1961 Topps #345 Jim Piersall
About Jim Piersall
Piersall's 1961 Topps card, #345 in the series-4 run, reports his 1960 season with Cleveland: a .282 average, 18 home runs and 66 RBI in 138 games. It was also the year he was thrown out of seven games, matching Johnny Evers' 1914 total for the most in a single season, drew a $250 fine for throwing equipment out of the dugout at Chicago in May, and on July 28 at Yankee Stadium hid behind the center-field monuments during a pitching change.
James Anthony Piersall, born November 14, 1929 in Waterbury, Connecticut, played 17 major-league seasons (1950, 1952-1967) as an outfielder for the Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, New York Mets and Los Angeles/California Angels. Prized for his center-field glove, he made two All-Star teams (1954, 1956), won Gold Gloves in 1958 and 1961, and finished at .272 with 104 home runs and 591 RBI in 1,734 games. In 1952, the rookie season that collapsed into a publicized breakdown, he was calling himself the 'Waterbury Wizard' after his hometown; that summer ended at Westborough State Hospital with electroshock treatment. His recovery became the 1955 memoir Fear Strikes Out, written with Al Hirshberg, and the 1957 film starring Anthony Perkins. The showmanship never stopped: he batted in a Beatles wig and played air guitar on his bat. After retiring in 1967 he broadcast for decades, most famously beside Harry Caray on Chicago White Sox games beginning in 1977. The Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame inducted him in September 2010. He died June 3, 2017 in Wheaton, Illinois.
Sources: 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 | 349 | 0 | 18 | 121 | 123 | 57 | 20 | 10 | 0 |
| SGC | 22 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 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: #467 Cleveland Indians Team
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- #115 Johnny Antonelli
- #155 Johnny Temple
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- #191 Mike de la Hoz
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #345 card?
It is card #345 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Piersall of the Cleveland Indians.
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.