1961 Topps #376 Mike Roarke
About Mike Roarke
Topps put Roarke in the 1961 set as a 30-year-old rookie, and that season he got into 86 games, 85 of them behind the plate, splitting the job with Dick Brown, who caught 91 and supplied the power with 16 home runs. Roarke hit .223 with 2 home runs and 22 runs batted in while Norm Cash won the batting title at .361 and the Tigers piled up 101 wins, still finishing eight games back of the Yankees. Card #376 falls in Topps' fifth print series, and it is his recognized rookie card.
Mike Roarke was a right-handed catcher who played four major-league seasons, all with the Detroit Tigers, from 1961 through 1964. Born in West Warwick, Rhode Island, on November 8, 1930, he captained both the football and baseball teams at Boston College, won the Scanlan Award in 1951 and graduated with honors in 1952. He signed with the Boston Braves that year, lost time to military service, and spent seven seasons in the minors without a call-up, since the Braves already had Del Crandall, an eleven-time National League All-Star, behind the plate. A trade that included Charley Lau sent him to Detroit after the 1959 season, and after one more minor-league summer at Denver he debuted on April 19, 1961, at age 30. Known as a good handler of pitchers and an excellent defensive catcher who struggled at the plate, he batted .230 with 6 home runs and 44 runs batted in over 194 games. He retired in October 1964 to coach, serving as a bullpen coach for the Tigers and the California Angels before a long run as a pitching coach with Detroit, the Cubs, Cardinals, Padres and Red Sox; his St. Louis staffs won National League pennants in 1985 and 1987 under Whitey Herzog. He died in 2019 at 88.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 260 | 0 | 31 | 130 | 60 | 23 | 11 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 13 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 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.
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: #51 Detroit Tigers Team
More Detroit Tigers cards:
- #13 Chuck Cottier
- #14 Don Mossi
- #37 Charlie Maxwell
- #67 Ossie Virgil
- #83 Bob Bruce
- #95 Norm Cash
- #112 Chico Fernandez
- #151 Jim Donohue
- #171 Paul Foytack
- #192 Dick Brown
- #208 Larry Osborne
- #223 Bob Scheffing
- #243 Frank Lary
- #251 Bill Bruton
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #376 card?
It is card #376 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Mike Roarke of the Detroit Tigers.
Is 1961 Topps #376 a rookie card?
Yes - #376 is the 1961 Topps rookie card of Mike Roarke.
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.