1963 Topps #129 Gary Bell
About Gary Bell
Bell's 1963 card, #129 in the second series, follows the biggest role change of his career. Cleveland pulled him from the rotation in 1962 and used him 57 times with only six starts, cutting his workload to under 110 innings while he saved 12 games, a career high to that point, and went 10-9 with a 4.26 ERA. He was twenty-five, and one winter had turned a 34-start starter into a bullpen regular.
Wilbur Gary Bell was a right-handed pitcher from San Antonio, Texas, who spent twelve big league seasons (1958-1969) with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Pilots and Chicago White Sox. He signed with Cleveland over the Yankees and Red Sox, reasoning that an aging Indians staff of Bob Feller, Bob Lemon, Mike Garcia and Early Wynn would open a door for him, and he debuted in relief on June 1, 1958. He went 12-10 that first year and finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting. Known as 'Ding Dong,' Bell was a four-time All-Star, chosen for both 1960 games and again in 1966 and 1968, and Cleveland shuffled him between the rotation and the bullpen under at least nine managers across ten seasons there. He finished 121-117 with a 3.68 ERA, 51 saves and 1,378 strikeouts in 519 games, then settled back in San Antonio, where he opened his own sporting-goods business in 1987.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 234 | 0 | 2 | 108 | 92 | 25 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 13 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 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: #451 Cleveland Indians
More Cleveland Indians cards:
- #8 1962 American League Pitching Leaders
- #14 Pedro Ramos
- #36 Jerry Kindall
- #48 Birdie Tebbetts
- #72 Johnny Romano
- #103 Chuck Essegian
- #152 Ron Nischwitz
- #170 Joe Adcock
- #187 Willie Kirkland
- #211 Fred Whitfield
- #227 Jim Grant
- #228 1963 Rookie Stars
- #248 Tito Francona
- #266 Bob Allen
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #129 card?
It is card #129 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Gary Bell of the Cleveland Indians.
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.