1961 Topps #287 Carl Yastrzemski
Topps gave this card its star-rookie designation, which is not the All-Star Rookie trophy cup: that cup went to players from the 1960 rookie class, and Yastrzemski did not play in the majors in 1960.
About Carl Yastrzemski
Card #287 is a fourth-series issue. His rookie card is 1960 Topps #148, printed while he was still with the Minneapolis Millers. What #287 is, is his first Topps card as a big leaguer, sold through the summer of a 21-year-old rookie season in which he inherited left field from the retiring Ted Williams and batted .266 with 11 home runs and 80 runs batted in. Topps marked him a star rookie here, a designation collectors are careful to keep apart from the All-Star Rookie trophy cup: that cup honored the 1960 rookie class, and Yastrzemski spent all of 1960 in the minors. Longtime Yaz collectors also point out that Topps reused his 1960 portrait on this front.
Carl Yastrzemski was born August 22, 1939, in Southampton, New York, and grew up on his father's Long Island potato farm before signing with the Boston Red Sox in 1958 as a Notre Dame freshman. He spent his entire 23-year career (1961-1983) with that one club, taking over left field from the retiring Ted Williams as a 21-year-old rookie and shifting later to first base and designated hitter. Nicknamed Yaz, he won three American League batting titles (1963, 1967, 1968), seven Gold Gloves and eighteen All-Star selections. His signature season came in 1967, when he took the Triple Crown by leading the league in average, home runs and runs batted in, and was voted American League Most Valuable Player one vote short of unanimously while carrying the Impossible Dream Red Sox to their first pennant since 1946. He finished with 3,419 hits and 452 home runs, the first American League player to reach both 3,000 hits and 400 homers, and he is still the Red Sox all-time leader in games, hits, runs, runs batted in, doubles and total bases. Yastrzemski was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989, his first year of eligibility, with 94.6 percent of the vote. His grandson Mike Yastrzemski later reached the majors as an outfielder.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 5,067 | 4 | 69 | 595 | 936 | 1,069 | 865 | 1,510 | 19 |
| SGC | 2,104 | 0 | 5 | 59 | 220 | 336 | 539 | 903 | 42 |
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 #287 card?
It is card #287 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox.
Is #287 Carl Yastrzemski's rookie card?
No. Yastrzemski's rookie card is 1960 Topps #148. #287 is his second-year card, and it wears the Rookie Star banner rather than the All-Star Rookie trophy cup because he had not played a major-league game in 1960.
What are the key cards in the 1961 Topps set?
The #300 Mickey Mantle is the grail of the set. The other major keys are #2 Roger Maris, #150 Willie Mays, #415 Hank Aaron, #344 Sandy Koufax, #388 Bob Clemente (printed "Bob" on the front), #287 Carl Yastrzemski (his second-year card), the #35 Ron Santo, #141 Billy Williams and #417 Juan Marichal rookie cards - all three Hall of Famers - and three more Mantle and Mays cards: #475 Mickey Mantle and #482 Willie Mays from the MVP subset and #578 Mickey Mantle from the Sporting News All-Stars. The 22 Sporting News All-Stars (#566-586 and #589) belong to the scarce seventh and last series (#523-589).
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.