1963 Topps #317 Sam McDowell
About Sam McDowell
April 16 gave McDowell his first big-league complete game, a two-hitter against Washington with 13 strikeouts - and seven walks, which was the whole problem in one line. Cleveland optioned him to Jacksonville at the end of June; his major league ledger read 3-5 with a 4.85 ERA, 63 strikeouts and 44 walks in 65 innings, plus seven wild pitches, ninth-most in the American League on barely two months of work. Card #317 is a fourth-series issue. It is the follow-up card, with the job still unwon.
Sam McDowell, born September 21, 1942 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was a hard-throwing left-handed pitcher who spent fifteen major league seasons, 1961 through 1975, mostly with the Cleveland Indians. Rated the country's top schoolboy prospect out of Pittsburgh's Central Catholic High School, he signed with Cleveland in 1960 for a $75,000 bonus and reached the majors six days before his 19th birthday. A six-time All-Star, he led the American League in strikeouts five times and won the 1965 ERA title, and in 1970 he topped 300 innings and 300 strikeouts while going 20-12, earning The Sporting News AL Pitcher of the Year award. Control trouble shadowed all of it - he led the league in walks five times as well - and injuries and alcoholism wore down the back end of his career through stops with the Giants, Yankees and Pirates. He retired with a 141-134 record, a 3.17 ERA and 2,453 strikeouts. He got sober in the early 1980s, earned associate degrees in sports psychology and addiction at the University of Pittsburgh, and later worked as an addiction counselor for the Rangers and Blue Jays. He is a member of the Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame, the franchise's own team hall.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 301 | 0 | 21 | 123 | 96 | 31 | 17 | 13 | 0 |
| SGC | 28 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 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: #451 Cleveland Indians
More Cleveland Indians cards:
- #8 1962 American League Pitching Leaders
- #14 Pedro Ramos
- #36 Jerry Kindall
- #48 Birdie Tebbetts
- #72 Johnny Romano
- #103 Chuck Essegian
- #129 Gary Bell
- #152 Ron Nischwitz
- #170 Joe Adcock
- #187 Willie Kirkland
- #211 Fred Whitfield
- #227 Jim Grant
- #228 1963 Rookie Stars
- #248 Tito Francona
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #317 card?
It is card #317 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Sam McDowell of the Cleveland Indians.
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.