1958 Topps #407 Carl Willey
About Carl Willey
Card #407 in 1958 Topps, print series 5, is the recognised rookie card of Carl Willey, a Milwaukee Braves pitcher. He arrived off a 1957 that made him the American Association's Most Valuable Player with the Braves' top farm club. After a month idle and a trip back to Wichita in 1958, he went 9-7 with a 2.70 ERA and led the National League with four shutouts.
Carlton Francis Willey was a right-handed pitcher from Cherryfield, Maine, who reached the majors with the Milwaukee Braves in 1958 after an earned-run title in the Provincial League, two Army years in Germany, and a Most Valuable Player season with Wichita of the American Association. An even six feet tall, with a fastball once clocked at 93 mph, he broke in at 26 and went 9-7 with a 2.70 ERA, led the National League with four shutouts and was named the league's rookie pitcher of the year by The Sporting News. That October he retired all three men he faced in the eighth inning of Game Five, striking out two, in a 7-0 loss at Yankee Stadium; the Braves lost the Series to New York in seven games. A staff fronted by Warren Spahn, Lew Burdette and Bob Buhl then squeezed him out, and after 1962 he asked to be traded. The Mets bought him, and he spent his last three seasons there. Eight big-league years left him 38-58 with a 3.76 ERA, 28 complete games, 11 shutouts and 493 strikeouts. He later scouted for the Philadelphia Phillies and is a member of the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 343 | 1 | 9 | 123 | 125 | 44 | 23 | 17 | 1 |
| SGC | 26 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-07-09. 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 1958 Topps Carl Willey card?
It is card #407 of the 1958 Topps Baseball set - Topps' sixth flagship issue: 494 cards numbered 1-495 (#145 was never issued), with die-cut player photos on solid-color backgrounds and the first team logos on Topps fronts. It pictures Carl Willey, Milwaukee Braves.
Is the 1958 Topps Carl Willey #407 a rookie card?
Yes - #407 is a rookie card, one of 103 in the 1958 Topps set.
How many graded copies of the 1958 Topps Carl Willey #407 are there?
PSA has graded 343 copies and SGC 26 as of the 2026-07-09 snapshot. Population is a scarcity guide, not a price - high-grade 1958s are notoriously tough because of the set's chronic centering and print-quality issues.
How many cards are in the 1958 Topps set?
494 issued cards, numbered 1-495 - #145 (Ed Bouchee) was pulled before release and never issued, leaving a permanent gap. The PSA master census counts 534 items: the 494 base cards plus 33 yellow-letter variations, 4 numerical checklist-back team cards, the 'Herrer' #433 error, and 2 unnumbered ad cards.
Sources: PSA CardFacts, Beckett, BaseballCardPedia, Baseball-Reference, PSA & SGC population reports, and hobby press-sheet research (Topps Archives, 2026). Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-09-30.