1963 Topps #217 Joe Christopher
About Joe Christopher
1963 was Christopher's leanest year as a Met. He did not make the club out of spring training, spent most of the season at Triple-A Buffalo, and after a July recall managed 33 hits in 149 at-bats: a .221 average with one home run and eight runs batted in over 64 games, with right field his main post. Card 217 of the 1963 Topps set is a third-series number, squarely in the middle of the run.
Joe Christopher was born in Frederiksted, St. Croix, on December 13, 1935, and in 1959 became the first man actually born in the U.S. Virgin Islands to reach the majors since Alphonso Gerard. He debuted for the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 26, 1959, playing right field in Harvey Haddix's twelve perfect innings at Milwaukee, and spent three seasons there as a reserve behind Bob Skinner, Bill Virdon and Roberto Clemente, valued above all for his speed. He appeared in three games of the 1960 World Series and scored two runs for the champions. The expansion New York Mets took him with their fifth pick in the 1961 expansion draft, though two more seasons passed before he settled in as a regular. His finest year was 1964: .300 with 16 home runs and 76 runs batted in. Traded to the Boston Red Sox after 1965, he was finished in the majors by mid-1966, closing at .260 with 29 homers and 173 RBIs across 638 games. He also starred in the Puerto Rican Winter League, winning several championships and leading it in steals four times. He died in Edgewood, Maryland, on October 3, 2023.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 229 | 0 | 8 | 115 | 75 | 23 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 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: #473 New York Mets
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #217 card?
It is card #217 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Joe Christopher of the New York Mets.
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.