1963 Topps #545 Jose Pagan
About Jose Pagan
The 1963 high numbers are the run collectors chase, and #545 is one of them, a high number from the seventh series, the last Topps put out that year. Behind it sits a hard season at the plate: 113 hits, six home runs, a .234 average over 148 games. Harry Jupiter's June piece on him in Baseball Digest carried the title Shortstop with the Greatest Range and argued that no infielder anywhere covered more ground.
Jose Pagan was a Puerto Rican infielder who played fifteen major league seasons, 1959 to 1973, for the San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Philadelphia Phillies. Signed by the New York Giants in 1955 out of the Santurce club in Puerto Rico's winter league, he spent two seasons shuttling to the minors before Alvin Dark made him San Francisco's starting shortstop in 1961. His best year came in 1962, when he played 164 games at short, batted .259 with career highs of 150 hits, 73 runs and 57 RBI, then hit .368 with a home run in a World Series the Giants lost to the Yankees in seven games. Pittsburgh acquired him in a May 1965 trade and turned him into a bench man at third base, shortstop and left field. In Game Seven of the 1971 World Series he doubled home Willie Stargell with the run that decided the championship. He finished at .250 with 922 hits, coached for the Phillies and then the Pirates through 1978, managed in Puerto Rico and the minors, and was later named to the Puerto Rico Sports Hall of Fame. He died in 2011 in Sebring, Florida.
Sources: SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · National Baseball Hall of Fame
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 240 | 1 | 23 | 120 | 60 | 24 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 19 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 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: #417 San Francisco Giants
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- #7 1962 National League Pitching Leaders
- #9 1962 National League Strikeout Leaders
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- #50 Bill Pierce
- #61 Ernie Bowman
- #85 Tom Haller
- #106 Bob Bolin
- #128 Matty Alou
- #138 Pride of the N.L.
- #143 World Series Game #2 - Sanford Flashes Shutout Magic
- #145 World Series Game #4 - Hiller Blasts Grand Slammer
- #147 World Series Game #6 - Pierce Stars in 3-Hit Victory
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #545 card?
It is card #545 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jose Pagan of the San Francisco Giants.
Why is #545 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.