The 1964 Topps baseball card #3 features New York Mets relief pitcher Al Ferrara. The 1964 season was Ferrara’s third year in the major leagues after making his debut with the expansion Mets in 1962 at the age of 24. As the Mets continued to struggle in their early years as a new franchise, Ferrara emerged as a valuable relief pitcher out of their bullpen.
The photo on Ferrara’s 1964 Topps card shows him in a Mets road uniform, standing on the mound with his arms stretched out in front of him. Like many early Topps baseball cards from the 1960s, the photo is quite small and low quality by today’s standards. It does clearly show Ferrara’s distinctive windup and delivery motion from the stretch position. As the primary relief pitcher for the Mets in 1964, Ferrara no doubt posed for this card photo in-between appearances coming out of the bullpen.
The 1964 season would be Ferrara’s best statistically. In 69 total appearances including 15 starts, Ferrara posted a record of 8-11 with 73 strikeouts and a respectable 3.58 ERA over 150.2 innings pitched. As one of the few veterans on a young Mets roster, Ferrara brought stability to the team’s pitching staff. His eight wins led the Mets’ staff, which featured several first and second-year players still finding their way in the major leagues. Ferrara’s steadying influence in relief helped New York improve slightly to a record of 53-109, gaining three wins over their dismal debut season of 1962.
The basic stats and information printed on the front of Ferrara’s 1964 Topps card are straightforward, including his name, position as “R” for relief pitcher, team, batting stats (he went 1-11 at the plate), and 1963 totals. One notable omission is Ferrara’s actual age, which is not listed. Topps did not start routinely including player ages on cards until the late 1960s. So collectors and fans in 1964 wanting to know how old Ferrara was would have to rely on outside baseball references.
The back of Ferrara’s 1964 Topps card contains a brief Bio paragraph with additional career stats through 1963. It notes he was originally signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent in 1956 but did not reach the majors until 1962 with the Mets after being selected by them in the 1961 expansion draft. The bio fails to provide any personal information about Ferrara or insight into his background prior to professional baseball. Such details were rarely if ever included on early Topps cards during the 1960s as the primary focus was just basic stats and accomplishments.
After his solid campaign for the 1964 Mets, Ferrara suffered from arm injuries over the next two seasons that limited his effectiveness. He continued bouncing between the Mets and their minor league affiliates in 1965 and 1966 while battling soreness. Ferrara achieved his final major league appearance at age 30 in September 1966, finishing with a career record of 16-27 in 191 games pitched over five seasons with the Mets. He retired from pro ball after the 1967 season having spent his entire career within the Mets organization since they took him in the expansion draft.
For collectors of 1964 Topps baseball cards today, Ferrara’s #3 card remains one of the most plentiful from the set as he was never a huge star. Examples in average centered condition with some edgewear can often be acquired for just a few dollars. Still, the card serves as an artifact from Ferrara’s best season as a valuable reliever on those early Mets teams. For Mets fans, it commemorates a hometown player who contributed meaningfully during the franchise’s early growing pains. Over 50 years later, Ferrara’s 1964 Topps card endures as a reminder of his steady relief efforts that helped stabilize New York’s pitching staff during a landmark period in Mets history.
