1961 Topps #12 Moe Thacker
About Moe Thacker
Card #12 lands early in the 1961 set, a first-series number that shipped well ahead of the season it now calls to mind. That season was a thin one for Thacker: Dick Bertell took over as the Cubs' regular catcher, with Sammy Taylor and Cuno Barragan also in front of him, and Thacker got into just 25 games. He went 6-for-35, a .171 average with no extra-base hits and two runs batted in, though he walked 11 times, more often than he got a hit, and finished at .383 on base. It all played out in Chicago's first year under the College of Coaches, the rotating-manager scheme that ran four men through the job.
Morris Benton "Moe" Thacker was a right-handed catcher born May 21, 1934, in Louisville, Kentucky. He signed with the New York Yankees in 1952 after graduating from duPont Manual High School, spent six years in that farm system, and was acquired by the Cubs, who recalled him from the Double-A Texas League in August 1958. He homered in the third at-bat of his debut game, off Philadelphia's Seth Morehead, then again two days later against Stu Miller of the Giants. Those were the only two home runs he ever hit in the majors. After a full year back in the minors in 1959, he split the Chicago catching with Sammy Taylor in 1960, then worked behind starter Dick Bertell, with Taylor and Cuno Barragan also ahead of him. He spent most of 1963 in the Cardinals organization, appeared in three games for St. Louis and made his final big-league appearance on July 14. A 13-season pro, the 6-foot-3 Thacker hit .177 with 46 hits and 20 RBI in 158 major league games before retiring in 1964. He died in his hometown of Louisville on November 13, 1997, at 63.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 433 | 6 | 55 | 243 | 94 | 23 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 22 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 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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Related cards
Team card: #122 Chicago Cubs Team
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- #58 Joe Schaffernoth
- #88 Richie Ashburn
- #107 Seth Morehead
- #141 Billy Williams
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- #196 Ed Bouchee
- #214 Danny Murphy
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- #253 Sammy Taylor
- #264 Glen Hobbie
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #12 card?
It is card #12 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Moe Thacker of the Chicago Cubs.
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.