1963 Topps #203 Chico Cardenas
About Chico Cardenas
Topps card #203 from 1963, a series-3 issue, is the first whose back carries a full season of Cardenas as Cincinnati's everyday shortstop. Fred Hutchinson handed him the job outright in 1962 and he answered with a .294 average, 173 hits, 31 doubles, 10 home runs and 60 RBI over 153 games -- and he was there for all of it, starting 147 of the 149 games he played at short. He would hold the job for seven seasons.
Leonardo Lazaro Cardenas Alfonso was born December 17, 1938 in Matanzas, Cuba, one of 15 children. He came to the United States in 1956 for a $500 bonus, claiming to be 17 -- the minimum age a major-league team could sign -- when he was 16, and he was among the last Cuban players out before the borders were sealed. Playing for the Havana Sugar Kings in 1959, he was hit by a stray bullet when celebrating fans fired rifles in the grandstand. Cardenas reached Cincinnati on July 25, 1960 and held the Reds' shortstop job for seven seasons, so steady in the field that he was known as Mr. Automatic. Teammates called him Chico, and later Leo. He was a five-time All-Star and won the National League Gold Glove at shortstop in 1965. Traded to Minnesota, he fielded .985 in 1971, the highest mark by an American League shortstop since records began in 1901, and was voted the Twins' most valuable player. He finished with the California Angels, Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers, batting .257 with 1,725 hits, 118 home runs and 689 RBI over 16 seasons. Cincinnati voted him into the Reds Hall of Fame in 1981.
Sources: Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 241 | 1 | 16 | 117 | 73 | 19 | 9 | 4 | 2 |
| SGC | 18 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 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: #63 Cincinnati Reds
More Cincinnati Reds cards:
- #1 1962 National League Batting Leaders
- #3 1962 National League Home Run Leaders
- #5 1962 National League E.R.A. Leaders
- #7 1962 National League Pitching Leaders
- #21 Marty Keough
- #29 1963 Rookie Stars
- #37 Jerry Lynch
- #70 Jim O'Toole
- #90 Gordy Coleman
- #116 Jim Brosnan
- #133 Gene Freese
- #158 1963 Rookie Stars
- #178 Johnny Edwards
- #194 Joe Nuxhall
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #203 card?
It is card #203 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Chico Cardenas of the Cincinnati Reds.
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.