1961 Topps #123 Billy Gardner
About Billy Gardner
On card #123, from the set's second series, Topps lists Gardner with the Minnesota Twins: the Washington club he had captained in 1960, when he played 145 games and drove in a career-high 56 runs, had just moved to Minnesota. He opened 1961 as the everyday second baseman, starting all 41 of his games at the position and adding two at third, but hit only .234 across 45 games before Minnesota shipped him to the Yankees on June 14 for pitcher Danny McDevitt. This was his eighth big-league season, and #123 sits well inside the set.
William Frederick Gardner, a Connecticut-born infielder nicknamed Shotgun for his strong throwing arm, reached the majors with the New York Giants on April 22, 1954 and collected a World Series ring that fall without appearing in the sweep of Cleveland. The Giants sold his contract to Baltimore for $20,000 in April 1956, and he became the Orioles regular second baseman for four straight seasons. His career year was 1957: he led the American League in doubles with 36, at-bats with 644 and plate appearances with 718, hit .262, played all 154 games, and led American League second basemen in fielding percentage at .987. Washington acquired him for 1960, he moved with that franchise to Minnesota, and a 1961 trade landed him with the Yankees, where he picked up a second championship as a utility infielder. A 1962 deal sent him to Boston, where his ten-year playing career ended. He spent decades afterward as a minor- and major-league coach and manager, piloting the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals in the 1980s, and died in Connecticut in January 2024 at the age of 96.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 331 | 0 | 7 | 115 | 134 | 53 | 13 | 9 | 0 |
| SGC | 13 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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: #542 Minnesota Twins Team
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- #63 Jim Kaat
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- #92 Hal Naragon
- #108 Dan Dobbek
- #153 Don Lee
- #186 Elmer Valo
- #201 Pete Whisenant
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #123 card?
It is card #123 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Billy Gardner of the Minnesota Twins.
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.