1961 Topps #16 Billy Muffett
About Billy Muffett
Card No. 16 sits in the first print series of Topps' 1961 set and carries Muffett as a Red Sox pitcher, a job he had just earned: called up from Minneapolis in late June 1960, he went 6-4 with a 3.24 ERA, four complete games and a shutout, and drew the start for Ted Williams' farewell on September 28, already out after seven innings when Williams homered in the eighth. Mike Higgins kept him for 1961, the only season Muffett spent in the majors from opening day to the finish: an arm kink in spring training, weight gained while idle, 38 games with 11 starts, a 3-11 record, a 5.67 ERA, and no win until June 4.
Billy Muffett was a right-handed pitcher from Hammond, Indiana, who reached the majors with the St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, and Boston Red Sox across parts of six seasons from 1957 to 1962. Signed in 1948 out of North Side High School in Fort Worth, Texas, he ground through the low minors for years, missed the 1952 and 1953 seasons to Army service during the Korean War, and pitched winter ball in Puerto Rico and Cuba before he stuck in the big leagues at 26. His best season was his first: as a 1957 Cardinals rookie reliever he went 3-2 with a 2.25 ERA and eight saves down the stretch of a pennant race, though that same September he served up the 12th-inning home run to Hank Aaron that clinched the flag for Milwaukee, a pitch Aaron called the greatest thrill of his career. Muffett finished 16-23 with a 4.33 ERA and 15 saves in 125 games. He then spent 18 seasons as a big-league pitching coach for the Cardinals, California Angels, and Detroit Tigers, earning a World Series ring with St. Louis in 1967 and drawing credit for developing Steve Carlton, Dick Hughes, and Nelson Briles.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 382 | 3 | 39 | 194 | 83 | 33 | 17 | 13 | 0 |
| SGC | 23 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 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: #373 Boston Red Sox Team
More Boston Red Sox cards:
- #33 Gary Geiger
- #53 Russ Nixon
- #69 Earl Wilson
- #81 Tracy Stallard
- #99 Don Buddin
- #113 Mike Fornieles
- #128 Rip Repulski
- #173 Beantown Bombers
- #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 #16 card?
It is card #16 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Billy Muffett of the Boston Red Sox.
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.