1961 Topps #457 Johnny James
About Johnny James
James opened 1961 in the Yankee bullpen but got into only one game before the May 8 trade that sent him, Ryne Duren and Lee Thomas to the expansion Los Angeles Angels for Tex Clevenger and Bob Cerv. He worked 36 games for the first-year Angels, going 0-2 with a 5.30 ERA and 41 strikeouts against 54 walks in 71 innings, and made the only three starts of his career. Somewhere in that stretch he served up the 20th home run of Roger Maris's 61-homer summer. Card 457 falls in the sixth print series. His rookie card had come a year earlier in the 1960 Topps set. October 1, 1961 turned out to be his last day in the majors.
John Phillip James, born July 23, 1933 in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, is a former big-league relief pitcher who grew up in Hollywood, California, pitched at Hollywood High School and went on to the University of Southern California. With no draft in those days he had interest from the Dodgers and the St. Louis Browns, but signed with the Yankees in 1953 for a 1,500 dollar bonus spread over two years. Listed at 5 feet 10 and 160 pounds, he threw a fastball that ran in on right-handed hitters with sink and picked up a slider a few years later, giving him a breaking pitch he could throw for strikes. He won 14 and 11 games in his first two pro seasons before the Yankees made him a reliever during 1955. He debuted on September 6, 1958, working the last three scoreless innings of a loss to Washington and striking out slugger Roy Sievers for his first big-league whiff. He did not pitch in the majors at all in 1959, then went 5-1 with two saves for the 1960 Yankees. He batted left-handed though he threw right-handed, and finished 5-3 with a 4.76 ERA, 73 strikeouts and 84 walks over 66 games.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · Seamheads
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 263 | 3 | 25 | 114 | 83 | 23 | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 21 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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 #457 card?
It is card #457 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Johnny James of the Los Angeles Angels.
Why is #457 harder to find?
It is from the sixth print series (cards 447-522) - noticeably tougher than the first five, easier than the true highs.
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.