1961 Topps #36 Jack Kralick
About Jack Kralick
Card #36 is Kralick's rookie card, a first-series issue that lists him with the brand-new Minnesota Twins while the back sums up 1960 with the outgoing Washington Senators. Injuries thinned that Washington rotation in June and pushed him into it: he went 10 innings for a complete-game win at Baltimore on June 27, then four-hit the Red Sox at Fenway Park on July 6, the first shutout a left-hander had thrown there against Boston since Herb Score in 1955. He finished 8-6, 3.04, over 151 innings.
John Francis Kralick, the left-hander known as "Jittery Jack" for the way he tugged at his hat and belt and wiped his hand on his shirt between pitches, worked nine major-league seasons from 1959 to 1967 for the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins and the Cleveland Indians. The White Sox took him off the Michigan State roster in 1954 and released him in 1958; Washington signed him next, and he debuted at Fenway Park on April 15, 1959. He was an original Minnesota Twin in 1961, and in August 1962 he threw a no-hitter that came within two outs of a perfect game. Cleveland gave up Jim Perry to get him in May 1963, and a year later he made the American League All-Star squad. A May 1967 car crash on Cleveland's Memorial Shoreway, hours after the Indians sold his contract to the Mets, left him with a concussion and double vision that had still not cleared the following spring, when he retired at 67-65, 3.56 in 235 games. He coached college summer ball in Alaska in the 1970s, then settled in the Mexican fishing village of San Blas, where he died in 2012.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 376 | 7 | 56 | 200 | 76 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 1 |
| SGC | 14 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 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.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #36 card?
It is card #36 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jack Kralick of the Minnesota Twins.
Is 1961 Topps #36 a rookie card?
Yes - #36 is the 1961 Topps rookie card of Jack Kralick.
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.