1961 Topps #416 Dick Howser
About Dick Howser
Topps placed Dick Howser at #416 in the fifth series, and this is his recognized rookie card, picturing the Kansas City Athletics' new shortstop. He started at short on Opening Day, was installed as team captain by Hank Bauer in June, and posted what stood as career highs in batting average (.280), doubles (29) and stolen bases (37) while scoring 108 runs, finishing second to Luis Aparicio for the American League stolen-base title. He led league shortstops in both putouts and errors, was named to the All-Star team and appeared in the first of that summer's two All-Star Games, finished second to Don Schwall in Rookie of the Year voting, and was picked as the league's best rookie by The Sporting News and to the Topps All-Rookie team.
Richard Dalton Howser was born in Miami on May 14, 1936 and grew up in West Palm Beach, where he finished at Palm Beach High School. A walk-on at Florida State University, he batted .422 as a sophomore in 1956 and in 1957 became the first consensus All-America selection from the state of Florida, repeating the honor in 1958. He signed with the Kansas City Athletics on June 13, 1958 and reached the majors on Opening Day 1961. Across eight seasons with the Athletics, Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees he played mostly shortstop, with stretches at second and third base, batting .248 with 617 hits, 165 RBIs and 105 stolen bases in 789 games. He hit and threw right-handed and was listed at 5-foot-8 and 155 pounds. Howser coached third base for the Yankees from 1969 through 1978 and managed a single Yankees game in 1978, spent 1979 as head coach at Florida State, then managed New York in 1980 and the Kansas City Royals from 1981 to 1986, winning the 1985 World Series. He died of brain cancer on June 17, 1987 at 51, and is a member of the College Baseball Hall of Fame and the Royals Hall of Fame.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 347 | 0 | 14 | 132 | 115 | 41 | 20 | 24 | 1 |
| SGC | 42 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 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 #416 card?
It is card #416 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Dick Howser of the Kansas City Athletics.
Is 1961 Topps #416 a rookie card?
Yes - #416 is the 1961 Topps rookie card of Dick Howser.
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.