1961 Topps #548 Ted Wills
About Ted Wills
Wills made Boston's Opening Day roster in 1961 and opened the year without allowing an earned run in seven straight outings, the best of them an extra-inning turn against the White Sox on April 22 that Pumpsie Green's 11th-inning homer made his first win. It did not hold: by the end of June he was optioned to Seattle, leaving him 3-2 with a 5.95 ERA in 17 games, none of them starts. A September recall got him back without an appearance, close enough to watch roommate Tracy Stallard serve up Roger Maris's 61st homer on the final day. Card #548 sits in the seventh series, a high number far tougher to find than his later Topps issues, and it is his recognized rookie card.
Theodore Carl Wills Jr., a left-hander born February 9, 1934, in Fresno, California, was the premier starter at Fresno High School and an all-state pick in baseball and basketball as a senior before pitching for the Fresno State Bulldogs. A Red Sox scout signed him in 1955 while he was still in college, for a bonus he remembered as a pair of spikes and a glove. Summers in Canadian amateur ball showed off his bat: at Saskatoon he led the league in hitting at .336. After ranking among the Southern Association leaders in wins, ERA and strikeouts for Double-A Chattanooga in 1958, he debuted for Boston on May 24, 1959. Across parts of five seasons with the Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox he went 8-11 with a 5.46 ERA and five saves in 83 games, 13 of them starts, and hit .250 in 44 at-bats. He spent 1963 and 1964 at Triple-A San Diego, closed 1965 in the minors and retired, then built a 40-year career as an insurance agent near Fresno. His father served more than 30 years on the Fresno City Council, eight of them as mayor in the 1970s. Wills died in Fresno on March 7, 2025, at 91.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 337 | 0 | 10 | 99 | 124 | 53 | 33 | 18 | 0 |
| SGC | 27 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
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: #373 Boston Red Sox Team
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- #53 Russ Nixon
- #69 Earl Wilson
- #81 Tracy Stallard
- #99 Don Buddin
- #113 Mike Fornieles
- #128 Rip Repulski
- #173 Beantown Bombers
- #193 Gene Conley
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #548 card?
It is card #548 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ted Wills of the Boston Red Sox.
Is 1961 Topps #548 a rookie card?
Yes - #548 is the 1961 Topps rookie card of Ted Wills.
Why is #548 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.