1961 Topps #173 Beantown Bombers - Jackie Jensen / Frank Malzone / Vic Wertz
On this card: Jackie Jensen, Frank Malzone, Vic Wertz
About this card
This is one of the eleven combo cards in the 1961 Topps set, each pairing two or three players under a headline rather than giving one man his own card.
The story on this card
Card #173 is a combination card, a horizontal panel Topps titled Beantown Bombers - Beantown for Boston, bombers for the three Red Sox bats sharing the front: Jackie Jensen, Frank Malzone and Vic Wertz. The grouping suited the spring of 1961. Ted Williams had just played his last season, Wertz had led the 1960 club with 103 runs batted in with Malzone second at 79, and Jensen, who missed all of 1960, was on his way back to right field. The card belongs to series 2.
A two-sport All-American at Cal, Jensen became Boston's right fielder, a three-time AL RBI leader, and the 1958 American League Most Valuable Player before a fear of flying pushed him into early retirement. Frank Malzone won the first Gold Glove ever awarded at third base, made eight All-Star teams, and anchored the Red Sox infield for eleven seasons before a final year with the California Angels. Vic Wertz hit 266 home runs across seventeen seasons, made four All-Star teams, and came back from polio to win Comeback Player of the Year, yet the swing he is remembered for is the one Willie Mays caught.
Sources: Wikipedia (Jackie Jensen) · Wikipedia (Vic Wertz) · Wikipedia (Frank Malzone) · SABR BioProject (Jackie Jensen) · SABR BioProject (Frank Malzone) · SABR BioProject (Vic Wertz) · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2) · Baseball Almanac (Vic Wertz) · Baseball Almanac (Jackie Jensen) · Baseball Almanac (Frank Malzone)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 483 | 1 | 11 | 154 | 161 | 86 | 37 | 29 | 4 |
| SGC | 35 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 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.
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Related cards
Team card: #373 Boston Red Sox Team
More Boston Red Sox cards:
- #16 Billy Muffett
- #33 Gary Geiger
- #53 Russ Nixon
- #69 Earl Wilson
- #81 Tracy Stallard
- #99 Don Buddin
- #113 Mike Fornieles
- #128 Rip Repulski
- #193 Gene Conley
- #210 Pete Runnels
- #221 Mike Higgins
- #236 Don Gile
- #257 Carroll Hardy
- #268 Ike DeLock
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #173 card?
It is card #173 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jackie Jensen, Frank Malzone and Vic Wertz. This is one of the eleven combo cards in the 1961 Topps set, each pairing two or three players under a headline rather than giving one man his own card.
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.