1961 Topps #118 Chris Cannizzaro
About Chris Cannizzaro
Card #118 is Cannizzaro's recognized rookie card, a second-series issue printed while he was still Cardinals property. Behind it sits a seven-game, .222 trial in 1960: a team-leading .419 spring had persuaded manager Solly Hemus to keep the 21-year-old as St. Louis's fourth catcher over objections from the front office, and his first big-league hit, a single to center off Dodgers righty Ed Rakow, came five days after his debut. A run of three straight starts in late April ended with an ejection and a shove of the umpire, costing him a $50 fine and a two-game suspension, and he was in Triple-A Rochester within weeks. Six games in 1961 were all the Cardinals would add.
Christopher John Cannizzaro was a defense-first catcher who spent 13 major league seasons (1960-1974) with six clubs after the Cardinals signed him out of San Leandro High School in 1956. He debuted on April 17, 1960, facing Sandy Koufax in his first at-bat. Steady work came only through the league's two expansion clubs: the Mets took him 26th overall in the October 1961 expansion draft, and San Diego made him its everyday catcher in 1969. Cannizzaro caught the Padres' first game, a 2-1 win over Houston on April 8, 1969, and became the franchise's first All-Star. Never much of a hitter -- .235 with 18 home runs and 169 RBIs in 740 games -- he was prized for an arm that led the majors in caught-stealing percentage in 1962 and again in 1965. Casey Stengel called him "Canzoneri," apparently thinking of the 1930s boxer Tony Canzoneri. He later caught for the Cubs and Dodgers, coached Atlanta's bullpen from 1976 to 1978, then managed in the Angels' Class A chain. He died in San Diego on December 29, 2016.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2) · Baseball Almanac (3)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 383 | 1 | 13 | 134 | 150 | 55 | 17 | 13 | 0 |
| SGC | 17 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 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: #347 St. Louis Cardinals Team
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- #52 George Crowe
- #64 Alex Grammas
- #75 Lindy Shows Larry
- #91 Walt Moryn
- #127 Ron Kline
- #139 Solly Hemus
- #148 Julian Javier
- #178 Bob Nieman
- #198 Carl Sawatski
- #211 Bob Gibson
- #232 Bill White
- #241 Al Cicotte
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #118 card?
It is card #118 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Chris Cannizzaro of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Is 1961 Topps #118 a rookie card?
Yes - #118 is the 1961 Topps rookie card of Chris Cannizzaro.
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.