1961 Topps #238 Jim Gilliam
About Jim Gilliam
Card #238 is Gilliam's third-series base card in the 1961 set, and it lists him at third base. The back looks at 1960, when he played 151 games and hit .248 with 5 home runs and 40 RBI. His real work was done without swinging: 96 walks, a .359 on-base percentage, and 96 runs scored for a fourth-place Dodgers club one year removed from its 1959 championship.
Jim Gilliam reached the Baltimore Elite Giants in 1946 at 17, and manager George 'Tubby' Scales hung the nickname 'Junior' on him and turned him into a switch-hitter. A three-time East-West All-Star, he was sold to Brooklyn and debuted April 14, 1953, taking over second base from Jackie Robinson, breaking the rookie walk record with 100 and winning National League Rookie of the Year. All 14 major league seasons were Dodgers seasons, spent at second, at third and in the outfield, with All-Star trips in 1956 and 1959 and a league-leading 96 walks in 1959. He drew 1,036 walks in those Dodgers years and finished at .265 with 2,012 hits across 17 professional seasons, winning four World Series, the last on his backhand stop at third behind Sandy Koufax in Game 7, 1965. Named a Dodgers coach after the 1964 season, he was the third Black man to coach in the majors, and he worked for Walter Alston and Tom Lasorda until a brain hemorrhage in September 1978. He died October 8; the Dodgers retired his number 19 before that year's World Series, and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame elected him in 1995.
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 | 637 | 3 | 66 | 299 | 135 | 66 | 35 | 33 | 0 |
| SGC | 58 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 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: #86 Los Angeles Dodgers Team
More Los Angeles Dodgers cards:
- #6 Ed Roebuck
- #23 Don Demeter
- #38 Bob Lillis
- #74 Joe Pignatano
- #109 Johnny Podres
- #130 Norm Larker
- #136 Walt Alston
- #147 Ed Rakow
- #168 Tommy Davis
- #190 Stan Williams
- #207 Dodger Southpaws
- #260 Don Drysdale
- #280 Frank Howard
- #298 Jim Golden
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #238 card?
It is card #238 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Gilliam of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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.