1960 Topps #187 Jay Hook
About Jay Hook
James Wesley Hook was born November 18, 1936, in Waukegan, Illinois, and grew up in nearby Grayslake. A bonus baby out of Northwestern University, he signed with the Cincinnati Redlegs in 1957 and debuted that September, skipping the minors under baseball's bonus rule. Hook's 1960 Topps card, #187, captures his breakout year: he joined Cincinnati's rotation full-time and went 11-18 with two shutouts, including a September gem that slowed Milwaukee's pennant push, and is recognized today as a rookie card. Casey Stengel later nicknamed him "Professor" for his engineering studies at Northwestern during offseasons. Sidelined much of 1961 by the mumps, Hook still earned an NL championship ring with the Reds, watching that year's World Series from the dugout. Selected by the expansion Mets in 1961, he threw the first victory in franchise history on April 23, 1962, a complete-game 9-1 win over Pittsburgh. He finished 29-62 with a 5.23 ERA over eight seasons, later earning a master's in thermodynamics and building a career in industry.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 329 | 0 | 8 | 107 | 128 | 52 | 22 | 12 | 0 |
| SGC | 14 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-08-20. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8), and PSA's qualified grades are counted separately from the straight-grade rows shown here. The Venezuelan issue, the 1960 Topps Tattoos and Bazooka are separate products and are not counted here.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1960 Topps #187 card?
It is card #187 of the 572-card 1960 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jay Hook.
Is 1960 Topps #187 a rookie card?
Yes - #187 is the 1960 Topps rookie card of Jay Hook.
What is the 1960 Topps Venezuelan version?
Topps licensed a parallel printing for the Venezuelan market covering roughly the first 196 cards. It is a separate issue on thinner stock with Spanish text on the back, collected on its own and not part of finishing this 572-card set.
How many cards are in the 1960 Topps Baseball set?
572 cards, numbered 1-572, issued in seven series - the last Topps flagship printed entirely horizontally. Cards #375-440 exist on two back stocks, white and gray, which collectors chasing every printed variety count as 638 pieces of cardboard in all.
Sources: Trading Card Database, Cardboard Connection, the PSA price guide, Baseball-Reference, the SABR BioProject and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, PSA & SGC population reports. Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-08-20.