1963 Topps #306 Star Receivers
On this card: Earl Battey, Elston Howard
About this card
This is one of the eleven combination cards in the 1963 Topps set (#18, 43, 68, 138, 173, 218, 242, 306, 331, 392, 412), each pairing two or three players under a headline rather than giving one man his own card.
The story on this card
Topps grouped two of the American League's top defensive catchers under a single Star Receivers banner: Earl Battey of the Minnesota Twins, who had just strung together three consecutive Gold Glove seasons from 1960 through 1962 and an All-Star selection in 1962, and Elston Howard of the New York Yankees, who came off a 1962 World Series championship season and had already been named to six All-Star teams by that point in his career. The pairing spotlighted the two men's shared reputation as premier glove men at the position rather than any single moment they shared on a field. Card #306 falls in the fourth series of the 1963 Topps set.
Earl Battey was Minnesota's catcher through the 1960s, a three-time Gold Glove winner and four-time All-Star whose great throwing arm and everyday durability anchored the Twins' 1965 pennant winner before a second career teaching and coaching in Florida. Elston Howard broke the color line for the New York Yankees in 1955, grew into a Gold Glove catcher, and in 1963 became the first Black player named Most Valuable Player in the American League.
Sources: Wikipedia (Earl Battey) · Wikipedia (Elston Howard) · SABR BioProject (Earl Battey) · SABR BioProject (Elston Howard)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 374 | 0 | 9 | 138 | 131 | 52 | 21 | 19 | 4 |
| SGC | 31 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
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 cards: #162 Minnesota Twins, #247 New York Yankees
More Minnesota Twins cards:
- #4 1962 American League Home Run Leaders
- #8 1962 American League Pitching Leaders
- #10 1962 American League Strikeout Leaders
- #26 Ray Moore
- #40 Vic Power
- #75 Bob Allison
More New York Yankees cards:
- #2 1962 American League Batting Leaders
- #4 1962 American League Home Run Leaders
- #6 1962 American League E.R.A. Leaders
- #8 1962 American League Pitching Leaders
- #10 1962 American League Strikeout Leaders
- #20 Tony Kubek
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #306 card?
It is card #306 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Earl Battey and Elston Howard. This is one of the eleven combination cards in the 1963 Topps set (#18, 43, 68, 138, 173, 218, 242, 306, 331, 392, 412), each pairing two or three players under a headline rather than giving one man his own card.
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.