1961 Topps #302 Al Heist
About Al Heist
Card 302 sits in the fourth series, and collectors count it as his rookie card. Chicago had given him 41 games in center after the July 1960 deal, and he hit .275 in 102 at-bats. In 1961 he was the everyday man out there, starting 82 of the Cubs' 154 games in center, 26 more than the club's former regular, Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn. On April 15 of that year he ended a game at Wrigley Field with a ninth-inning grand slam that beat Milwaukee 9-5, and he closed the season at .255 with seven home runs and 37 RBI in 109 games.
Alfred Michael Heist was born October 5, 1927, in Brooklyn, New York, and signed with the St. Louis Browns organization in 1949. A product of Brooklyn's Automotive Trades High School, he became the first graduate of that school to reach the majors. He piled up 1,429 minor league games from 1949 through 1959, the long back half of them with the Pacific Coast League's Sacramento Solons, who acquired him in 1955. The Milwaukee Braves traded him to the Chicago Cubs for Earl Averill and $35,000 on July 15, 1960, and two days later he debuted at 32, starting in center field against the St. Louis Cardinals and singling in the seventh for his first big league hit. A right-handed thrower and hitter at 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, he played 177 games for the Cubs and the expansion Houston Colt .45's, batting .255 with 126 hits, eight home runs and 46 RBI. He coached for the Houston Astros under Grady Hatton in 1966 and 1967, scouted for the Astros, Cubs, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants, and put a uniform back on as a Padres coach under Jerry Coleman in 1980. He died October 2, 2006, in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, three days short of 79.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 282 | 0 | 7 | 109 | 111 | 30 | 14 | 11 | 0 |
| SGC | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-09-04. PSA counts are straight grades only; PSA half grades (PSA 1.5 among them) and qualified slabs are not included. SGC half grades fold down (8.5→8). Slabs of the two cards printed #463 are joined by description, never by number alone.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Shop 1961 Topps cards Live auctions Buy It Now on eBay Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
Team card: #122 Chicago Cubs Team
More Chicago Cubs cards:
- #12 Moe Thacker
- #27 Jerry Kindall
- #35 Ron Santo
- #58 Joe Schaffernoth
- #88 Richie Ashburn
- #107 Seth Morehead
- #141 Billy Williams
- #169 Don Elston
- #196 Ed Bouchee
- #214 Danny Murphy
- #231 Dick Drott
- #253 Sammy Taylor
- #264 Glen Hobbie
- #283 Bob Anderson
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #302 card?
It is card #302 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Al Heist of the Chicago Cubs.
Is 1961 Topps #302 a rookie card?
Yes - #302 is the 1961 Topps rookie card of Al Heist.
How many cards are in the 1961 Topps Baseball set?
587 cards, tracked as 596 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 589, but #426, #587 and #588 were never issued and two different cards were printed #463 - Jack Fisher and the Milwaukee Braves Team card, catalogued 463b - and eight cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, The Topps Archives, 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 2026-10-05.