1963 Topps #535 Jim Perry
About Jim Perry
Card #535 sits in the high numbers of the 1963 set, and it shows Perry in a Minnesota uniform. Birdie Tebbetts had him in the Cleveland bullpen behind a rotation of Barry Latman, Mudcat Grant, Dick Donovan and Pedro Ramos, and on May 2 the Indians sent him to the Twins for left-hander Jack Kralick. His Minnesota debut was cruel: a three-hitter lost 2-0 to the Angels, then a 2-1 defeat at Kansas City in which he allowed only an unearned run. He rebounded with four straight wins in June, made 25 starts after the trade and finished 9-9 for a third-place club.
James Evan Perry Jr., born October 30, 1935 in Williamston, North Carolina, pitched 17 major-league seasons from 1959 to 1975 for the Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers, and Oakland Athletics. Signed off the Campbell College campus by Cleveland scout Jim Gruzdis, he went 12-10 as a rookie in 1959 and finished second to Bob Allison in the Rookie of the Year voting, then tied Baltimore's Chuck Estrada for the American League lead with 18 wins in 1960. Traded to Minnesota in May 1963 for left-hander Jack Kralick, Perry spent years shuttling between the rotation and the bullpen until manager Billy Martin handed him a full-time starting job in 1969; he answered with a 20-6 season as the Twins took the first American League West title. He was better still in 1970, leading the league with 24 wins and winning the American League Cy Young Award. A three-time All-Star, he retired with 215 wins, 1,576 strikeouts and a 3.45 ERA. He and younger brother Gaylord, a Hall of Famer, remain the only brothers to each win a Cy Young Award, and Jim was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2011.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 283 | 1 | 7 | 110 | 113 | 31 | 15 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 30 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
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.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Live auctions Buy It Now on eBay Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
Team card: #162 Minnesota Twins
More Minnesota Twins cards:
- #4 1962 American League Home Run Leaders
- #8 1962 American League Pitching Leaders
- #10 1962 American League Strikeout Leaders
- #26 Ray Moore
- #40 Vic Power
- #75 Bob Allison
- #89 Dick Stigman
- #110 Rich Rollins
- #127 Bill Tuttle
- #165 Jim Kaat
- #186 Jerry Zimmerman
- #198 Lenny Green
- #220 Camilo Pascual
- #228 1963 Rookie Stars
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #535 card?
It is card #535 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Perry of the Minnesota Twins.
Why is #535 harder to find?
It is a high number card from the seventh print series, #512-576 - the last and scarcest run in the set. Price guides often band the highs as #523-576, but the printing break falls between #511 and #512.
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.