Wally Burnette - 1957 Topps #13
1957 Topps #13 Wally Burnette
About Wally Burnette
Wallace Harper Burnette, a knuckleballing right-hander from Blairs, Virginia, signed with the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent and worked through their deep farm system — Norfolk, Binghamton, Denver — without ever getting a call to the Bronx. On July 11, 1956, the Yankees traded him to the Kansas City Athletics for pitcher Tommy Lasorda, the future Hall of Fame Dodgers manager. Burnette debuted just four days later at age 27 and was quietly excellent as a rookie, going 6-8 with a 2.89 ERA over 121 innings. He pitched a career-high 38 games in 1957, going 7-12, and made his final big-league appearance in June 1958, closing out at 14-21 with a 3.56 ERA in 68 games — every one of them for Kansas City. Card #13 is his Topps rookie card. His daughter later summed him up simply: he "played for the love of the game."
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 517 | 0 | 16 | 166 | 159 | 102 | 48 | 26 | 0 |
| SGC | 30 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-07-05. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8). PSA counts are straight-graded (the +/Q qualifier rows are excluded).
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1957 Topps Wally Burnette card?
It is card #13 of the 1957 Topps Baseball set - the 407-card, 2-1/2 by 3-1/2 inch set that was Topps' first at the modern standard card size, with full-color photography and complete career stats on the back. It pictures Wally Burnette, Kansas City Athletics.
Is the 1957 Topps Wally Burnette #13 a rookie card?
Yes - it carries the rookie-card designation in the 1957 Topps set.
How many cards are in the 1957 Topps set?
407 numbered cards. Collectors usually count 408 because #176 Gene Baker exists in an error ('Bakep') and a corrected back. The PSA master set adds the 8 checklists, 4 contest cards and the Lucky Penny for 421 items.
Sources: PSA CardFacts, Beckett, BaseballCardPedia, Baseball-Reference, PSA & SGC population reports, and hobby press-sheet research (Net54 / Topps Archives). Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-07-10.