1961 Topps #186 Elmer Valo
About Elmer Valo
Card 186 in the second series shows Valo with the Minnesota Twins, the club that carried the old Washington Senators roster north for 1961 - his third franchise move, after Philadelphia to Kansas City and Brooklyn to Los Angeles. His 1940 debut was long behind him. He came into the year off a 1960 that set major-league pinch-hitting season records for games, walks and times on base. Minnesota used him in 33 games, almost all off the bench, and he went 5-for-32 before being sold to the Phillies in time for their 23-game losing streak. He played his last big-league game on October 1, 1961.
Elmer Valo, born Imrich Valo in Rybnik, Czechoslovakia, came to the United States with his family at age six and reached the majors with the Philadelphia Athletics on September 22, 1940, at nineteen. Left-handed at the plate, he gave the Philadelphia A's thirteen seasons, with Army service costing him 1944 and 1945, then moved with the club to Kansas City for 1955. Later stops took him to the Phillies, Dodgers, Indians, Yankees and the Senators, the franchise that relocated to Minnesota for 1961, and he closed out twenty big-league seasons back in Philadelphia. Valo hit .300 or better five times, peaked at .364 in 1955, and cleared a .400 on-base percentage in eight of the ten seasons from 1946 through 1955, finishing at .282 with 601 runs batted in. A fearless right fielder who crashed into outfield walls, he became a superb pinch-hitter late on, setting 1960 major-league pinch-hitting season records for games, walks and times on base plus a career mark of 91 pinch-hit walks. He hit for the cycle on August 2, 1950, and on May 1, 1949 became the first big leaguer to hit two bases-loaded triples in a game. He later coached for Cleveland and scouted for the Phillies, and he is honored on the Philadelphia Baseball Wall 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 | 328 | 3 | 14 | 133 | 114 | 40 | 16 | 8 | 0 |
| SGC | 12 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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 #186 card?
It is card #186 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Elmer Valo of the Minnesota Twins.
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.