1963 Topps #221 Cookie Rojas
About Cookie Rojas
Rojas' first Topps card, #221 in the 1963 set's third series, arrives just after Cincinnati traded him to Philadelphia for pitcher Jim Owens. The card reports his .221 rookie season with the Reds, when he started at second base in the first regular-season game played at Dodger Stadium and went 0-for-3.
Octavio Victor (Rivas) Rojas was born March 6, 1939, in Havana, Cuba, and signed with the Cincinnati Reds in 1956 at age 17, climbing through their system to the Triple-A Havana Sugar Kings. He debuted in the majors on April 10, 1962, then was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Jim Owens and spent 1963-1969 as Philadelphia's do-everything infielder-outfielder. Rojas is one of a handful of major leaguers to have played every position on the field, including pitcher, and the only one of that group to also make both the National League and American League All-Star teams; he was a five-time All-Star, once with the 1965 Phillies and four straight years (1971-1974) with the Kansas City Royals after a brief stop with the St. Louis Cardinals. In the 1972 All-Star Game he hit a pinch-hit home run, the first by a foreign-born player for the American League in the game's history. Over 16 seasons he batted .263 with 1,660 hits, 54 home runs and 593 RBI in 1,822 games. He later managed the California Angels, coached for four other clubs, and broadcast Marlins games. His mother's nickname for him, 'Cuqui,' became 'Cookie' in pro ball. He belongs to Cuba's Baseball Hall of Fame and the Royals Hall of Fame (1987), not the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 278 | 0 | 6 | 131 | 94 | 25 | 14 | 8 | 0 |
| SGC | 21 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
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: #13 Philadelphia Phillies
More Philadelphia Phillies cards:
- #7 1962 National League Pitching Leaders
- #29 1963 Rookie Stars
- #32 Tony Gonzalez
- #56 Dennis Bennett
- #71 Bobby Wine
- #91 Dallas Green
- #132 Jack Hamilton
- #139 Earl Averill
- #161 Frank Torre
- #192 Clay Dalrymple
- #241 Billy Smith
- #268 Don Demeter
- #283 Roy Sievers
- #305 Don Hoak
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #221 card?
It is card #221 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Cookie Rojas of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Is 1963 Topps #221 a rookie card?
Yes - #221 is the 1963 Topps rookie card of Cookie Rojas.
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.