1961 Topps #514 Jake Wood
About Jake Wood
1961 Topps #514 is Jake Wood's rookie card, from the set's sixth series. Wood won Detroit's second-base job, started Opening Day hitting leadoff and drove a two-run homer off Jim Perry in the seventh, then played all 162 games. He batted .258 with 96 runs, 171 hits, a league-best 14 triples, 11 home runs, 69 RBI and a career-high 30 steals. His 141 strikeouts led the league too, a record at the time, and Topps picked him for its All-Star Rookie Team.
Jake Wood was a speedy second baseman who broke in with the Detroit Tigers on Opening Day 1961, hitting leadoff and belting a two-run homer off Jim Perry in the seventh inning of his first game. Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and signed by the Tigers in 1957 after one season at Delaware State, he was the first African-American player to work his way up through Detroit's own farm system and hold down a regular big-league job. Wood was the Tigers' primary second baseman from 1961 through 1963, finishing third in the American League in stolen bases in all three of those years and pacing the league in triples and strikeouts as a rookie. A dislocated finger in late July 1963 ended that season and required surgery, and once Detroit traded for veteran Jerry Lumpe he spent his remaining years as a utility infielder. He closed out a seven-year career in 1967 with Detroit and the Cincinnati Reds, batting .250 with 35 home runs and 168 RBI in 608 games. He is a member of the Union County, New Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 515 | 3 | 58 | 293 | 93 | 40 | 13 | 15 | 0 |
| SGC | 20 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 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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Related cards
Team card: #51 Detroit Tigers Team
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- #171 Paul Foytack
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #514 card?
It is card #514 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jake Wood of the Detroit Tigers.
Is 1961 Topps #514 a rookie card?
Yes - #514 is the 1961 Topps rookie card of Jake Wood.
Why is #514 harder to find?
It is from the sixth print series (cards 447-522) - noticeably tougher than the first five, easier than the true highs.
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.