1963 Topps #307 Chet Nichols
About Chet Nichols
1963 Topps #307 landed in the fourth series, again a common number and not a high, and it proved to be his last Topps card in a Red Sox uniform. This was not a pure relief year: Boston gave him seven starts among 21 appearances, and all four of his decisions, a 1-3 record, came in those starts. He was less effective than in his first two full seasons, working 52 2/3 innings with a 4.78 earned run average and no saves. Three days after the season ended with Boston in seventh place, the club asked waivers on him for his unconditional release, closing a four-year run that had begun with six late-season appearances in 1960.
Chester Raymond Nichols Jr., a left-hander born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, on February 22, 1931, pitched in all or parts of nine major league seasons between 1951 and 1964 for the Boston and Milwaukee Braves, the Boston Red Sox and the Cincinnati Reds. He was the son of Chet Nichols Sr., a right-handed pitcher who reached the majors with three National League clubs. As a 20-year-old rookie with the 1951 Boston Braves he led the National League with a 2.88 earned run average, going 11-8, and finished second to Willie Mays in the Rookie of the Year voting. He spent 1952 and 1953 in the United States Army as a quartermaster during the Korean War and never regained that form once the Braves moved to Milwaukee. Released before the 1958 season, he sat out a full year working as a bank teller in Rhode Island, pitched his way back through Triple-A and rejoined the majors with the Red Sox late in 1960. He finished 34-36 with a 3.64 ERA and 266 strikeouts in 189 games, went back to banking in Rhode Island, helped persuade Ben Mondor to rescue the bankrupt Pawtucket Red Sox in 1977, and died of cancer in 1995. The Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame inducted him in 2005.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 224 | 1 | 9 | 113 | 74 | 18 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 13 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 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: #202 Boston Red Sox
More Boston Red Sox cards:
- #2 1962 American League Batting Leaders
- #28 Mike Fornieles
- #52 Chuck Schilling
- #76 Earl Wilson
- #96 Lou Clinton
- #115 Carl Yastrzemski
- #136 Ike Delock
- #168 Russ Nixon
- #188 Eddie Bressoud
- #216 Gene Conley
- #232 Frank Malzone
- #251 Jack Lamabe
- #253 1963 Rookie Stars
- #285 Dick Stuart
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #307 card?
It is card #307 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Chet Nichols of the Boston Red Sox.
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.