1961 Topps #445 Frank Malzone
About Frank Malzone
An ankle injury cost Malzone most of the opening week of 1961, and he still got into 151 games, batting .266 with 14 home runs and 87 RBIs -- seven more runs driven in than any other Red Sox hitter, rookie Carl Yastrzemski included. Malzone took Yastrzemski under his wing that season, and he led American League third basemen in double plays for a fifth straight year, tying the record Ken Keltner held. Two Topps cards carry the year. Number 173, a second-series card, he shares with Boston teammates Jackie Jensen and Vic Wertz; number 445, from the fifth series, is his own.
Frank Malzone was born in the Bronx on February 28, 1930, the son of an Italian immigrant father from Salerno and an American-born mother. A New York Giants tryout told him he was too small, but Red Sox bird-dog scout Cy Phillips pushed his name up the chain, and Malzone signed out of Samuel Gompers High School to become its first graduate to reach the majors. Six minor-league seasons across eight years, interrupted by a dislocated ankle that cost him nearly all of 1950 and by two years in the Army, ended with his Boston debut on September 17, 1955. He took over third base in 1957, hit .292 with 103 RBIs, and won the inaugural Gold Glove at the position, the first of three straight. Eight All-Star selections followed, and he led American League third basemen in double plays five years running, tying Ken Keltner's record. Malzone batted .274 with 133 home runs and 728 RBIs in 1,441 games, closed his playing days with the 1966 California Angels, then scouted for Boston for 28 years. The Red Sox named him to the inaugural class of their own Hall of Fame in 1995. He died in Needham, Massachusetts, on December 29, 2015.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 379 | 0 | 22 | 144 | 138 | 49 | 14 | 12 | 0 |
| SGC | 20 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 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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Related cards
More Frank Malzone in this set: #173 Beantown Bombers
Team card: #373 Boston Red Sox Team
More Boston Red Sox cards:
- #16 Billy Muffett
- #33 Gary Geiger
- #53 Russ Nixon
- #69 Earl Wilson
- #81 Tracy Stallard
- #99 Don Buddin
- #113 Mike Fornieles
- #128 Rip Repulski
- #173 Beantown Bombers
- #193 Gene Conley
- #210 Pete Runnels
- #221 Mike Higgins
- #236 Don Gile
- #257 Carroll Hardy
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #445 card?
It is card #445 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Frank Malzone of the Boston Red Sox.
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.