1961 Topps #543 Roger Craig
About Roger Craig
Craig's last summer in a Dodger uniform was also his hardest. He appeared 40 times but started only 14 of those games, completed two, saved two more, and came out at 5-6 with a 6.15 ERA across 112 innings. Los Angeles left him exposed that fall, and on October 10 the New York Mets took him sixth overall in the expansion draft, which makes this his final Topps card in a Dodgers uniform. Number 543 sits in the seventh and final print series, a high number and the stretch of the set collectors finish last. His rookie card is 1956 Topps number 63.
Roger Lee Craig was a right-handed pitcher born February 17, 1930, in Durham, North Carolina. He left North Carolina State after a year on a basketball scholarship, signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950, lost 1952 and 1953 to Army service during the Korean War, and reached the majors on July 17, 1955 with a complete-game win at Ebbets Field. He won Game 5 of that year's World Series as Brooklyn claimed its only title, and pitched for the 1959 champion Los Angeles Dodgers after the move west. Taken by the expansion New York Mets in the October 1961 draft, he became the enduring face of their early struggles, absorbing two 20-loss seasons while still working as a complete-game workhorse. He relieved brilliantly for the 1964 world champion Cardinals, then closed out with Cincinnati and Philadelphia, finishing 74-98 with a 3.83 ERA over twelve seasons. Known afterward as the teacher of the split-finger fastball to Jack Morris and Mike Scott, he coached the 1984 champion Tigers and managed the Giants to the 1989 National League pennant. The North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame inducted him in 1985. He died June 4, 2023, in San Diego.
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 | 555 | 3 | 31 | 199 | 179 | 78 | 42 | 23 | 0 |
| SGC | 63 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 5 | 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 #543 card?
It is card #543 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Roger Craig of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Why is #543 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.