1963 Topps #511 Charlie Neal
About Charlie Neal
Card #511 is a semi-high number from the sixth series of 1963 Topps. It shows Neal with the New York Mets and looks back at 1962, the franchise's first season, when the club lost 120 games, the most by any team in the twentieth century. Neal was one of the few Mets who looked like a big leaguer, batting .260 with 11 home runs and 58 RBIs in 136 games and leading the team with 9 triples. He started at second base and filled in at shortstop and third, playing much of the year with a painful cyst on his left hand that he put off having removed until the season ended. In 1963 he gave up second base to Larry Burright and then Ron Hunt and moved across to third.
Charles Lenard Neal was born in Longview, Texas, on January 30, 1931, into a baseball family; his father organized the sandlot team he and his brother played on. He came up through Black semipro ball and in later years said he had also played for the Atlanta Black Crackers of the Negro Southern League. Brooklyn signed him in 1950 and he reached the Dodgers in April 1956. Listed at 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds, Neal was known first for his speed and his double-play pivot, but he hit with surprising power, including 22 home runs in 1958, when he started at second base in the Dodgers' first game in California and recorded the first hit in Los Angeles Dodgers history. His 1959 was his best season: .287 with 177 hits, 19 home runs, 83 RBIs, a share of the National League triples lead, and the first Gold Glove any Dodger won at second base. He then hit .370 with two home runs in that October's World Series win over the Chicago White Sox. An All-Star in 1959 and in both 1960 games, he faded quickly after turning 30. Neal batted .259 with 87 home runs and 391 RBIs over 970 games, and died in Dallas in 1996.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 247 | 0 | 7 | 120 | 81 | 25 | 6 | 8 | 0 |
| SGC | 23 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 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: #473 New York Mets
More New York Mets cards:
- #27 Choo Choo Coleman
- #43 Veteran Masters
- #59 Craig Anderson
- #68 Friendly Foes
- #78 Marv Throneberry
- #93 Galen Cisco
- #107 Jim Hickman
- #111 Al Jackson
- #135 Richie Ashburn
- #174 Larry Burright
- #197 Roger Craig
- #217 Joe Christopher
- #228 1963 Rookie Stars
- #233 Casey Stengel
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #511 card?
It is card #511 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Charlie Neal of the New York Mets.
Why is #511 harder to find?
It is a semi-high card from the sixth print series, #447-511 - the run where the set's short prints sit. Scarcer than series 1-5, easier than series 7.
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.