1963 Topps #83 Charley James
About Charley James
James's 1963 Topps card, #83, is a first-series card. That summer he split the Cardinals' left-field job with Stan Musial, in the future Hall of Famer's final big-league season, and moved between the corners as needed: 56 starts in left, 21 in right. It was his power year. He hit a career-high 10 home runs and batted .268 with 45 runs batted in over 116 games, including a four-hit game on May 9 capped by a tie-breaking three-run homer in the eighth that beat the Dodgers 10-7.
Charles Wesley James was born December 22, 1937, in St. Louis, grew up in the suburb of Rock Hill, and graduated from Webster Groves High School. A football scholarship took him to the University of Missouri, where he was a halfback letterman in 1956 and 1957 and set a Mizzou record for pass receptions by a backfield player that stood 36 years. On January 6, 1958, Cardinals general manager Bing Devine signed him for a reported $15,000 bonus, costing him his senior college baseball season; James enrolled at Washington University in St. Louis to finish an electrical engineering degree. He was Texas League Rookie of the Year at Double-A Houston in 1958 and an International League All-Star at Triple-A Rochester in 1959, and debuted for St. Louis on August 2, 1960. A right-handed outfielder listed at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, he batted .255 with 358 hits, 29 home runs and 172 runs batted in over 510 games and six seasons, and won a World Series ring in 1964. St. Louis writers dubbed him Chop-Down Charley for chopping at pitches to make contact rather than waiting on walks; he drew only 48 in his career. He later served as president of Central Electric Company in Fulton, Missouri, retiring in 1998.
Sources: SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 336 | 0 | 20 | 121 | 144 | 44 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 18 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 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
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
- #97 Bob Duliba
- #130 Dick Groat
- #138 Pride of the N.L.
- #166 Johnny Keane
- #172 Gene Oliver
- #190 Minnie Minoso
- #206 Ray Washburn
- #208 1963 Rookie Stars
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #83 card?
It is card #83 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Charley James 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.