1961 Topps #542 Minnesota Twins Team
Hall of Famers on the 1960 Washington Senators roster: Jim Kaat and Harmon Killebrew.
About this card
The sixteen team cards pair a club photo with the previous season's record. Neither 1961 expansion club, the Los Angeles Angels or the new Washington Senators, has one.
The story on this card
Topps 542 sits in the set's seventh and final series, one of the high numbers that are tougher to pull than the low-series run. It is a team-card subset entry, and like most 1961 team cards it looks back a year: this club spent 1960 as the Washington Senators, going 73-81 for fifth place in the American League under Cookie Lavagetto at Griffith Stadium, where 743,404 fans were the fewest in the eight-team league. Jim Lemon hit 38 homers with 100 RBI and Harmon Killebrew added 31; Killebrew and Jim Kaat, then just 1-5 in 13 games, are the Hall of Famers on that roster. The franchise moved to Bloomington, Minnesota that offseason, took the Twins name and moved into Metropolitan Stadium.
Sources: Wikipedia (1960 Washington Senators season) · Wikipedia (1961 Minnesota Twins season) · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 598 | 1 | 22 | 169 | 182 | 99 | 66 | 58 | 1 |
| SGC | 105 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 38 | 17 | 17 | 11 | 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.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #542 card?
It is card #542 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing the Minnesota Twins. The sixteen team cards pair a club photo with the previous season's record. Neither 1961 expansion club, the Los Angeles Angels or the new Washington Senators, has one.
Why is #542 harder to find?
It is a high number card (cards 523-589) from the seventh and last print series - the scarce end of the set, including the 22 Sporting News All-Stars.
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.