1961 Topps #101 Bubba Phillips
About Bubba Phillips
Card 101, from Topps' first series of 1961, has Phillips with the Cleveland Indians after a rough first year in his new uniform: he batted .207 in 1960, the lowest mark of his career, and lost playing time at third base to Ken Aspromonte. The season that followed was the best of his life. Phillips played all 143 of his games at third, led American League third basemen with 18 home runs, drove in 72 runs, and hit the only two grand slams of his career, off Milt Pappas in April and Frank Baumann in August. He topped the league's third basemen in putouts as well, with 188. His .408 slugging percentage was the one time he cleared .400.
John Melvin "Bubba" Phillips was a third baseman and outfielder, born in West Point, Mississippi on February 24, 1928, who spent ten seasons in the majors from 1955 through 1964 with the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, and Cleveland Indians. A football standout at Macon High School and a team captain and Little All-America running back at Mississippi Southern College, he chose baseball over a professional football future with the San Francisco 49ers and signed with the Detroit organization in 1948, then spent 1953 and 1954 in the Army before reaching the big leagues in 1955. After early years as a reserve outfielder, he moved to third base with the White Sox in 1957 and stayed at the position, helping Chicago win the 1959 American League pennant and going 3-for-10 in a six-game World Series loss to the Dodgers. Traded to Cleveland that December, he had his best year in 1961, leading American League third basemen with 18 home runs. He closed out his career back in Detroit in 1963 and 1964 and retired with a .255 average, 62 home runs, and 356 RBIs in 1,062 games. Mississippi elected him to its Sports Hall of Fame in 1972.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 251 | 1 | 24 | 119 | 75 | 15 | 11 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 9 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 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: #467 Cleveland Indians Team
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- #155 Johnny Temple
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- #222 Jimmie Dykes
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #101 card?
It is card #101 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bubba Phillips of the Cleveland Indians.
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.