1961 Topps #461 Smoky Burgess
About Smoky Burgess
Burgess's solo card in the 1961 set, #461, is a series-six card, and the back reports his 1960 season: .294 with seven home runs and 39 RBI in 110 games as Pittsburgh's regular catcher, plus the best fielding percentage among National League catchers at .994. He started five of the seven World Series games that October and hit .333, and the Pirates won four of the five. He was 34 when the card reached the counter, ten years past the 1951 Bowman issue collectors count as his rookie card.
Forrest Harrill "Smoky" Burgess spent 18 major-league seasons (1949-1967) as a catcher and, in his final years, as the game's premier pinch hitter, playing for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox. A native of Caroleen, North Carolina, the stocky left-handed hitter was chosen for six All-Star squads, nine selections in all under the era's two-game format, and he hit .368 for the 1954 Phillies. Traded to Pittsburgh in January 1959, he won a World Series ring in 1960, batting .333 as the Pirates upset the Yankees, and he led National League catchers in fielding percentage three times, in 1953, 1960 and 1961. Claimed on waivers by the White Sox in September 1964, Burgess was used almost exclusively off the bench over his last three seasons and retired as the career leader in pinch hits, a mark that stood until Manny Mota passed him in 1979. He finished at .295 with 126 home runs and 673 RBI, and is enshrined in the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. Accounts of his nickname vary, crediting the nearby Smoky Mountains, his father's nickname, his lack of speed, or the fact that he never smoked.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2) · Baseball Almanac (3)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 359 | 2 | 29 | 128 | 134 | 40 | 11 | 15 | 0 |
| SGC | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 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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Related cards
Team card: #554 Pittsburgh Pirates Team
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- #22 Clem Labine
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- #70 Bill Virdon
- #82 Joe Christopher
- #100 Harvey Haddix
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- #138 Danny Murtaugh
- #149 Bob Oldis
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- #181 Fred Green
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #461 card?
It is card #461 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Smoky Burgess of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Why is #461 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.