1963 Topps #498 Eddie Kasko
About Eddie Kasko
Number 498 falls in the sixth print series of the 1963 Topps set, which makes it a semi-high number. It caps the best offensive season Kasko ever had. Taking over as Cincinnati's regular third baseman in 1962, he set career highs with 148 hits, 74 runs and 26 doubles in 134 games, batted .278 and drove in 41 runs. Four of his 22 lifetime home runs came that year, among them a tenth-inning grand slam on August 22 and a three-run shot that beat St. Louis on September 11.
Eddie Kasko was a right-handed-hitting shortstop and third baseman who played ten major league seasons, from 1957 through 1966, with the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Houston Colt .45s and Astros, and Boston Red Sox. Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey and raised in Linden, he debuted with the Cardinals on April 18, 1957, becoming the first Linden High School graduate to reach the majors. A six-player trade sent him to Cincinnati after the 1958 season, and across five years there he moved between third base and shortstop, leading National League third basemen in fielding percentage in 1960 and NL shortstops in that category in 1964 after a trade to Houston. He made the 1961 National League All-Star team and started all five games at shortstop in that year's World Series against the New York Yankees, batting .318. Over 1,077 games he hit .264 with 935 hits, 146 doubles, 22 home runs and 261 RBI. He retired after the 1966 season, managed the Red Sox from 1970 through 1973, and stayed with the club two more decades as a scout, scouting director and front-office executive. Boston elected him to the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2010; he died in 2020 at 88.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 311 | 2 | 46 | 154 | 67 | 26 | 11 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 25 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 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 #498 card?
It is card #498 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Eddie Kasko of the Cincinnati Reds.
Why is #498 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.