1961 Topps #59 Jim Woods
About Jim Woods
Card #59 sits in the 1961 Topps first series, a plain low-number slot, and it is Woods' recognized rookie card, issued four years after his two-game cup of coffee with the Cubs. He is pictured as a Philadelphia Phillie, the club that got him on January 11, 1960, when Chicago packaged him with John Buzhardt and Alvin Dark for Richie Ashburn. The 1961 season this card led off turned out to be his last: 23 games, 11 hits, a .229 average and two home runs, with his final big-league appearance on June 23.
James Jerome Woods was born in Chicago on September 17, 1939, signed with his hometown Cubs as an amateur free agent in July 1957, and was in the big leagues by the end of that same September, debuting on September 27 at age 18. Those two late-season games brought no at-bats, and he did not appear in another major-league game until 1960. On January 11, 1960, the Cubs traded Woods, pitcher John Buzhardt and veteran infielder Alvin Dark to the Philadelphia Phillies for center fielder Richie Ashburn, and Philadelphia gave the right-handed third baseman the only real playing time he would get: 11 games in 1960 and 23 in 1961, every one of them at third base. His last big-league appearance came on June 23, 1961. Across parts of three seasons he batted .207 in 36 games with 17 hits, three doubles, three home runs and 12 runs batted in. The Phillies sold him to Cincinnati in May 1963 and the Reds released him in September 1964, closing an eight-year pro career spent mostly in the minor leagues.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · Retrosheet
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 368 | 8 | 61 | 185 | 81 | 24 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 15 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 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: #491 Philadelphia Phillies Team
More Philadelphia Phillies cards:
- #3 John Buzhardt
- #20 Robin Roberts
- #78 Lee Walls
- #93 Tony Gonzalez
- #103 Ruben Amaro
- #111 Jack Meyer
- #144 Jim Coker
- #154 Bobby Del Greco
- #179 Joe Koppe
- #202 Al Neiger
- #219 Gene Mauch
- #234 Ted Lepcio
- #262 Tony Curry
- #281 Frank Sullivan
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #59 card?
It is card #59 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Woods of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Is 1961 Topps #59 a rookie card?
Yes - #59 is the 1961 Topps rookie card of Jim Woods.
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.