1961 Topps #80 Harmon Killebrew
About Harmon Killebrew
Card 80 is Killebrew's first Topps card as a Minnesota Twin, a first-series number issued as the relocated Washington club opened play in the Twin Cities. It is a plain low number. His rookie card is his 1955 Topps issue. He arrived off a 1960 season in Washington interrupted by a recurring hamstring injury, 31 home runs in 124 games, and he left behind a club that had finished in the American League's second division every year he played for it. Manager Cookie Lavagetto named him team captain for the move. Collectors treat 80 as one of the key cards in the set.
Harmon Killebrew signed with the Washington Senators out of Payette, Idaho in 1954, a bonus baby whose contract kept the seventeen-year-old on the big-league roster for two full seasons. He broke through in 1959, tying Rocky Colavito for the American League home run lead with 42, and when the franchise moved to Minnesota for 1961 he became the middle of the Twins order for the next decade, shifting between first base, third base and left field as needed. A compact, quiet-tempered slugger built for pure power, he led the American League in home runs six times and in runs batted in three times, reached 40 homers in eight different seasons, and hit 393 home runs during the 1960s, more than any other player in the decade. His finest year was 1969: 49 home runs, 140 RBIs, the American League Most Valuable Player award and the Twins' first AL West title. He reached the World Series once, in 1965, a seven-game loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was known as the Killer, though by every account a gentle man off the field. He finished with Kansas City in 1975, retiring with 573 home runs, fifth on the career list at the time, and the Twins retired his No. 3. Cooperstown elected him in 1984, the first Twin so honored.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 1,715 | 1 | 28 | 277 | 418 | 359 | 273 | 351 | 8 |
| SGC | 448 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 63 | 94 | 120 | 150 | 7 |
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
Team card: #542 Minnesota Twins Team
More Minnesota Twins cards:
- #4 Lenny Green
- #21 Zorro Versalles
- #36 Jack Kralick
- #63 Jim Kaat
- #92 Hal Naragon
- #108 Dan Dobbek
- #123 Billy Gardner
- #153 Don Lee
- #186 Elmer Valo
- #201 Pete Whisenant
- #226 Harry Lavagetto
- #235 Camilo Pascual
- #254 Ted Sadowski
- #289 Ray Moore
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #80 card?
It is card #80 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Harmon Killebrew 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.