1963 Topps #425 Smoky Burgess
About Smoky Burgess
Burgess turns up twice in the 1963 set. Card #18, a series-one combination card titled "Buc Blasters," groups him with fellow Pittsburgh bats Dick Stuart, Bob Clemente and Bob Skinner - Topps' shorthand for the Pirates' run-producing core, and the only card of the decade that puts Burgess shoulder to shoulder with Clemente. His own card, #425, is a fifth-series issue. Both followed his 1962 season, when Burgess batted .328, the highest mark on the club and 16 points above Clemente's .312, with 13 home runs and 61 RBI. He was hitting .317 when the players voted that year's All-Star teams and was left off anyway, a snub he answered by climbing to .346 before the first game was played.
Forrest Harrill "Smoky" Burgess spent 18 major-league seasons (1949-1967) as a catcher and, in his final years, as the game's premier pinch hitter, playing for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox. A native of Caroleen, North Carolina, the stocky left-handed hitter was chosen for six All-Star squads, nine selections in all under the era's two-game format, and he hit .368 for the 1954 Phillies. Traded to Pittsburgh in January 1959, he won a World Series ring in 1960, batting .333 as the Pirates upset the Yankees, and he led National League catchers in fielding percentage three times, in 1953, 1960 and 1961. Claimed on waivers by the White Sox in September 1964, Burgess was used almost exclusively off the bench over his last three seasons and retired as the career leader in pinch hits, a mark that stood until Manny Mota passed him in 1979. He finished at .295 with 126 home runs and 673 RBI, and is enshrined in the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. Accounts of his nickname vary, crediting the nearby Smoky Mountains, his father's nickname, his lack of speed, or the fact that he never smoked.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 288 | 1 | 21 | 147 | 91 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 17 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 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
More Smoky Burgess in this set: #18 Combo
Team card: #151 Pittsburgh Pirates
More Pittsburgh Pirates cards:
- #18 Buc Blasters
- #34 Dick Schofield
- #55 Bill Virdon
- #87 Bob Veale
- #101 Joe Gibbon
- #122 Julio Gotay
- #159 Jim Pagliaroni
- #169 1963 Rookie Stars
- #184 Vern Law
- #215 Bob Skinner
- #228 1963 Rookie Stars
- #239 Harvey Haddix
- #259 Johnny Logan
- #281 Tom Sturdivant
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #425 card?
It is card #425 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Smoky Burgess of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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.