1963 Topps #479 Ed Brinkman
About Ed Brinkman
Brinkman's rookie card, #479, sits in the 1963 set's sixth series, a semi-high run that collectors pay up for. It arrives on the back of his first real look at the majors: recalled from Class B Raleigh in 1962, he hit .165 with four RBI and no home runs in 54 games, while Ken Hamlin, a .253 hitter across 98 games, took the larger share of the Washington shortstop work that summer.
Edwin Albert Brinkman grew up in Cincinnati and played at Western Hills High School alongside Pete Rose, and scouts of the day rated Brinkman the better prospect of the two. Courted by 17 clubs, he signed with the Washington Senators in May 1961 for a bonus reported as high as $75,000 spread over five years, the largest the young franchise had handed out, and debuted that September at age 19. A slick-fielding, light-hitting shortstop, he held the Washington job for most of the next decade until a four-for-four trade on October 9, 1970 sent him, Aurelio Rodriguez, Joe Coleman and Jim Hannan to Detroit for Denny McLain, Elliott Maddox, Don Wert and Norm McRae. In 1972 he made only seven errors in 156 games, set American League records with 72 straight errorless games and 331 consecutive chances handled cleanly, won his lone Gold Glove and was voted Tiger of the Year as Detroit took the AL East. His only All-Star selection came in 1973. He closed out in 1975 with the Cardinals, Rangers and Yankees at a .224 career average, then instructed, coached and scouted for Detroit and the White Sox, managing their Double-A Montgomery club in 1977 with Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker up the middle. He died in Cincinnati in 2008.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 206 | 0 | 7 | 107 | 60 | 23 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 21 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 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: #131 Washington Senators
More Washington Senators cards:
- #2 1962 American League Batting Leaders
- #47 Don Lock
- #69 Bud Zipfel
- #94 Bob Schmidt
- #121 Jim Hannan
- #149 Marv Breeding
- #158 1963 Rookie Stars
- #171 Steve Hamilton
- #176 Jim King
- #219 Chuck Cottier
- #243 Don Leppert
- #263 Dave Stenhouse
- #276 Barry Shetrone
- #291 Don Rudolph
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #479 card?
It is card #479 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ed Brinkman of the Washington Senators.
Is 1963 Topps #479 a rookie card?
Yes - #479 is the 1963 Topps rookie card of Ed Brinkman.
Why is #479 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.