1958 Topps #287 Sam Jones
About Sam Jones
Sam Jones' 1958 Topps card, #287, sits in the fourth series of a 494-card set and pictures him with the St. Louis Cardinals. It reports his 1957 season there: 12-9 with a 3.60 ERA and 154 strikeouts in 182.2 innings over 28 games, 27 of them starts. The wild, curveball-throwing right-hander was about to lead the National League in strikeouts and walks in 1958.
Sam Jones was a rangy six-foot-four right-hander who threw hard, chewed a flat toothpick on the mound that made him Toothpick Sam, and snapped off a curveball Stan Musial called the best he ever saw. Born in Stewartsville, Ohio, and raised in the West Virginia coal country around Monongah, he came to the game late, pitched for the Oakland Larks in 1946 and then the Cleveland Buckeyes of the Negro American League, and reached the majors with the Cleveland Indians in September 1951. Wildness came bundled with the power: in 1955, 1956 and 1958 he led the National League in both strikeouts and walks. On May 12, 1955, with the Cubs, he no-hit Pittsburgh 4-0 at Wrigley Field to become the first African American to throw a major league no-hitter, and he did it the hard way, walking the bases loaded in the ninth before striking out Dick Groat, Roberto Clemente and Frank Thomas. His best year was 1959 in San Francisco: 21-15, a league-leading 2.83 ERA, a share of the NL lead in wins, and Pitcher of the Year honors from The Sporting News. He was an All-Star in 1955 and 1959 and pitched for six clubs through 1964. Neck cancer found in 1962 came back and took his life in 1971, at 45.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 228 | 0 | 10 | 79 | 73 | 37 | 15 | 14 | 0 |
| SGC | 15 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 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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Related cards
More St. Louis Cardinals cards:
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- #8B Eddie Kasko (Yellow Name)
- #24 Hobie Landrith
- #24B Hobie Landrith (Yellow Name)
- #53 Morrie Martin
- #53B Morrie Martin (Yellow Name)
- #60 Del Ennis
- #60B Del Ennis (Yellow Name)
- #65 Von McDaniel
- #65B Von McDaniel (Yellow Name)
- #97 Larry Jackson
- #97B Larry Jackson (Yellow Name)
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1958 Topps Sam Jones card?
It is card #287 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 Sam Jones, St. Louis Cardinals.
How many graded copies of the 1958 Topps Sam Jones #287 are there?
PSA has graded 228 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.