1964 Topps #457 Jesse Gonder
About Jesse Gonder
1964 Topps #457, from the set's sixth series, shows Jesse Gonder as a New York Met. This was his one year as a regular - 131 games, 82 starts behind the plate, and career bests of seven home runs, 35 RBIs and a .270 average in 341 at-bats. He also led the National League with 21 passed balls, ammunition for the critics of his catching. On June 21 he came nearest to spoiling Jim Bunning's perfect game, a sharp liner that second baseman Tony Taylor dove to stop.
Jesse Lemar Gonder (Jan 20, 1936 - Nov 14, 2004) was born in Monticello, Arkansas, and raised in West Oakland, California, where he caught for coach George Powles at McClymonds High School, the program that also produced Frank Robinson, Vada Pinson and Curt Flood. A left-handed hitter, he signed with Cincinnati in 1955 and worked his way through the minors - Mexico, the Havana Sugar Kings, Triple-A Richmond - before debuting with the New York Yankees in September 1960; his first big-league hit was a pinch home run. Over eight seasons with the Yankees, Reds, Mets, Braves and Pirates he batted .251 with 220 hits, 26 home runs and 94 RBIs in 876 at-bats. The bat was never the question: in 1962 he won the Pacific Coast League batting title and RBI crown and was named the league's Most Valuable Player. His catching drew constant criticism, which he disputed all his life. After he complained about the segregated spring-training lodging he and his Black teammates faced in Florida, Cincinnati became the first club to integrate player housing there - and Gonder was tagged a troublemaker, a label he believed cut his career short. He drove a Bay Area transit bus for more than 20 years and died in Oakland in 2004.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 232 | 3 | 30 | 131 | 54 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 20 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1964 Topps #457 card?
It is card #457 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jesse Gonder of the New York Mets.
Why is #457 harder to find?
It is a series 5-6 card. Cards from the fifth and sixth print series (#371-522) are a step tougher to find than #1-370; availability in 1964 runs in three tiers, not a cliff.
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.