1961 Topps #283 Bob Anderson
About Bob Anderson
The first College of Coaches season turned Anderson into a swingman: he made just 12 starts among 57 appearances for the Cubs, won only three games as a starter, and wound up 7-10 with eight saves and a 4.26 ERA over 152 innings, with 96 strikeouts and a single complete game. He saved three games in the first week of July, then blew five of his next six chances, and a twinge in his shoulder while pitching to Roberto Clemente on August 28 took the steam off his fastball for good. His 1961 Topps card is #283, a third-series Cubs card.
Robert Carl Anderson (1935-2015) was a 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher, born in East Chicago, Indiana and raised in Hammond, where the Hammond High School fireballer picked up the nickname the Hammond Hummer. He signed with the Chicago Cubs in July 1954 for $4,000, was the Pacific Coast League's Rookie of the Year in 1956 after a league-record 70 relief appearances for the champion Los Angeles Angels, and debuted for the Cubs on July 31, 1957. Handed the rotation in 1959, he started on Opening Day in both 1959 and 1960 and threw his only big-league shutout, a six-hit 3-0 win over Milwaukee, on August 24, 1959. He was also the Cubs pitcher in the June 30, 1959 game at Wrigley Field in which two baseballs wound up in play against the Cardinals. Shoulder trouble moved him to the bullpen in 1961, and Chicago traded him to Detroit in February 1963. He finished 36-46 with a 4.26 ERA and 502 strikeouts in 246 games, went to Kansas City that November in the Rocky Colavito trade, and spent 1964 in the minors before leaving the game.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 365 | 2 | 37 | 215 | 77 | 25 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 18 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
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
- #302 Al Heist
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #283 card?
It is card #283 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bob Anderson of the Chicago Cubs.
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.