1961 Topps #333 Fritz Brickell
About Fritz Brickell
Card #333 sits in the fourth series, a plain mid-run number, and it is his recognized rookie card. Topps still has him as a Yankee, but that was out of date before a pitch was thrown: New York traded him to the expansion Los Angeles Angels for pitcher Duke Maas on April 4, 1961, a week before Opening Day. He had spent 1960 at Triple-A Richmond after two short Yankee looks in 1958 and 1959. On April 11 at Baltimore he was the first shortstop in Angels history, going 1-for-4 in a 7-2 shocker over the Orioles, though two errors on one play in the second inning were the first two errors the franchise ever made.
Fritz Brickell was a 5-foot-5 shortstop from Wichita, Kansas, the son of Fred Brickell, a Pirates and Phillies outfielder from 1926 to 1933. Yankees scout Tom Greenwade signed him out of Wichita East High in 1953, and he spent eight years in the New York farm system. Ralph Houk praised his hands and said nobody started the double play better from the third base-shortstop hole, but Baseball Digest scouting reports kept warning that his bat would not hold up in the majors. His Yankee trials were brief: two games as a defensive replacement in 1958, then 18 games in 1959, when his ten hits included his only big-league home run, off Tom Morgan in Detroit in July. Traded to the expansion Los Angeles Angels a week before Opening Day 1961, he started the franchise's first seven games, batted .122, and was sold to Triple-A Toronto in late May. He hit .307 there, played a final minor league season in 1962, and went into the sporting goods business in Wichita. Cancer was diagnosed after he played semipro ball in 1964; a 1965 Wichita benefit night drew a Mickey Mantle home run exhibition, and Brickell died that October 15 at 30. The Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame elected him in 1976, joining his father.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 415 | 0 | 42 | 203 | 109 | 41 | 11 | 9 | 0 |
| SGC | 29 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 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
Team card: #228 New York Yankees Team
More New York Yankees cards:
- #2 Roger Maris
- #19 Cletis Boyer
- #28 Hector Lopez
- #40 Bob Turley
- #68 Deron Johnson
- #104 John Blanchard
- #116 Joe DeMaestri
- #133 Ralph Houk
- #142 Luis Arroyo
- #160 Whitey Ford
- #180 Bobby Richardson
- #213 Bill Stafford
- #252 Bill Short
- #265 Tony Kubek
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #333 card?
It is card #333 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Fritz Brickell of the New York Yankees.
Is 1961 Topps #333 a rookie card?
Yes - #333 is the 1961 Topps rookie card of Fritz Brickell.
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.