1961 Topps #151 Jim Donohue
About Jim Donohue
Card #151 sits in the second series, an ordinary base number; the 1960 Topps issue that pictured him as a Cardinal was his rookie card. Topps reused that same portrait here, airbrushing the cap a second time to turn him into a Tiger. Donohue earned a place on Detroit's 1961 Opening Day roster and debuted April 11 with two scoreless relief innings against Cleveland. In an April 23 doubleheader with the Angels he picked up his first save in the opener and his first win in the nightcap. He was 1-1 with a 3.54 ERA in 14 relief outings when the Tigers sent him to those same Angels on June 7 for Jerry Casale.
James Thomas Donohue, born in St. Louis on October 31, 1937, was a 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher who signed with the Cardinals for $4,000 in 1956 out of Christian Brothers College High School, where one of his teammates was the future Cardinal Mike Shannon. In the St. Louis chain they called him The Whip, for a buggy-whip delivery that drew comparisons to Ewell Blackwell; he is also listed as Bones. He went 7-0 with a 1.48 ERA in a half-season at York in 1958 before a promotion to Houston, and spent 1959 at Triple-A Omaha on a staff that included Bob Gibson and Ray Sadecki, but he never threw a regular-season pitch for the Cardinals. They traded him with Duke Carmel to the Dodgers for outfielder John Glenn in June 1960, and Detroit took him in the Rule 5 draft that offseason. His major league time came only in 1961 and 1962, for the Tigers, the expansion Los Angeles Angels and the Minnesota Twins, nearly all of it in relief: 6-8 with a 4.29 ERA, seven saves and 116 strikeouts in 70 games. He pitched in the high minors through 1964 and died in his hometown in 2017.
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 | 377 | 0 | 20 | 173 | 117 | 45 | 10 | 12 | 0 |
| SGC | 14 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 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.
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
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
- #171 Paul Foytack
- #192 Dick Brown
- #208 Larry Osborne
- #223 Bob Scheffing
- #243 Frank Lary
- #251 Bill Bruton
- #269 Harry Chiti
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #151 card?
It is card #151 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Donohue of the Detroit Tigers.
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.