The 1962 New York Mets baseball cards were the very first baseball cards produced for the brand new National League expansion franchise. After being awarded an expansion team, the Mets made their Major League debut in 1962 and had a historically awful season, losing 120 games. Despite the team’s dismal on-field performance, their baseball cards were hugely popular among young collectors.
The Mets’ 1962 set was produced by Topps and consisted of 25 total cards. All but one of the cards featured current Mets players from that inaugural season. The lone exception was card #25, which depicted Hall of Famer and then Mets manager Casey Stengel. Some key details about the 1962 Mets set include:
Design: The basic design of each card featured a large color photo taking up most of the front. At the bottom was space for the player’s name, position, and uniform number in yellow text. The Mets logo was prominently displayed at the top left.
Photos: Many of the photos had a homemade, almost amateurish quality to them as the franchise was starting from scratch. Some players were photographed in spring training uniforms rather than full Mets gear.
Rarity: The 1962 Mets had far less star power and name recognition than established teams. As a result, most of the individual cards are not considered especially rare within the hobby. The exceptions are rookies like Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman.
Prominence of Youth: The roster that first season was filled with untested young players and cast-offs from other clubs. Accordingly, many of the featured players like Jack Fisher, Rod Kanehl, and Bob Lillis are virtually unknown except to hardcore Mets historians and collectors.
Manager Card: Casey Stengel was 72 years old when he took the reins as the Mets’ first manager. His card showed him in the team’s home pinstripes, holding a bat. It became one of the set’s most iconic due to Stengel’s fame and stature in the sport.
Record: The 1962 Mets went 40-120, a still-standing record for futility over a full season. Their ineptitude made the cards novel collector’s items, since no one expected much from that first hapless squad.
That dismal record did have its benefits – it led to Topps being able to acquire the first overall pick in the 1963 MLB draft. With it, they selected an unknown 19-year-old left-hander out of high school in Las Vegas named Tom Seaver. Seaver blossomed into “Tom Terrific,” a legendary pitcher who became the face of the franchise and led them to a World Series title in 1969. Not surprisingly, his 1962 rookie card is the most coveted and valuable from that year’s Mets set.
Seaver’s humble beginnings with the 1962 Mets make that record-setting season all the more remarkable in retrospect. In just a few short years, he went from an unheralded rookie to the ace of a championship-caliber team.
Collectors seeking Seaver’s 1962 card today will find it carries a steep price tag, routinely valued between $10,000-$15,000 in top-graded condition according to hobby price guides. Even well-worn low-grade copies still fetch several hundred dollars. That type of demand and value is a true testament to his greatness and the mystique surrounding what is considered the most important card from the very first year of the New York Mets organization.
Other notable rookie cards in the 1962 set include捃捃捃捃捃捃捃catching prospect Jesse Gonder and left-handed pitcher Al Jackson. Gonder did not pan out but Jackson went on to have a solid 11-year MLB career. His card remains relatively affordable for Mets collectors.
For historians of the game, the 1962 Mets cards symbolize both the humble beginnings of a loveable expansion franchise as well as the origins of one of the all-time pitching legends in Seaver. They appeal not only to baseball card collectors, but to all fans of New York’s team with the famous “Amazin’ ” tradition that began with such inauspicious starts on the field and in that groundbreaking first card set. Over 60 years later, they continue to represent a pivotal point for the Mets as an organization and are highly desired by collectors for their historical value.
