1961 Topps #552 Jim Archer
About Jim Archer
Card #552 sits in the 1961 Topps set's seventh series, a high number, and it is Archer's recognized rookie card. The front puts him with the Kansas City Athletics, who gave him his major league debut on April 30. Handed 27 starts among 39 appearances for a club that finished 61-100, he went 9-15 with a 3.20 ERA over 205 1/3 innings and struck out 110. He led the Athletics staff in ERA and in complete games with nine, shared the team lead in shutouts with two alongside fellow rookie Norm Bass, and added five saves. Only Bass, with 11 wins, beat him in victories. For a rookie card of a pitcher who debuted at 28, it covers a genuinely good year.
James William Archer was born May 25, 1932 in Max Meadows, Virginia. A left-hander signed by the New York Yankees, he made his first professional start in 1950, but two rough Class-D seasons left him 4-5 with an ERA above 7 before the Yankees cut him in early 1952. He rebuilt his arm in Kentucky semipro ball, turned down a Yankees offer to re-sign, and joined the Baltimore organization after an Army stint. Six minor league seasons with the Orioles beginning in 1955 made him a durable starter: he won at least 11 games every year from 1956 through 1960, cut a wild walk rate to under two per nine innings, and leaned on a curveball considered his best pitch. He reached AAA with the Miami Marlins in 1959 and 1960 without cracking Baltimore's plans. He was eating breakfast during winter ball in Puerto Rico in January 1961 when he learned he had been traded to Kansas City in a five-for-two deal that sent Whitey Herzog and Russ Snyder to the Orioles. Archer debuted that April at 28 and finished 9-16 with a 3.94 ERA in 57 games. He pitched one more minor league season in 1963. He later ran car dealerships in Tarpon Springs, Florida, served as a city commissioner there, and died September 9, 2019.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 353 | 2 | 19 | 138 | 100 | 44 | 39 | 11 | 0 |
| SGC | 24 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 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: #297 Kansas City Athletics Team
More Kansas City Athletics cards:
- #8 Dick Williams
- #24 Ken Johnson
- #39 Leo Posada
- #57 Marv Throneberry
- #94 Johnny Kucks
- #106 Whitey Herzog
- #119 A's Big Armor
- #143 Russ Snyder
- #177 Don Larsen
- #197 Dick Hall
- #199 Bob Boyd
- #212 Haywood Sullivan
- #224 Joe Gordon
- #248 Ed Keegan
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #552 card?
It is card #552 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Archer of the Kansas City Athletics.
Is 1961 Topps #552 a rookie card?
Yes - #552 is the 1961 Topps rookie card of Jim Archer.
Why is #552 harder to find?
It is a high number card (cards 523-589) from the seventh and last print series - the scarce end of the set, including the 22 Sporting News All-Stars.
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.