1961 Topps #121 Eli Grba
About Eli Grba
Opening day at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore on April 11, 1961 belonged to Grba, who went the distance on six hits while Ted Kluszewski homered in the first and second innings, and the new club won 7-2. He worked 211.2 innings across 40 outings for a team that played its only season at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, going 11-13 with eight complete games, a 4.25 ERA and 105 strikeouts. Card #121 is a second-series issue picturing him with the Angels.
Eli Grba was a right-handed pitcher born August 9, 1934 in Chicago to Serbian immigrants Joseph and Eva Grba. His father left early and his mother raised him alone, waiting tables by day and working a factory shift at night. He starred in three sports at Bowen High School on the South Side, and after graduating in 1952 he signed with the Boston Red Sox, who had scouted him through Chuck Koney. Boston sent him to the New York Yankees in March 1957, trading him with outfielder Gordon Windhorn for Bill Renna, and the Army took the next two years before he reached the majors on July 10, 1959. He pitched for New York in 1959 and 1960 and got into one game of the 1960 World Series as a pinch runner. Left unprotected that winter, he became the first player ever chosen in a major league expansion draft when the Los Angeles Angels called his name, and he started the first game in Angels history. He pitched for Los Angeles through 1963, then wound down in the minors with a 1966 stop in the Mexican League, and later scouted, coached and managed in the minors until 1997. He finished 28-33 with a 4.48 ERA, and died January 14, 2019.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 297 | 0 | 10 | 132 | 99 | 36 | 11 | 9 | 0 |
| SGC | 16 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 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.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Shop 1961 Topps cards Live auctions Buy It Now on eBay Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
More Los Angeles Angels cards:
- #65 Ted Kluszewski
- #156 Ken Hunt
- #163 Ed Sadowski
- #176 Ken Aspromonte
- #184 Steve Bilko
- #195 Jerry Casale
- #209 Ken McBride
- #216 Ted Bowsfield
- #225 Bill Rigney
- #246 Bob Davis
- #263 Ken Hamlin
- #272 Tom Morgan
- #282 Faye Throneberry
- #288 Albie Pearson
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #121 card?
It is card #121 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Eli Grba of the Los Angeles Angels.
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.