1960 Topps #491 Mel Roach
About Mel Roach
One of the era's costliest "bonus babies," Mel Roach signed with the Milwaukee Braves for $40,000 out of the University of Virginia in July 1953, then spent two years frozen to the big-league bench under baseball's bonus rule before a hitch in the Navy (1955-56) delayed him further. Recalled in 1957, he drew a one-third share of the World Series purse after the champion Braves beat the Yankees, despite batting just seven times all year. In 1958 he was hitting .313 and playing the best ball of his career when the Giants' Daryl Spencer slid hard into him at second base, tearing knee ligaments that doctors feared would end things at 25. Roach battled back to hit .300 in 1960, the season pictured on this card, but knee trouble limited him to utility duty with the Cubs and Phillies before he retired after 1962. He finished with a .238 average, seven homers and 43 RBIs over 227 games in eight big-league seasons.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 360 | 0 | 5 | 78 | 162 | 78 | 23 | 14 | 0 |
| SGC | 19 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 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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Related cards
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- #90 Bobby Avila
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1960 Topps #491 card?
It is card #491 of the 572-card 1960 Topps Baseball set, picturing Mel Roach.
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.