1961 Topps #492 Ron Fairly
About Ron Fairly
Three days after the 1959 World Series ended, Fairly reported for six months of Army Reserve duty, which left him exactly one day of spring training in 1960. The Dodgers sent him to Triple-A Spokane to play himself into shape, and he tore up the Pacific Coast League there: 153 games, 27 home runs, 100 walks, 100 RBI. Los Angeles used him in only 14 games, four hits in 37 at-bats for a .108 average. Card #492 is a sixth-series card, and it comes two ways: the bottom of the baseball on the back prints white on one and green on the other, a split PSA recognizes.
Ronald Ray Fairly was born July 12, 1938 in Macon, Georgia, and grew up in Long Beach, California. He played center field for Rod Dedeaux's USC Trojans in their 1958 College World Series title season, then signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a $75,000 bonus offered through scout Harold "Lefty" Phillips, less money than the White Sox dangled but a chance to stay home. He debuted September 9, 1958 and stayed a Dodger for twelve seasons, learning right field from Carl Furillo and later taking Furillo's number six as a tribute. He hit left-handed with a short, compact swing. Fairly won World Series rings in 1959, 1963 and 1965 and lost a fourth Series in 1966, then went to the expansion Montreal Expos in a 1969 trade and revived his bat there, making All-Star teams for Montreal in 1973 and Toronto in 1977, the only player to represent both Canadian clubs. He also played for St. Louis, Oakland and California, finishing in 1978 with 2,442 games, 1,913 hits, 215 home runs, 1,044 RBI and a .266 average, the second man after Stan Musial with 1,000-plus games in both the outfield and the infield. He broadcast baseball from 1979 to 2006 and died October 30, 2019.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Print variations
Two states of #492 are tracked individually: 492a - Bottom of Baseball Is White and 492b - Bottom of Baseball Is Green. The difference is on the back of the card (back ink).
States catalogued by the PSA master set registry; each is tracked here individually.
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Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 492a - Bottom of Baseball Is White | |||||||||
| PSA | 180 | 2 | 10 | 66 | 44 | 29 | 16 | 12 | 1 |
| SGC | 38 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 1 |
| 492b - Bottom of Baseball Is Green | |||||||||
| PSA | 90 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 18 | 16 | 18 | 22 | 0 |
| Not designated by PSA | |||||||||
| PSA | 177 | 0 | 6 | 82 | 66 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 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). Where a grader registers a variation separately its population is listed under that variation; slabs whose label names no variation are listed as not designated. Slabs of the two cards printed #463 are joined by description, never by number alone.
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Related cards
Team card: #86 Los Angeles Dodgers Team
More Los Angeles Dodgers cards:
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- #23 Don Demeter
- #38 Bob Lillis
- #74 Joe Pignatano
- #109 Johnny Podres
- #130 Norm Larker
- #136 Walt Alston
- #147 Ed Rakow
- #168 Tommy Davis
- #190 Stan Williams
- #207 Dodger Southpaws
- #238 Jim Gilliam
- #260 Don Drysdale
- #280 Frank Howard
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #492 card?
It is card #492 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ron Fairly of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Does 1961 Topps #492 have variations?
Yes. Two states are catalogued and tracked individually: 492a - Bottom of Baseball Is White (The baseball on the back has a white bottom - the standard print) and 492b - Bottom of Baseball Is Green (The bottom of the baseball prints green. PSA recognizes and grades it as its own state; the hobby catalogs do not split it, and collectors still debate print defect versus variation). Owning any one of them fills the #492 slot; the master set counts each state.
Why is #492 harder to find?
It is from the sixth print series (cards 447-522) - noticeably tougher than the first five, easier than the true highs.
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.