1961 Topps #344 Sandy Koufax
About Sandy Koufax
Three 1961 cards - Koufax had been in the majors six years by then. Number 49, the National League Strikeout Leaders, places him second in the 1960 race with 197, behind teammate Don Drysdale's 246, with Sam Jones and Ernie Broglio rounding out the board. Number 207, the Dodger Southpaws card, pairs him with Johnny Podres, the left-hander who had finished off the Yankees in the 1955 World Series. Number 344 is his own card, a fourth-series issue. Behind all three sits a bumpy 1960: 8-13 with a 3.91 ERA.
Sanford Koufax, born Sanford Braun in Brooklyn, signed with his hometown Dodgers in December 1954 as a bonus-rule player and never spent a day in the minor leagues; the missing apprenticeship left him wild for six seasons. The turn came in 1961, when a tightened delivery and a catcher's advice to stop overthrowing made him a winning pitcher. He led the National League in earned run average five straight years, 1962 through 1966, and was an All-Star in each of his last six seasons. He threw four no-hitters, one of them a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs on September 9, 1965, and won the Cy Young Award three times, in 1963, 1965 and 1966, each time unanimously and as the sport's only winner before the award split by league. He added the 1963 National League Most Valuable Player award and the pitching Triple Crown in all three Cy Young years, was World Series MVP in 1963 and 1965, and led the Dodgers to titles both years; his refusal to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 Series on Yom Kippur made him a lasting figure in American Jewish life. Arthritis in his elbow forced him out after 1966 at 30, and he entered the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972, at 36 the youngest player ever inducted.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · National Baseball Hall of Fame
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 5,495 | 2 | 47 | 577 | 1,040 | 1,264 | 941 | 1,604 | 20 |
| SGC | 2,145 | 0 | 3 | 59 | 230 | 323 | 564 | 921 | 45 |
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 Sandy Koufax in this set: #49 League Leaders, #207 Dodger Southpaws
Team card: #86 Los Angeles Dodgers Team
More Los Angeles Dodgers cards:
- #6 Ed Roebuck
- #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 #344 card?
It is card #344 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
What are the key cards in the 1961 Topps set?
The #300 Mickey Mantle is the grail of the set. The other major keys are #2 Roger Maris, #150 Willie Mays, #415 Hank Aaron, #344 Sandy Koufax, #388 Bob Clemente (printed "Bob" on the front), #287 Carl Yastrzemski (his second-year card), the #35 Ron Santo, #141 Billy Williams and #417 Juan Marichal rookie cards - all three Hall of Famers - and three more Mantle and Mays cards: #475 Mickey Mantle and #482 Willie Mays from the MVP subset and #578 Mickey Mantle from the Sporting News All-Stars. The 22 Sporting News All-Stars (#566-586 and #589) belong to the scarce seventh and last series (#523-589).
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.