1961 Topps #414 Dick Donovan
About Dick Donovan
Donovan's 1961 Topps card sums up a rocky 1960 with the White Sox: a 6-1 record that flattered him, built on only eight starts and a lot of bullpen work behind a 5.38 ERA. Chicago left him unprotected that winter, and the new Washington club claimed him in the expansion draft for $75,000. Card #414 lands in the fifth series, his first Topps card in a Senators uniform. He repaid the outlay by leading the American League with a 2.40 ERA, a career best, while going 10-10 for a 61-100 last-place team. He was also Washington's only man on the All-Star squad, his first selection since 1955, and this time he got into the game, throwing two scoreless innings at Candlestick Park.
Richard Edward Donovan was born December 7, 1927, in Boston, Massachusetts, and was signed by the Boston Braves out of North Quincy High School, then served three years in the U.S. Navy before turning pro in 1947. He never won a game for the Braves or the Tigers. The turn came in the minors at Atlanta, where Whitlow Wyatt taught him a slider; going there, Donovan said, was the best thing that ever happened to him. The right-hander pitched in the majors from 1950 to 1965 for the Braves, Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators and Cleveland Indians, and was an All-Star in 1955, 1961 and 1962 - five selections, because each of those last two seasons staged two All-Star Games. He saved Game Five of the 1959 World Series for Chicago, led the American League with a 2.40 ERA for the 1961 expansion Senators, and won 20 games for Cleveland in 1962. He finished 122-99 with a 3.67 ERA and, unusually for a pitcher, 15 home runs. Later a stockbroker and real-estate appraiser, he died of cancer on January 6, 1997, in Weymouth, Massachusetts.
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 | 370 | 1 | 25 | 176 | 115 | 37 | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 19 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #414 card?
It is card #414 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Dick Donovan of the Washington Senators.
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.