1963 Topps #251 Jack Lamabe
About Jack Lamabe
Card #251, a series-3 issue, is Lamabe's first Topps card in a Boston uniform, arriving after the winter deal that sent him and slugger Dick Stuart from Pittsburgh to the Red Sox for catcher Jim Pagliaroni and pitcher Don Schwall. Boston insisted he was no throw-in, and 1963 bore that out: he worked 65 games and 151 innings, all seven of his wins coming in multi-inning relief, and finished 7-4 with a 3.15 ERA and six saves.
John Alexander Lamabe was a right-handed pitcher whose first professional contract, with the Philadelphia Phillies, was voided by Commissioner Ford Frick in October 1956 under the rule protecting college players. About a dozen clubs bid for him, and he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates on January 27, 1957. He reached the majors on April 17, 1962, and over seven seasons pitched for the Pirates, Red Sox, Astros, White Sox, Mets, Cardinals and Cubs, working mostly in relief and finishing 33-41 with a 4.24 ERA, 434 strikeouts and three shutouts in 285 games. Boston's baseball writers voted him their club's Unsung Hero, and his florid complexion earned him the nickname "Tomatoes" during his Red Sox years. He won a championship ring with the 1967 Cardinals. Afterward he coached college baseball at Jacksonville University and became LSU's first full-time head coach, and he spent years as a minor league pitching instructor in the Expos and Padres systems. He died in Baton Rouge in 2007, and Jacksonville put him in its athletic hall of fame four years later.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 272 | 0 | 15 | 163 | 80 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 13 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 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: #202 Boston Red Sox
More Boston Red Sox cards:
- #2 1962 American League Batting Leaders
- #28 Mike Fornieles
- #52 Chuck Schilling
- #76 Earl Wilson
- #96 Lou Clinton
- #115 Carl Yastrzemski
- #136 Ike Delock
- #168 Russ Nixon
- #188 Eddie Bressoud
- #216 Gene Conley
- #232 Frank Malzone
- #253 1963 Rookie Stars
- #285 Dick Stuart
- #299 1963 Rookie Stars
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #251 card?
It is card #251 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jack Lamabe of the Boston Red Sox.
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.