1964 Topps #1 1963 National League E.R.A. Leaders - Sandy Koufax / Dick Ellsworth / Bob Friend
On this card: Sandy Koufax, Dick Ellsworth, Bob Friend
About this card
Cards #1-12 are the League Leaders subset that opens the set: twelve cards recapping the 1963 leaders in six categories (E.R.A., pitching, strikeouts, batting, home runs and R.B.I.), the National League card first and the American League card second in each pair.
The story on this card
This is the 1964 Topps National League E.R.A. Leaders card, card #1 and part of the first print series, opening the League Leaders subset. The card recaps the 1963 race: Sandy Koufax topped the league at 1.88, backing that mark with a 25-5 record, 306 strikeouts, 11 shutouts and 311 innings for the Dodgers, a season that earned him the Cy Young Award, the NL MVP award and the pitching Triple Crown. Dick Ellsworth of the Cubs was next at 2.11, going 22-10 a year after a 9-20 season. Bob Friend of the Pirates rounded out the board at 2.34, going 17-16 for a club that finished below .500.
Sandy Koufax was the Dodgers' left-hander nicknamed 'the Left Arm of God,' whose five-year run of dominance from 1962 to 1966 brought three unanimous Cy Young Awards and four no-hitters, including a perfect game, before an arthritic elbow forced his retirement at 30. Dick Ellsworth was a hard-luck Cubs left-hander who broke out with a 22-10, 2.11 ERA season in 1963 (Comeback Player of the Year) and made the All-Star team in 1964, before pitching for four more clubs into 1971. Bob Friend was the Pirates' durable right-handed workhorse of the 1950s and '60s, a four-time All-Star who won the 1955 National League ERA title for a last-place club and started twice for Pittsburgh in the 1960 World Series.
Sources: Wikipedia (Sandy Koufax) · Wikipedia (Dick Ellsworth) · Wikipedia (Bob Friend) · SABR BioProject (Sandy Koufax) · SABR BioProject (Dick Ellsworth) · SABR BioProject (Bob Friend) · National Baseball Hall of Fame · Baseball Almanac (Dick Ellsworth) · Baseball Almanac (Bob Friend)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 1,057 | 0 | 17 | 137 | 220 | 257 | 160 | 259 | 7 |
| SGC | 210 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 30 | 38 | 57 | 75 | 2 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-09-04. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted.
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Related cards
Team cards: #531 L. A. Dodgers, #237 Chicago Cubs, #373 Pittsburgh Pirates
More Los Angeles Dodgers cards:
- #3 1963 National League Pitching Leaders
- #5 1963 National League Strikeout Leaders
- #7 1963 National League Batting Leaders
- #14 Dodgers 1964 Rookie Stars
- #30 Ron Perranoski
- #51 Pete Richert
More Chicago Cubs cards:
More Pittsburgh Pirates cards:
- #7 1963 National League Batting Leaders
- #20 Bob Friend
- #37 Smoky Burgess
- #62 Ted Savage
- #74 Pirates 1964 Rookie Stars
- #91 Bob Bailey
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1964 Topps #1 card?
It is card #1 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Sandy Koufax, Dick Ellsworth and Bob Friend. Cards #1-12 are the League Leaders subset that opens the set: twelve cards recapping the 1963 leaders in six categories (E.R.A., pitching, strikeouts, batting, home runs and R.B.I.), the National League card first and the American League card second in each pair.
How many cards are in the 1964 Topps Baseball set?
587 cards, tracked as 589 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 587 with no gaps, and no number carries two different cards; two cards - #4, the A.L. Pitching Leaders, and #517, the seventh-series checklist - carry a catalogued back variation that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, The Topps Archives, Baseball Almanac, 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 2026-10-11.