1960 Topps #542 Ken Hamlin
About Ken Hamlin
Kenneth Lee Hamlin was a slick-fielding shortstop born May 18, 1935, in Detroit and signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent on June 3, 1957, debuting in the majors two weeks later. After brief trials with Pittsburgh in 1957 and 1959, he was dealt to the Kansas City Athletics that December in a multi-player trade headlined by pitcher Dick Hall and catcher Hal Smith. Hamlin claimed Kansas City's everyday shortstop job in 1960, starting 140 games for a last-place club and hitting .224 with 24 RBI, a workload that makes his No. 542 card, tucked into Topps' short-printed high-number series, a legitimate rookie issue. He later played for the Los Angeles Angels and twice for the Washington Senators, closing a seven-year career with a .241 average, 89 RBI, and a .963 fielding mark right at league average. After retiring, Hamlin founded and ran Tall Timbers, a baseball-focused sports camp in Climax, Michigan.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 357 | 0 | 14 | 149 | 108 | 59 | 24 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 19 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-08-20. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted. The Venezuelan issue, the 1960 Topps Tattoos and Bazooka are separate products and are not counted here.
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Related cards
Team card: #413 Kansas City Athletics
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1960 Topps #542 card?
It is card #542 of the 572-card 1960 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ken Hamlin.
Is 1960 Topps #542 a rookie card?
Yes - #542 is the 1960 Topps rookie card of Ken Hamlin.
Why is #542 harder to find?
It sits in the high-number series, #507-572, printed last and distributed late in the 1960 season when fewer packs were bought. Those 66 cards are the toughest run in the set and carry the twenty Sport Magazine All-Stars.
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 2026-10-13.