simmons
- #49 Dal Maxvill
- #54 1963 Rookie Stars
- #83 Charley James
- #97 Bob Duliba
- #130 Dick Groat
- #138 Pride of the N.L.
- #166 Johnny Keane
- #172 Gene Oliver
- #190 Minnie Minoso
- #206 Ray Washburn
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #267 card?
It is card #267 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Carl Sawatski of the St. Louis Cardinals.
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.