1961 Topps #581 Frank Robinson
About this card
Cards #566-586 and #589 are the 22 Sporting News All-Stars, printed in the scarce seventh series - the toughest run in the set.
About Frank Robinson
All three of Robinson's 1961 cards look back at a 1960 line of .297 with 31 home runs and 83 RBI in 139 games, a season he led the major leagues in slugging at .595. Card #25, "Reds' Heavy Artillery," stands him beside Cincinnati mates Gus Bell and Vada Pinson; #360 is his own fourth-series card; and #581, a Sporting News All-Star, comes from the seventh series, believed to be the scarcest high-number run Topps ever released.
Frank Robinson reached the majors with the Cincinnati Redlegs on April 17, 1956, at age 20, and his 38 home runs that summer tied Wally Berger's 1930 rookie record and carried him to National League Rookie of the Year. He became Cincinnati's franchise player, driving the Reds to the 1961 pennant and winning that year's National League Most Valuable Player award. Reds owner Bill DeWitt, calling him "an old 30," traded him to Baltimore on December 9, 1965 for pitchers Milt Pappas and Jack Baldschun and outfielder Dick Simpson, a deal that became shorthand for a one-sided trade. Robinson answered with the 1966 American League Triple Crown, a unanimous MVP award that made him the first man honored in both leagues, and a World Series MVP as the Orioles swept the Dodgers. Three more pennants and a second title followed by 1971. A 14-time All-Star who curled his body over the plate and slid in spikes first, he was nicknamed "the Judge" for presiding over Baltimore's clubhouse kangaroo court, and left the game after 21 seasons with 586 home runs and 2,943 hits. In 1975 he became the majors' first Black manager, with Cleveland, and entered the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 1,318 | 1 | 52 | 387 | 343 | 244 | 147 | 143 | 1 |
| SGC | 318 | 0 | 3 | 41 | 75 | 66 | 64 | 66 | 3 |
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 Robinson in this set: #25 Reds' Heavy Artillery, #360
Team card: #249 Cincinnati Reds Team
More Cincinnati Reds cards:
- #9 Bob Purkey
- #25 Reds' Heavy Artillery
- #66 Bill Henry
- #76 Harry Anderson
- #97 Jerry Lynch
- #110 Vada Pinson
- #135 Fred Hutchinson
- #162 Jay Hook
- #166 Danny Kravitz
- #175 Gene Freese
- #194 Gordy Coleman
- #215 Gus Bell
- #233 Joe Jay
- #244 Chico Cardenas
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #581 card?
It is card #581 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Frank Robinson of the Cincinnati Reds. Cards #566-586 and #589 are the 22 Sporting News All-Stars, printed in the scarce seventh series - the toughest run in the set.
Why is #581 harder to find?
It is a high number card (cards 523-589) from the seventh and last print series - the scarce end of the set, including the 22 Sporting News All-Stars.
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.