1964 Topps #523 Lou Burdette
Front and back print his first name as Lou, the spelling Burdette used himself; record books list him as Lew.
About Lou Burdette
#523 is a high number from the seventh and scarcest series of the 1964 set, and the only card of Burdette's 1960s Topps run to land in a high series. It shows him as a Cardinal, following a 1963 split between two clubs: 6-5 with a 3.64 ERA in Milwaukee, then 3-8 with a 3.77 mark in St. Louis, 9-13 over 182 innings in all. He was gone from the Cardinals before these high numbers ever reached the candy counters, and St. Louis went on to win the World Series without him.
Selva Lewis Burdette, Jr. was a fidgety, pinpoint right-hander who pitched 18 major league seasons from 1950 to 1967. The Yankees signed him in 1947, used him for two relief innings in September 1950, then shipped him to the Boston Braves in August 1951, with $50,000, for Johnny Sain. With Warren Spahn and Bob Buhl he gave Milwaukee the best rotation in baseball, winning 15 or more games eight times between 1953 and 1961, leading the National League with a 2.70 ERA in 1956 and tying Spahn for the league lead with 21 wins in 1959. The 1957 World Series made him famous: three complete-game wins over the Yankees, shutouts in Games 5 and 7, and the Series MVP award in Milwaukee's only championship. He won 1-0 in the 13th inning the night Harvey Haddix retired 36 Braves in a row, and he no-hit the Phillies on August 18, 1960, facing the minimum 27 batters. Opponents accused him of throwing a spitball for a decade; he never conceded one, saying his best pitch was the one he did not throw. A two-time All-Star, he finished 203-144 with a 3.66 ERA, drew Hall of Fame votes all 15 years he was eligible without being elected, and went into the Braves Hall of Fame in 2001.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2) · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 250 | 2 | 26 | 110 | 60 | 26 | 13 | 13 | 0 |
| SGC | 20 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 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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Related cards
Team card: #87 St. Louis Cardinals
More St. Louis Cardinals cards:
- #7 1963 National League Batting Leaders
- #11 1963 National League R.B.I. Leaders
- #24 Carl Sawatski
- #40 Dick Groat
- #59 Ernie Broglio
- #103 Curt Flood
- #119 Gary Kolb
- #147 Ray Sadecki
- #160 Ken Boyer
- #183 Ron Taylor
- #211 Jim Coker
- #240 Bill White
- #262 Cardinals 1964 Rookie Stars
- #278 Bobby Shantz
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1964 Topps #523 card?
It is card #523 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Lou Burdette of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Is 1964 Topps #523 a scarce card?
It is a high number card from the seventh print series, #523-587, distributed last. Scarcer than the rest of the set but only mildly so - the high premium runs roughly 55-60 percent, far milder than the 1952-62 highs.
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.