1961 Topps #559 Jim Gentile
Front carries the Topps All-Star Rookie trophy, marking Gentile's selection as first baseman on the 1960 team.
About Jim Gentile
Card #559 sits in the seventh series, cards 523 through 589, generally reckoned the scarcest high-number run Topps ever printed, so this is a true high number. The front carries the trophy Topps put on the 1961 cards of its 1960 All-Star Rookie Team, where Gentile was the first baseman; the emblem honors the award, not the card. He earned it late: handed roughly 120 at-bats to prove he belonged, he played 138 games for Baltimore in 1960, hit .292 with 21 home runs and 98 RBI, and was named to both All-Star squads.
James Edward Gentile, a left-handed-hitting first baseman born June 3, 1934 in San Francisco, played nine major league seasons between 1957 and 1966 for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Athletics, Houston Astros and Cleveland Indians. Brooklyn signed him in 1952 out of Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, turned the high school pitcher into a first baseman, then left him eight years in the minors behind All-Star Gil Hodges. Roy Campanella had already named him Diamond Jim. The Dodgers finally dealt him to Baltimore on October 19, 1959, and at 26 he took the job for keeps: both All-Star teams in 1960, 1961 and 1962, and a 1961 line of .302 with 46 home runs and 141 RBI, five of those homers grand slams, an American League record that held until 1987. He finished third in that MVP vote behind Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. Gentile retired at .260 with 179 home runs and 549 RBI, and the Orioles elected him to their club Hall of Fame in 1989, a team honor rather than Cooperstown.
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 | 601 | 1 | 8 | 98 | 194 | 166 | 79 | 55 | 0 |
| SGC | 72 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 4 |
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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #559 card?
It is card #559 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Gentile of the Baltimore Orioles.
Why is #559 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.