1961 Topps #1 Dick Groat
About Dick Groat
Topps gave Groat card #1, the leadoff slot going to the reigning National League MVP: he had hit .325 in 1960, the first right-handed Pirate to win a batting title since Honus Wagner in 1911. Card #41 freezes that race, Groat over Norm Larker at .323, Willie Mays at .319 and Roberto Clemente at .314. Card #486, the award card in the MVP subset, is a series-six card.
Dick Groat came to the majors as one of the most decorated two-sport athletes in American sport: a two-time All-American at Duke in both basketball and baseball, national player of the year on the court in 1951-52, and a first-round NBA draft pick who gave the Fort Wayne Pistons one winter. He signed with Pittsburgh in June 1952 and went straight to the big leagues without a day in the minors, then spent two years in the Army before returning in 1955 as the Pirates' everyday shortstop. From 1956 through 1962 he and Bill Mazeroski gave Pittsburgh one of the game's most efficient double-play combinations. In 1960 Groat hit .325 to win the National League batting title, was voted Most Valuable Player, and helped beat the Yankees in the World Series; a trade in November 1962 sent him to St. Louis, where he finished second in the 1963 MVP vote and won a second championship in 1964. He closed with Philadelphia and San Francisco and retired after the 1967 season, a .286 hitter with 2,138 hits and eight All-Star Game appearances over fourteen seasons. The Pirates elected him to their team Hall of Fame in 2023, news that reached him nine days before his death at 92.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Retrosheet
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 843 | 3 | 31 | 222 | 217 | 196 | 90 | 83 | 1 |
| SGC | 111 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 38 | 21 | 18 | 20 | 2 |
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
More Dick Groat in this set: #41 League Leaders, #486 MVP
Team card: #554 Pittsburgh Pirates Team
More Pittsburgh Pirates cards:
- #22 Clem Labine
- #54 Earl Francis
- #70 Bill Virdon
- #82 Joe Christopher
- #100 Harvey Haddix
- #126 Dick Stuart
- #138 Danny Murtaugh
- #149 Bob Oldis
- #165 Gino Cimoli
- #181 Fred Green
- #204 Bob Skinner
- #230 Don Hoak
- #242 Hal W. Smith
- #250 Buc Hill Aces
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #1 card?
It is card #1 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Dick Groat of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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.