1966 Topps #163 Tito Francona
About Tito Francona
Card #163 in the 1966 set, a second-series issue, reports Francona's first year in St. Louis: .259 with 45 hits, 5 home runs and 19 RBI in 81 games, a bench role worth only 174 at-bats. The defending World Series champions were set in both outfield corners and at first base and had brought him in strictly to deepen the bench. Collectors can also chase this number in the 1966 Venezuelan printing, one of nineteen Cardinals cards carried into that release.
John Patsy Francona was nicknamed "Tito" - Italian for "little one" - by his father Carmen, a steel-mill tool grinder. Born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania and raised in New Brighton, he debuted on April 17, 1956 with the Baltimore Orioles and played 15 seasons through 1970 as an outfielder and first baseman for nine clubs: the Orioles, White Sox, Tigers, Indians, Cardinals, Phillies, Braves, Athletics and Brewers. His signature year came in 1959 with Cleveland, where he batted .363 in 399 at-bats, ten points better than American League batting champion Harvey Kuenn, but finished 34 at-bats short of qualifying for the title. He led the league with 36 doubles in 1960 and made his only All-Star team in 1961. Francona finished at .272 with 1,395 hits, 125 home runs and 656 RBI, went into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame in 1978, and served as parks and recreation director in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. He died February 13, 2018, at 84. His son Terry managed Boston to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007 and later managed Cleveland.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · The Baseball Cube
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 208 | 3 | 29 | 103 | 42 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 0 |
| SGC | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 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. Where SGC registers no separate row for a variation state, its slabs of that card are listed under the base state.
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Related cards
Team card: #379 St. Louis Cardinals
More St. Louis Cardinals cards:
- #7 Tracy Stallard
- #26 Ray Sadecki
- #60 Curt Flood
- #76 Red Schoendienst
- #91 Bob Uecker
- #103 Dick Groat
- #125 Lou Brock
- #137 Pat Corrales
- #142 Don Dennis
- #179 Cardinals 1966 Rookie Stars
- #206 Alvin Jackson
- #225 National League 1965 Strikeout Leaders
- #243 Nelson Briles
- #275 Tim McCarver
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1966 Topps #163 card?
It is card #163 of the 598-card 1966 Topps Baseball set, picturing Tito Francona of the St. Louis Cardinals.
How many cards are in the 1966 Topps Baseball set?
598 cards, tracked as 613 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 598 with no gaps and no number used twice, and 14 cards carry catalogued print variations - five checklists, the trade and sold statement backs, the three-state #43 Don Landrum, three team-card dot pairs and the #161 Jerry Lumpe white streak - that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, 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.