1961 Topps #525 Ron Perranoski
About Ron Perranoski
Number 525 lands in the scarce seventh series, a high number and his rookie card. It carries the year he broke in with the Los Angeles Dodgers at age 25, debuting on April 14 and getting into 53 games, 52 of them in relief and one as a starter. He led the staff with a 2.65 ERA across 91 2/3 innings, tied Larry Sherry for the team lead in games, and finished 7-5 with six saves. The Los Angeles chapter of the baseball writers voted him the Dodgers' Rookie of the Year.
Ron Perranoski was a left-handed relief pitcher who spent 13 major league seasons, from 1961 through 1973, mostly with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins, with shorter stops in Detroit and California. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, on April 1, 1936, and raised in nearby Fair Lawn, he starred at Michigan State before signing with the Chicago Cubs, and he reached the majors only after a 1960 trade sent him to the Dodgers. Working almost entirely out of the bullpen with a sinking fastball and a sharp curve, he led or shared the National League lead in appearances three times for Los Angeles and won World Series rings with the Dodgers in 1963 and 1965. Traded to Minnesota after the 1967 season, he led the American League in saves in 1969 and in 1970 and was named The Sporting News Fireman of the Year both years. He finished with 79 wins, 178 saves and a 2.79 ERA in 737 games, and he was never chosen for an All-Star team. He later spent 14 seasons as the Dodgers' pitching coach, adding championship rings in 1981 and 1988. He was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in 1983 and died in 2020.
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 | 619 | 0 | 47 | 258 | 168 | 92 | 35 | 19 | 0 |
| SGC | 68 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 22 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 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 #525 card?
It is card #525 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ron Perranoski of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Is 1961 Topps #525 a rookie card?
Yes - #525 is the 1961 Topps rookie card of Ron Perranoski.
Why is #525 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.