1958 Topps #137 Russ Kemmerer
About Russ Kemmerer
Russ Kemmerer's 1958 Topps card is #137, from the second series, and shows him as a Washington Senator. Boston traded him to the Senators on April 29, 1957, and he finished that year 7-11 with a 4.95 ERA in 40 games. His 1958 season brought 30 starts and 224 1/3 innings, though he went 6-15.
Russell Paul Kemmerer was a right-handed pitcher from Pittsburgh who spent nine seasons in the majors between 1954 and 1963. A four-sport letterman at Peabody High School, he signed with the Red Sox in June 1950 for a $3,000 bonus after a year at the University of Pittsburgh. He reached Boston in June 1954, and in his first big-league start, on July 18 at Fenway Park, he one-hit the Baltimore Orioles in a 4-0 win. Boston traded him to Washington in April 1957; the equivalent of three seasons in a last-place rotation left him 21-45 there. Washington sold him to the White Sox in May 1960 for a reported $30,000, and Chicago used him first as a swingman and then out of the bullpen before he closed out with the expansion Houston Colt .45s. He called his sinking fastball his best pitch and used a forkball as a changeup, finishing 43-59 with a 4.46 ERA in 302 games and 1,066 2/3 innings. Afterward he pastored small Indiana churches, coached pitchers at Indiana University, and taught English and coached for 21 years at Lawrence Central High School near Indianapolis. He died on December 8, 2014, at 84.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 230 | 0 | 8 | 85 | 54 | 41 | 25 | 17 | 0 |
| SGC | 15 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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).
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Live auctions Buy It Now Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
More Washington Senators cards:
- #15 Jim Lemon
- #31 Tex Clevenger
- #44 Washington Senators Team
- #58 Art Schult
- #58B Art Schult (Yellow Team)
- #72 Bud Byerly
- #92 Clint Courtney
- #92B Clint Courtney (Yellow Name)
- #109 Herb Plews
- #124 Bob Usher
- #156 Dick Hyde
- #173 Eddie Yost
- #188 Milt Bolling
- #219 Camilo Pascual
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1958 Topps Russ Kemmerer card?
It is card #137 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 Russ Kemmerer, Washington Senators.
How many graded copies of the 1958 Topps Russ Kemmerer #137 are there?
PSA has graded 230 copies and SGC 15 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.