1961 Topps #20 Robin Roberts
About Robin Roberts
1961 Topps #20 is a first-series card that caught Roberts at the end of his Philadelphia run. He had started every Phillies opener since 1950, twelve in a row and still the record for one club, and 1961 brought the last of them. Little else went right. After a 12-16, 4.02 season in 1960 he fell to 1-10 with a 5.85 ERA, working 117 innings in 26 games and finishing only two of his 18 starts. #20 is a low first-series number. His rookie card is 1949 Bowman #46.
Robin Evan Roberts (1926-2010) was a right-handed pitcher who anchored the Philadelphia Phillies' rotation for fourteen seasons before reviving his career in Baltimore. Born in Springfield, Illinois to a Welsh coal miner, he went to Michigan State to play basketball and took up pitching only after he got there; the Phillies signed him for a $25,000 bonus in 1947 and he reached the majors in June 1948. In 1950 he started three games in the final five days, capping the run with a pennant-clinching ten-inning win at Brooklyn for his 20th victory and the Whiz Kids' first National League flag in 35 years, then started World Series Game Two. From 1950 through 1955 he won 20 or more every season, led the NL in wins four years running (1952-1955), and once completed 28 games in a row. His 28-7 in 1952 took The Sporting News' Player of the Year award; he led the league in innings five straight years, peaking at 346 2/3 in 1953, and made seven All-Star teams. He left Philadelphia after 1961 and went 42-36 across three and a half Baltimore seasons, mentoring a young Jim Palmer, then finished with Houston and the Cubs in 1966. He retired with 286 wins, a 3.41 ERA and 2,357 strikeouts, and Cooperstown called in 1976.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 1,274 | 0 | 54 | 404 | 337 | 219 | 110 | 149 | 1 |
| SGC | 231 | 0 | 5 | 25 | 56 | 51 | 52 | 42 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #20 card?
It is card #20 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Robin Roberts of the Philadelphia Phillies.
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.