1958 Topps #129 Jim Derrington
About Jim Derrington
The Chicago White Sox pitcher shown on 1958 Topps #129 had just finished 1957, when he stayed on the roster all year under the bonus rule: 20 games, five starts and a 4.86 ERA. The card is his rookie card, part of Series Two. Topps issued it as a single-player card. In January 1958 the bonus rule was rescinded, and he was sent to the minors, so he never pitched for Chicago again.
Jim Derrington was a left-handed pitcher from Compton, California, whose big-league career began at 16 and ended at 17. A South Gate High School star as both pitcher and first baseman, he was named Los Angeles City Player of the Year in 1956, then signed with the Chicago White Sox for a $78,000 bonus, far more than the reported figure. Under the bonus rule of the day he had to stay on the roster. On September 30, 1956 he started the season finale at age 16 years, 306 days, the youngest pitcher to start a major-league game since 1890, and singled off Bill Harrington, making him the youngest player in American League history with a hit. He worked 20 games for Chicago in 1957, then went to the minors when the rule was rescinded. He tore ligaments and tendons in his left elbow in the spring of 1960, and his last minor-league season came at 21. He later worked at his father's appliance store, took it over when his father died in 1968, and managed the Pacific Suns of the independent Western Baseball League in 1998.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 237 | 0 | 10 | 92 | 71 | 34 | 20 | 10 | 0 |
| SGC | 12 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 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 Jim Derrington card?
It is card #129 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 Jim Derrington, Chicago White Sox.
Is the 1958 Topps Jim Derrington #129 a rookie card?
Yes - #129 is a rookie card, one of 103 in the 1958 Topps set.
How many graded copies of the 1958 Topps Jim Derrington #129 are there?
PSA has graded 237 copies and SGC 12 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.