1961 Topps #155 Johnny Temple
About Johnny Temple
Cleveland's 33-year-old second baseman opened 1961 with a 19-game hitting streak and was hitting .328 on June 7, fourth in the American League. Chosen to start both All-Star Games that summer, he became the first second baseman to appear in the classic for each major league, going 0-for-3 in the AL's 10-inning loss at Candlestick Park and 0-for-2 in the rain-shortened 1-1 tie at Fenway Park. On September 10 at Yankee Stadium he and Walt Bond helped park police pull two teenagers off Jimmy Piersall in center field. Temple cooled to .276 with three homers, 30 RBIs and 61 walks in 129 games. His 1961 Topps card, number 155, is a second-series issue in Cleveland flannels.
Johnny Temple was a scrappy, contact-hitting second baseman who spent thirteen major league seasons (1952-1964) with the Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles and Houston Colt .45s. A North Carolina farm boy who signed with Cincinnati after a 1948 tryout camp in Mooresville, he reached the majors in 1952 and grew into the Reds' regular leadoff man and second baseman, teaming with shortstop Roy McMillan on one of the era's best double-play combinations. He played in six All-Star Games out of four selections, 1956, 1957 and both games in each of 1959 and 1961, batted over .300 three times, and finished with a .284 average, 648 walks against 338 strikeouts and 140 stolen bases. His best year came in 1959: .311 with career highs of 102 runs, 186 hits, 35 doubles, eight homers and 67 RBIs. That December Cincinnati traded him to Cleveland for Cal McLish, Gordy Coleman and Billy Martin. Baltimore and Houston followed, then a short, unhappy 1964 turn as a Reds coach that ended in an August clubhouse fight and his firing. Cincinnati put him in the Reds Hall of Fame in 1965.
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 | 312 | 0 | 12 | 128 | 116 | 37 | 12 | 7 | 0 |
| SGC | 13 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #155 card?
It is card #155 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Johnny Temple 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.