1963 Topps #316 Norm Sherry
About Norm Sherry
The 1963 card, #316 out of print series 4, is the only card in the decade's Topps run to show him with the New York Mets, and it sits in the middle of the set. He appeared in a career-high 63 games for Casey Stengel's 51-111 tenth-place club at the Polo Grounds, but the back trouble he brought east from Los Angeles wrecked his bat: .136 in 147 at-bats, including an 0-for-29 stretch before Memorial Day. One of the few bright spots was a pinch-hit walk-off single against Houston on July 16, his 32nd birthday. His last big league game, on September 26, was also the only time he faced his brother Larry in the majors.
Norm Sherry was a right-handed catcher who played parts of five big league seasons for the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets between 1959 and 1963. Born in New York City in 1931, he grew up in Los Angeles after his family moved west in the 1930s, and a Brooklyn Dodgers tryout in 1950 cost him a baseball scholarship to Southern California. Seven farm-system years, two in the Army and a run of injuries followed; he was 27 when he debuted in April 1959. He settled in as Walter Alston's second-string catcher behind John Roseboro from 1960 through 1962, now and then catching his younger brother Larry, the 1959 World Series MVP. Sherry is best remembered for a word to a wild Sandy Koufax in a 1961 exhibition at Orlando, telling him to stop trying to throw so hard, advice Koufax regarded as the turning point of his career. He hit .215 with 18 home runs, 69 RBIs and 107 hits in 194 games, then spent decades coaching and managing, including parts of the 1976 and 1977 seasons as California Angels manager and a 1978 assignment tutoring young Gary Carter behind the plate in Montreal. He was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1994 and died in 2021 at 89.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 226 | 0 | 16 | 113 | 74 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 13 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 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.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Live auctions Buy It Now on eBay Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
Team card: #473 New York Mets
More New York Mets cards:
- #27 Choo Choo Coleman
- #43 Veteran Masters
- #59 Craig Anderson
- #68 Friendly Foes
- #78 Marv Throneberry
- #93 Galen Cisco
- #107 Jim Hickman
- #111 Al Jackson
- #135 Richie Ashburn
- #174 Larry Burright
- #197 Roger Craig
- #217 Joe Christopher
- #228 1963 Rookie Stars
- #233 Casey Stengel
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #316 card?
It is card #316 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Norm Sherry 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.