1963 Topps #140 Frank Lary
About Frank Lary
He opened 1963 in the minor leagues. Detroit called him back up in July, and he finished 4-9 with a 3.27 ERA in 16 games, a serviceable arm now rather than a staff anchor. Card #140 is his own Tigers card. Card #218, titled Tiger Twirlers, is a combination card grouping him with rotation mates Don Mossi and Jim Bunning, all three still in Detroit flannels, one of the pieces Topps used to put three names on one front.
Frank Strong Lary was a hard-throwing right-hander who anchored the Detroit Tigers rotation from 1955 through 1961 and earned three All-Star selections across 1960 and 1961. Born April 10, 1930 in Northport, Alabama, the sixth of seven sons of a cotton farmer and semipro spitball pitcher, he learned the game on a mound his father built in the family's front yard, then pitched the University of Alabama into the 1950 College World Series. Detroit signed him that summer; the Army took the next two years. He led the American League with 21 wins in 1956, paced the league in complete games in 1958, 1960 and 1961, and peaked at 23-9 in 1961, when he also won a Gold Glove and finished third in the Cy Young voting behind Whitey Ford and Warren Spahn. The nickname lasted: the Yankee Killer went 27-10 against New York from 1955 through 1961, years the Yankees won six pennants. A sore arm arrived in 1962 and never left, and he closed out with the Mets, Braves and White Sox. Final line: 128-116, 3.49 ERA, 21 shutouts, 1,099 strikeouts over twelve seasons. He coached and scouted, then ran a construction business in Tuscaloosa, and entered the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1978. He died December 13, 2017.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 235 | 0 | 10 | 81 | 97 | 33 | 8 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 19 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 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
More Frank Lary in this set: #218 Combo
Team card: #552 Detroit Tigers
More Detroit Tigers cards:
- #4 1962 American League Home Run Leaders
- #6 1962 American League E.R.A. Leaders
- #8 1962 American League Pitching Leaders
- #10 1962 American League Strikeout Leaders
- #25 Al Kaline
- #44 Terry Fox
- #64 Dick McAuliffe
- #84 Ron Kline
- #134 Bob Scheffing
- #164 Bubba Morton
- #169 1963 Rookie Stars
- #177 Bubba Phillips
- #218 Tiger Twirlers
- #224 Mike Roarke
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #140 card?
It is card #140 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Frank Lary of the Detroit Tigers.
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.