1963 Topps #563 Mike McCormick
About Mike McCormick
A new uniform. His 1962 had collapsed to 5-5 and a 5.38 earned run average in 98 2/3 innings over 28 games, 13 of them out of the bullpen, the shoulder dead and the fastball gone; he watched the pennant winners' World Series from the bench. That December he went to Baltimore with Stu Miller and John Orsino for Jack Fisher, Billy Hoeft and Jimmie Coker. Card #563 is a high number from the seventh series, and the first Topps card to show him as an Oriole.
Mike McCormick was born September 29, 1938, in Pasadena, California, and signed with the New York Giants on August 31, 1956, for a $50,000 bonus out of Mark Keppel High School in Alhambra. The bonus rule kept such a signing on the big-league roster, so the left-hander debuted four days later at seventeen, having never pitched in the minors. Sixteen seasons followed: the New York and San Francisco Giants (1956-1962 and 1967-1970), the Baltimore Orioles (1963-1964), the Washington Senators (1965-1966), the New York Yankees (1970) and the Kansas City Royals (1971). He led the National League with a 2.70 earned run average in 1960 and made all four All-Star squads of 1960 and 1961, when the majors staged two games a summer. A ruined shoulder nearly finished him at twenty-four; he rebuilt himself around a screwball and went 22-10 in 1967 to win San Francisco's first Cy Young Award and The Sporting News awards for Pitcher of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year. He retired with 134 wins, 128 losses, a 3.73 ERA, 1,321 strikeouts and 23 shutouts in 484 games, sold securities and then office equipment, and died June 13, 2020, at 81 in North Carolina. He is not a National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee; the Giants honor him on their Wall of Fame.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2) · Baseball Almanac (3)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 328 | 2 | 33 | 185 | 78 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 19 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-09-04. PSA counts are straight grades only; PSA half grades (PSA 1.5 among them) and qualified slabs are not included. SGC half grades fold down (8.5→8).
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Related cards
Team card: #377 Baltimore Orioles
More Baltimore Orioles cards:
- #4 1962 American League Home Run Leaders
- #6 1962 American League E.R.A. Leaders
- #12 Steve Barber
- #19 Pete Burnside
- #41 Charlie Lau
- #65 Jackie Brandt
- #88 Ron Hansen
- #108 Hoyt Wilhelm
- #112 Dick Brown
- #125 Robin Roberts
- #158 1963 Rookie Stars
- #205 Luis Aparicio
- #208 1963 Rookie Stars
- #209 Hobie Landrith
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #563 card?
It is card #563 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Mike McCormick of the Baltimore Orioles.
Why is #563 harder to find?
It is a high number card from the seventh print series, #512-576 - the last run in the set and, with series 6, its scarce end. 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 2026-10-05.