1961 Topps #421 Ty Cline
About Ty Cline
Card #421 lands in the fifth print series and is Cline's recognized rookie card, issued off a September cameo in Cleveland. The Indians signed him out of Clemson on May 31, 1960, for a reported $40,000, sent him straight to Double-A Mobile, where he batted .311, and called him up when left fielder Harvey Kuenn was lost for the season with a fractured foot. Cline hit third and played center field in his September 14 debut, singled off Frank Sullivan, then tripled home a run in the third inning of an 11-7 win over Boston. He finished the trial 8-for-26 in seven games, a .308 sliver of a first season.
Tyrone Alexander Cline was born June 15, 1939, in Hampton, South Carolina, and signed with the Cleveland Indians on May 31, 1960, for a reported $40,000 after a first-team All-American season at Clemson, where he both patrolled the outfield and pitched. He played twelve major league seasons, 1960 through 1971, mostly as a fast, light-hitting, sure-gloved reserve outfielder and sometime first baseman, for the Indians, the Braves in Milwaukee and Atlanta, the Cubs, the Giants, the Expos and the Reds, finishing with a .238 average, 437 hits and 6 home runs in 892 games. His best year came in 1964 in Milwaukee, when he batted .302 and led the majors with 14 pinch hits. Montreal traded him to Cincinnati for Clyde Mashore on his 31st birthday in June 1970, and that October he tripled and scored the go-ahead run in the opener of the Reds' NLCS sweep of Pittsburgh. His pinch-hit Baltimore chop in Game One of the World Series set the disputed Ken Burkhart call at the plate in motion. He retired after 1971 and ran Baskin-Robbins stores around Charleston, South Carolina, until 2001. The South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame inducted him in 2009.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · The Baseball Cube
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 334 | 1 | 19 | 166 | 93 | 35 | 7 | 13 | 0 |
| SGC | 11 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 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 #421 card?
It is card #421 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ty Cline of the Cleveland Indians.
Is 1961 Topps #421 a rookie card?
Yes - #421 is the 1961 Topps rookie card of Ty Cline.
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.