1961 Topps #490 Jim Bunning
About Jim Bunning
Three 1961 cards report Bunning's 1960 in Detroit: the American League ERA leaders card #46, the strikeout leaders card #50, and his own #490, a card in the sixth series. He finished 11-14 for a sixth-place club but pitched beautifully behind it, with a 2.79 ERA, only 64 walks in 252 innings, and 201 strikeouts to lead the league for a second straight year, the same total both times. His rookie card is 1957 Topps #338, from before this decade.
James Paul David Bunning signed with the Detroit Tigers in 1950 out of his freshman year at Xavier University, finished an economics degree there in three and a half years while grinding through the farm system, and made his major league debut in July 1955. A rangy right-hander with a wicked slider, he led the American League in wins and innings in 1957, his first full season, and no-hit the Boston Red Sox on July 20, 1958. He led his league in strikeouts three times, with 201 in both 1959 and 1960 and 253 in 1967. Traded to the Philadelphia Phillies after the 1963 season, Bunning threw a perfect game against the New York Mets on Father's Day, June 21, 1964, the first by a National League pitcher since 1880. He later pitched for the Pirates and Dodgers before a second Phillies stint. A nine-time All-Star and an early leader of the players union who helped bring in Marvin Miller, he retired in 1971 with 224 wins and 2,855 strikeouts, then second only to Walter Johnson. Kentucky elected him to the state Senate, the US House and the US Senate, making him the only major leaguer sent to both the Senate and Cooperstown. The Veterans Committee voted him into the Hall of Fame in 1996; he died in 2017.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 693 | 2 | 28 | 212 | 188 | 116 | 69 | 77 | 1 |
| SGC | 96 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 33 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 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.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Shop 1961 Topps cards Live auctions Buy It Now on eBay Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
More Jim Bunning in this set: #46 League Leaders, #50 League Leaders
Team card: #51 Detroit Tigers Team
More Detroit Tigers cards:
- #13 Chuck Cottier
- #14 Don Mossi
- #37 Charlie Maxwell
- #67 Ossie Virgil
- #83 Bob Bruce
- #95 Norm Cash
- #112 Chico Fernandez
- #151 Jim Donohue
- #171 Paul Foytack
- #192 Dick Brown
- #208 Larry Osborne
- #223 Bob Scheffing
- #243 Frank Lary
- #251 Bill Bruton
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #490 card?
It is card #490 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Bunning of the Detroit Tigers.
Why is #490 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.