1961 Topps #210 Pete Runnels
About Pete Runnels
Runnels turns up twice in 1961 Topps. Card #42, from the league leaders subset in the first series, puts him at the head of the American League's 1960 averages at .320 alongside Al Smith, Bill Skowron and Minnie Minoso, who reached Cooperstown in 2022. Card #210, his solo card in the third series, pictures him with the Red Sox as a .300 hitter in four of the previous five seasons, fresh off a batting crown he won while fighting stomach ulcers and driving in only 35 runs.
James Edward Runnels, born in Lufkin, Texas in 1928, reached the majors with the Washington Senators on July 1, 1951, after they bought his contract for $12,500. A left-handed hitter with a superb batting eye, he drew 844 walks against 627 strikeouts and played all four infield spots over fourteen seasons: 644 games at first base, 642 at second, 463 at shortstop, 49 at third. Ted Williams rebuilt his approach after the Red Sox traded for him in January 1958, and Runnels hit .314 or better in each of his five Boston seasons. He won American League batting titles in 1960 at .320 and 1962 at .326, and lost the 1958 crown to Williams by six points on the final day. A five-time All-Star, he tied a major league record with nine hits in a doubleheader on August 30, 1960. His career closed at .291 with 1,854 hits and a .375 on-base percentage in 1,799 games, the last two seasons spent in Houston. He coached in Boston and managed the Red Sox for the final sixteen games of 1966, then ran a sporting goods store in Pasadena, Texas, and operated Camp Champions in Marble Falls. He entered the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1982 and the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2004, and died in 1991.
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 | 257 | 1 | 23 | 126 | 71 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 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
More Pete Runnels in this set: #42 League Leaders
Team card: #373 Boston Red Sox Team
More Boston Red Sox cards:
- #16 Billy Muffett
- #33 Gary Geiger
- #53 Russ Nixon
- #69 Earl Wilson
- #81 Tracy Stallard
- #99 Don Buddin
- #113 Mike Fornieles
- #128 Rip Repulski
- #173 Beantown Bombers
- #193 Gene Conley
- #221 Mike Higgins
- #236 Don Gile
- #257 Carroll Hardy
- #268 Ike DeLock
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #210 card?
It is card #210 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Pete Runnels of the Boston Red Sox.
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.