1963 Topps #432 Roman Mejias
The back of this card lists his birth date as August 9, 1932. He was actually born August 9, 1925 -- his listed age had been shaved by seven years when he signed with Pittsburgh.
Uncorrected error: The back says born Aug. 9, 1932; the records put his birth in 1925 or 1930, so the card year is wrong either way.
About Roman Mejias
Houston traded Mejias to Boston on November 26, 1962, for Pete Runnels, the reigning American League batting champion. Owner Tom Yawkey then spent freely to get the outfielder's wife, two children and two sisters out of Cuba; they reached him in spring training that March after 15 months apart. He opened the year as the Red Sox' center fielder but hit .150 through April and May, did not climb above .200 until June 22, and finished at .227 with 11 home runs and 39 runs batted in. The back of card 432, a fifth-series card, gives his birth date as August 9, 1932 -- seven years off, a shave agreed to when the Pirates signed him.
Roman Mejias Gomez, born August 9, 1925 at the Central Manuelita sugar mill in Cuba's Las Villas province, was a right-handed outfielder who played nine big-league seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Colt .45s and Boston Red Sox, in 1955 and from 1957 through 1964. American records listed his birthplace for decades as nearby Abreus. Pirates scout George Sisler signed him out of a 1953 Havana tryout camp, and Mejias was Pittsburgh's Opening Day right fielder as a 1955 rookie, ahead of his roommate Roberto Clemente; once Clemente claimed the job he settled in as a spare outfielder behind Clemente, Bill Virdon and Bob Skinner. Houston took him in the October 1961 National League expansion draft and finally played him every day. A six-foot, 175-pound right fielder remembered for his warmth and enthusiasm, he batted .254 with 449 hits, 54 home runs and 202 runs batted in across 627 games. He was a player-coach for Boston's Triple-A Toronto club in 1965, closed his playing career with the Sankei Atoms in Japan in 1966, and was elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in exile in 1997. He died in Sun City, California, on February 22, 2023, at 97.
Sources: SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 240 | 1 | 28 | 143 | 52 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 11 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 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: #202 Boston Red Sox
More Boston Red Sox cards:
- #2 1962 American League Batting Leaders
- #28 Mike Fornieles
- #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
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #432 card?
It is card #432 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Roman Mejias of the Boston Red Sox.
Does 1963 Topps #432 have an error?
The back says born Aug. 9, 1932; the records put his birth in 1925 or 1930, so the card year is wrong either way. It was never corrected, so there is no variation to chase - every copy of #432 reads the same way.
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.