1961 Topps #71 Jerry Adair
About Jerry Adair
Card #71, a first-series issue, is Adair's recognized rookie card, and it arrives after the cups of coffee rather than before them: 11 games for Baltimore in 1958, 12 in 1959 and three at the close of 1960. His only hit in that 1960 look was a home run, the first of his career. He reached the card off most of a season at Triple-A Miami, where he batted .266 and was named the International League's all-star shortstop. Twenty-six big-league games and that Miami summer are the whole of the record standing behind his first Topps card.
Kenneth Jerry Adair, born December 17, 1936, in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, was a sure-handed infielder across 13 major league seasons, 1958-1970, with the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals, before a 1971 season in Japan with the Hankyu Braves. A two-sport star at Oklahoma State under basketball coach Hank Iba, he signed with Baltimore for a $40,000 bonus and debuted the same day, September 2, 1958. Called the Iceman in high school for his composure and Casper the Friendly Ghost in the majors, he made his name with the glove: 458 consecutive errorless chances at second base over 89 games in 1964 and 1965, a major league record until Manny Trillo passed it in 1982, and a career .985 fielding mark that bettered Hall of Famers Nellie Fox, Joe Morgan and Bill Mazeroski. He coached Oakland through all three of its championship seasons, 1972-1974, then the California Angels. He died of liver cancer on May 31, 1987, in Tulsa at 50.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 480 | 3 | 60 | 255 | 104 | 27 | 15 | 16 | 0 |
| SGC | 19 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 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.
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Related cards
Team card: #159 Baltimore Orioles Team
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- #85 Jerry Walker
- #102 Gene Stephens
- #125 Steve Barber
- #131 Paul Richards
- #140 Gus Triandos
- #182 Dave Nicholson
- #218 Hal Brown
- #240 Ron Hansen
- #256 Billy Hoeft
- #277 Hank Foiles
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #71 card?
It is card #71 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jerry Adair of the Baltimore Orioles.
Is 1961 Topps #71 a rookie card?
Yes - #71 is the 1961 Topps rookie card of Jerry Adair.
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.