1958 Topps #32 J.W. Porter
About J.W. Porter
Detroit's 1957 catcher and outfielder, Porter hit .250 with two home runs in 58 games, then was traded to Cleveland in February 1958 and hit .200 with four homers in 40 games there. His 1958 Topps card #32 still shows him with the Tigers. It sits in the first series, and the name comes in common white lettering and in a scarcer yellow-name version.
J.W. Porter was a catcher and outfielder from Shawnee, Oklahoma, raised in Oakland, California. His name is just initials; his mother wanted one child with a name of only initials, and he went by Jay. At Oakland Tech and in American Legion ball he was hailed as one of the greatest prospects ever. He hit .551 through the 1949 Legion tournaments, the best mark in the event's history to that point, and was named 1950 American Legion Player of the Year, and the Hall of Fame hung a plaque about his feat. In December 1950 he signed with the White Sox for a $67,500 bonus. He played in the majors for the Browns, Tigers, Indians, Senators and Cardinals between 1952 and 1959, appearing in 229 games with a .228 average. He later managed in the Montreal Expos system and died in 2020.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · BaseballCardPedia
Variations & how to tell them apart
Yellow Name (YN) #32
Nineteen Series 1/early-2 cards exist with the player name printed in yellow instead of white, including stars Aaron (#30), Kaline (#70) and McDougald (#20).
- #32 — base card: the lettering is printed in WHITE — the base, more common version. (this page)
- #32B — Yellow Name: the player name is printed in YELLOW — the scarcer version, roughly 2-2.5x tougher than white per PSA populations. — see the card page
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 234 | 0 | 5 | 83 | 60 | 51 | 20 | 13 | 2 |
| SGC | 27 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
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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Related cards
More J.W. Porter in this set: #32B Yellow Name
More Detroit Tigers cards:
- #13 Billy Hoeft
- #13B Billy Hoeft (Yellow Name)
- #32B J.W. Porter (Yellow Name)
- #46 Lou Sleater
- #46B Lou Sleater (Yellow Name)
- #57 Tim Thompson
- #57B Tim Thompson (Yellow Name)
- #70 Al Kaline
- #70B Al Kaline (Yellow Name)
- #81 Steve Boros
- #81B Steve Boros (Yellow Team)
- #95 Frank Bolling
- #112 Gus Zernial
- #115 Jim Bunning
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1958 Topps J.W. Porter card?
It is card #32 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 J.W. Porter, Detroit Tigers.
Does the 1958 Topps J.W. Porter #32 have a yellow variation?
Yes - #32 is one of the 33 cards that also exist with yellow lettering. This page covers the common white-letter version; the yellow version runs roughly 2-2.5x scarcer per PSA population data.
How many graded copies of the 1958 Topps J.W. Porter #32 are there?
PSA has graded 234 copies and SGC 27 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.