1963 Topps #28 Mike Fornieles
About Mike Fornieles
Card #28 in Topps' 1963 set is a first-series number, so it was in packs early, while Fornieles was still in a Red Sox uniform. He made just nine appearances in 1963, all in relief, fourteen innings' worth, with a 6.43 ERA. On June 14 the Red Sox sold his contract to the Minnesota Twins to open a roster spot for pitching prospect Bob Heffner. He went 1-1 with a 4.76 ERA in eleven games for Minnesota, pitched for the last time on July 14, and was released eight days later, closing a twelve-season major league career at 31.
Jose Miguel Fornieles y Torres was born January 18, 1932, in Havana, Cuba, signed with the Washington Senators out of amateur ball, and debuted on September 2, 1952, at age twenty with a one-hit shutout of the Philadelphia Athletics. Washington traded him to the Chicago White Sox that winter for Chuck Stobbs. He moved to Baltimore in a six-player swap in May 1956, then to the Boston Red Sox on June 14, 1957, for infielder Billy Goodman. Boston used the right-hander as a starter at first, then turned him into its bullpen ace: he pitched only in relief from 1959 on, and in 1960 he set an American League record with seventy relief appearances, led the league with 48 games finished, tied for the AL save lead, and won the first Sporting News American League Fireman of the Year Award. His lone All-Star selection came in 1961. In Cuban League winters with Marianao he was Rookie of the Year and an ERA champion, and he pitched the Tigres to back-to-back Caribbean Series titles. He finished 63-64 with 55 saves and died in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1998 at 66.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 208 | 0 | 5 | 76 | 85 | 27 | 11 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 10 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 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
- #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
- #251 Jack Lamabe
- #253 1963 Rookie Stars
- #285 Dick Stuart
- #299 1963 Rookie Stars
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #28 card?
It is card #28 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Mike Fornieles 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.