1961 Topps #43 National League 1960 Home Run Leaders - Ernie Banks / Hank Aaron / Eddie Mathews / Ken Boyer
On this card: Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Ken Boyer
About this card
Cards #41-50 are the League Leaders subset - the first Topps set to carry one - each card listing the 1960 leaders in one statistical category, the National League card first and the American League card second in each pair.
The story on this card
Topps stacks the 1960 National League home run board here: Ernie Banks of the Cubs on top with 41, Hank Aaron of Milwaukee at 40, Aaron's teammate Eddie Mathews at 39, and St. Louis third baseman Ken Boyer fourth with 32. A single homer separated each of the first three, Banks over Aaron and Aaron over Mathews, and Banks's 41 topped the majors as well, one clear of Mickey Mantle's American League-leading 40. It was Banks's second National League home run title, after 1958. Boyer's 32 was a career best. Card #43 belongs to the League Leaders subset in Topps' first 1961 series.
Ernie Banks, called Mr. Cub, was the Chicago shortstop and first baseman who won back-to-back NL MVP awards in 1958-59 and hit 512 home runs despite the Cubs never reaching the postseason in his career. Hank Aaron was the Braves' right fielder and one of the greatest hitters in history, a 25-time All-Star who broke Babe Ruth's home run record in 1974 on his way to 755 career homers. Eddie Mathews was the Braves' slugging third baseman, an All-Star in nine seasons who hit 512 home runs across Boston, Milwaukee, Atlanta, Houston and Detroit, formed a record power duo with Hank Aaron, and won World Series rings in 1957 and 1968. Ken Boyer spent 11 seasons as the Cardinals' third baseman, a seven-time All-Star, five-time Gold Glover and 1964 National League MVP who hit a World Series grand slam; he later managed the club and is not in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sources: Wikipedia (Ernie Banks) · Wikipedia (Ken Boyer) · Wikipedia (Hank Aaron) · Wikipedia (Eddie Mathews) · SABR BioProject (Ernie Banks) · SABR BioProject (Hank Aaron) · SABR BioProject (Eddie Mathews) · SABR BioProject (Ken Boyer) · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (Ernie Banks) · Baseball Almanac (Hank Aaron) · Baseball Almanac (Eddie Mathews) · Baseball Almanac (2) · Baseball Almanac (3) · Baseball Almanac (Ken Boyer) · Retrosheet
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 2,363 | 0 | 77 | 533 | 488 | 423 | 312 | 528 | 2 |
| SGC | 661 | 0 | 5 | 20 | 83 | 158 | 156 | 233 | 6 |
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 #43 card?
It is card #43 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews and Ken Boyer. Cards #41-50 are the League Leaders subset - the first Topps set to carry one - each card listing the 1960 leaders in one statistical category, the National League card first and the American League card second in each pair.
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.