1963 Topps #133 Gene Freese
About Gene Freese
Topps' 1963 card #133, from series 2, again puts Freese in a Reds uniform, and 1963 turned into a demotion year. He opened in Cincinnati's lineup, hit .154 over 17 games, and in early May was optioned to the Pacific Coast League's San Diego Padres, a move he was angry enough about that he thought about not reporting. He went anyway and batted .281 there with 12 home runs and 34 RBIs in 54 games. Back with the Reds in mid-July, he closed at .244 with six home runs and 26 RBIs in 66 games.
Eugene Lewis Freese, a right-handed third baseman born in Wheeling, West Virginia, played twelve major league seasons between 1955 and 1966 for the Pirates, Cardinals, Phillies, White Sox, Reds and Astros, traded or sold seven times along the way. A three-sport athlete at West Liberty State College, he signed with Pittsburgh as an amateur free agent in March 1953 and reached the majors in 1955 alongside his older brother George, taking the Pirates' rookie-of-the-year award from the Pittsburgh baseball writers over Roberto Clemente. His best work came from 1959 through 1961, culminating in career highs across the board for the pennant-winning 1961 Reds. A spring-training ankle fracture in 1962 cost him that form for good; he never again played 100 games in a season, and he retired after the 1968 minor league campaign. He finished at .254 with 877 hits, 115 home runs and 432 RBIs in 1,115 games, then made New Orleans home, running the Basin Lounge and entering the New Orleans Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 254 | 0 | 13 | 132 | 75 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 0 |
| SGC | 19 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 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
- #158 1963 Rookie Stars
- #178 Johnny Edwards
- #194 Joe Nuxhall
- #203 Chico Cardenas
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #133 card?
It is card #133 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Gene Freese of the Cincinnati Reds.
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.