1958 Topps #338 Walt Dropo
About Walt Dropo
Walt Dropo's 1958 Topps card, #338, sits in the fourth series and pictures the 6-foot-5 first baseman with the Chicago White Sox. The season it reports, 1957, brought a .256 average with 13 home runs and 49 RBI in 93 games, a third straight dip from .281. It was also the year he wrestled Enos Slaughter at Comiskey Park after Doby slugged Yankees pitcher Art Ditmar.
Walt Dropo was a 6-foot-5, 220-pound first baseman out of Moosup, Connecticut, the son of Serbian parents who emigrated from Trebinje, in what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina. He played football, basketball and baseball at the University of Connecticut, left as the school's all-time leading basketball scorer, and lost three years to Army service in Europe during World War II. Drafted by the Chicago Bears and by the Providence Steamrollers, he turned both down and signed with the Boston Red Sox in 1947. After a .146 debut season in 1949 he broke through in 1950: a .322 average, 34 home runs, a league-best 326 total bases, and 144 RBIs that tied teammate Vern Stephens for the league lead, American League Rookie of the Year honors and a starting spot in the All-Star Game. He never approached that year again, but finished a 13-season career across five teams at .270 with 152 home runs and 704 RBIs. Traded to Detroit in June 1952, he tied the major league record with 12 hits in 12 straight plate appearances. Afterward he worked in insurance, real estate and the family fireworks business, and stayed close to his alma mater.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 231 | 1 | 11 | 85 | 82 | 27 | 14 | 11 | 0 |
| SGC | 13 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 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
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- #11B Jim Rivera (Yellow Team)
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- #50B Billy Pierce (Yellow Team)
- #56 Bill Fischer
- #85 Luis Aparicio
- #85B Luis Aparicio (Yellow Team)
- #100 Early Wynn
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1958 Topps Walt Dropo card?
It is card #338 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 Walt Dropo, Chicago White Sox.
How many graded copies of the 1958 Topps Walt Dropo #338 are there?
PSA has graded 231 copies and SGC 13 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.