1963 Topps #218 Tiger Twirlers
On this card: Frank Lary, Don Mossi, Jim Bunning
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
A three-man combination card grouping Detroit's rotation as the Tiger Twirlers - twirler was old-time slang for a pitcher. Jim Bunning anchored the staff, going 19-10 with a 3.59 ERA and 184 strikeouts over 258 innings. Don Mossi went 11-13 with a 4.19 ERA across 35 games. Frank Lary, the ace of Detroit's 101-win 1961 club, saw his workload catch up with him: shoulder trouble limited him to 17 games, a 2-6 record, and a 5.74 ERA, and he was placed on the disabled list in August. Card #218 falls in Topps' third series.
Frank Lary - Detroit right-hander they called the Yankee Killer, 27-10 against New York from 1955 through 1961. Three-time All-Star, 1961 Gold Glove winner, and a 23-9 ace for the 101-win Tigers that same summer. Don Mossi, a control-artist left-hander who pitched twelve big-league seasons in Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago and Kansas City, retired with 101 wins, 50 saves and a 3.43 ERA after starting out as half of a shutdown bullpen tandem. Jim Bunning was a hard-throwing right-hander who threw no-hitters in both leagues, including a 1964 perfect game for the Phillies, and later served as a US Senator from Kentucky.
Sources: Wikipedia (Frank Lary) · Wikipedia (Don Mossi) · Wikipedia (Jim Bunning) · SABR BioProject (Frank Lary) · SABR BioProject (Don Mossi) · SABR BioProject (Jim Bunning)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 380 | 1 | 30 | 159 | 112 | 52 | 12 | 11 | 3 |
| SGC | 35 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 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: #552 Detroit Tigers
More Detroit Tigers cards:
- #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
- #25 Al Kaline
- #44 Terry Fox
- #64 Dick McAuliffe
- #84 Ron Kline
- #134 Bob Scheffing
- #140 Frank Lary
- #164 Bubba Morton
- #169 1963 Rookie Stars
- #177 Bubba Phillips
- #224 Mike Roarke
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #218 card?
It is card #218 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Frank Lary, Don Mossi and Jim Bunning. 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.