1963 Topps #471 Ken Retzer
About Ken Retzer
1963 Topps #471 is a semi-high number from the set's sixth series, and it pictures Retzer with the Washington Senators. That season gave him his two brushes with history. On April 8 at D.C. Stadium he crouched for President John F. Kennedy's ceremonial first pitch, a low fastball he snagged on a lunge, and the President signed the ball for him. On September 6 he caught the first pitch of the major leagues' 100,000th game; that ball was pulled from play immediately and sent to Cooperstown, and Retzer liked to say his fingerprints on it were as close as he would ever get to the Hall of Fame. A three-way platoon with Don Leppert and Hobie Landrith held him to 72 starts and a .242 average.
Kenneth Leo Retzer was born April 30, 1934, in Wood River, Illinois, the youngest of seven children, and went to high school at Wellsville, Missouri. He was arguably the better basketball player, taking a hoops scholarship to Jefferson City Junior College and then Central Missouri State, but he never finished school and moved behind the plate full time after a coach told him catching was the fastest road to the pros. Cleveland scout Johnny Schulte signed him in 1954; he hit .307 in his first pro season at Class D Tifton, lost 1957 to the Army, and reached Triple-A San Diego of the Pacific Coast League, where a strong throwing arm never quite answered the questions about the rest of his defense. On September 6, 1961, Cleveland traded him to the expansion Washington Senators for a player to be named later, and three days later he doubled off Jack Fisher in his first big-league at-bat. All four of his major-league seasons were spent in Washington: 237 games, 182 hits, 14 home runs, 72 RBIs, a .264 average, and 48 of 126 base stealers thrown out. His professional career ran thirteen seasons. He died May 17, 2020, in Sun City, Arizona, at 86.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 256 | 0 | 15 | 127 | 85 | 18 | 6 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 12 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 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: #131 Washington Senators
More Washington Senators cards:
- #2 1962 American League Batting Leaders
- #47 Don Lock
- #69 Bud Zipfel
- #94 Bob Schmidt
- #121 Jim Hannan
- #149 Marv Breeding
- #158 1963 Rookie Stars
- #171 Steve Hamilton
- #176 Jim King
- #219 Chuck Cottier
- #243 Don Leppert
- #263 Dave Stenhouse
- #276 Barry Shetrone
- #291 Don Rudolph
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #471 card?
It is card #471 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ken Retzer of the Washington Senators.
Why is #471 harder to find?
It is a semi-high card from the sixth print series, #447-511 - the run where the set's short prints sit. Scarcer than series 1-5, easier than series 7.
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.