1961 Topps #449 Bobby Bolin
About Bobby Bolin
Card #449 is Bolin's Topps rookie card, from the set's sixth series, printed under the 'Bobby Bolin' name. He had broken camp with San Francisco that spring and debuted on April 18 against the Reds, working two innings in a 9-1 loss and striking out Frank Robinson, the league's MVP that season, for his first big-league strikeout. Almost all of the year came in relief: he made exactly one start, a four-inning no-decision against the Phillies on July 28, and finished 2-2 with a 3.19 ERA and five saves in 37 games. As he told it later, he was classified as neither starter nor reliever and mostly sat on a tarp between the bullpen and the dugout.
Bob Bolin grew up on the family farm near Smyrna, South Carolina, pulled for the Dodgers as a boy, and threw four straight no-hitters as a high school senior. A Pittsburgh contract pressed on him by Branch Rickey was voided by the commissioner, and Giants scout Tim Murchison won him over by listing the young arms already stacked up on the Dodger staff. Bolin signed with the New York Giants in November 1956 at seventeen. The 6-foot-4 right-hander threw two more no-hitters in the minors, in 1957 and 1959, and Eugene manager Roy Partee's switch to a sidearm delivery tightened his control before he reached the majors on April 18, 1961. He spent 1961 through 1969 with San Francisco, swinging between rotation and bullpen, and worked two games of the 1962 World Series. His best year was 1968, when he went 10-5 with a 1.99 ERA, second in the National League behind only Bob Gibson's 1.12. Traded to the Seattle Pilots that December, he pitched for the club once it became the Milwaukee Brewers, then finished in Boston from 1970 to 1973 with a career-high 15 saves in his last season. He retired 88-75 with a 3.40 ERA and 1,175 strikeouts in 495 games, was later named to the Giants' Wall of Fame, and died in 2023 at 84.
Sources: SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 302 | 1 | 26 | 139 | 81 | 26 | 15 | 14 | 0 |
| SGC | 19 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #449 card?
It is card #449 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bobby Bolin of the San Francisco Giants.
Is 1961 Topps #449 a rookie card?
Yes - #449 is the 1961 Topps rookie card of Bobby Bolin.
Why is #449 harder to find?
It is from the sixth print series (cards 447-522) - noticeably tougher than the first five, easier than the true highs.
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.