1963 Topps #566 Cliff Cook
About Cliff Cook
Card 566 is a high number from the seventh series; by the time that run reached collectors late in 1963, Cook's playing career was already over. He opened the year as a utility man for Casey Stengel's 51-111 Mets, moving between third base, first base and the outfield in the club's last season at the Polo Grounds. The bat never came: .142 in 50 games with two home runs, and by July he had been sent back to Triple-A at Buffalo. He hit .224 there in 1964 and retired from the game.
Raymond Clifford Cook, a right-handed hitting third baseman who also saw time in the outfield and at first base, was born August 20, 1936, in Dallas, Texas, and attended Sunset High School there. He signed with Cincinnati as an amateur free agent in 1955 and built a reputation in the minor leagues as a genuine power hitter, clearing 30 home runs with 100 RBI in a season three separate times on the way to 195 minor league homers. His major league debut came September 9, 1959, with the Reds, and the next day he went 6-for-9 with a double, a triple and four RBI in a doubleheader against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, part of a .381 nine-game trial. He could never sustain that success in the big leagues, hitting .208 in 1960 and spending most of 1961 in Triple-A, where he was voted Most Valuable Player of the American Association. Traded to the expansion New York Mets in May 1962, he closed out a five-season, 163-game career in 1963 with a .201 average, seven home runs and 35 RBI, hampered by chronic back trouble. He played a final minor league season in 1964 and later ran a sporting goods shop in Fort Worth, Texas.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 312 | 2 | 37 | 158 | 84 | 22 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 29 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 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: #473 New York Mets
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- #43 Veteran Masters
- #59 Craig Anderson
- #68 Friendly Foes
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- #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 #566 card?
It is card #566 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Cliff Cook of the New York Mets.
Why is #566 harder to find?
It is a high number card from the seventh print series, #512-576 - the last and scarcest run in the set. Price guides often band the highs as #523-576, but the printing break falls between #511 and #512.
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.