1961 Topps #586 Whitey Ford
About this card
Cards #566-586 and #589 are the 22 Sporting News All-Stars, printed in the scarce seventh series - the toughest run in the set.
About Whitey Ford
Both 1961 cards report a 1960 season Ford worked on Casey Stengel's irregular schedule, 12-9 with a 3.08 earned run average in 29 starts, the ace still saved for the toughest opponents rather than a fixed turn. Card #160 is a plain second-series number. Card #586 comes out of the seventh series, a high number that puts him in the Sporting News All-Star run closing the set. In the October between those two printings Ford shut out Pittsburgh twice with complete games, a four-hitter in Game 3 and a 12-0 rout in Game 6, and the Yankees lost the Series anyway in seven.
Whitey Ford spent his entire 16-year career with the New York Yankees, 1950 and 1953 through 1967, and left as the winningest pitcher in franchise history. Signed as an amateur free agent in 1947, he lost 1951 and 1952 to Army service during the Korean War, then came back to anchor a club that took eleven pennants and six World Series titles in his seasons. Minor-league manager Lefty Gomez tagged the blond left-hander Whitey; Casey Stengel called him Slick; catcher Elston Howard named him the Chairman of the Board for the calm he kept in trouble. He had no overpowering fastball and leaned instead on a curve he could throw in any count and on pinpoint control. Ford led the American League in wins three times and in earned run average twice, was picked for ten All-Star squads, and in 1961 went 25-4 for the Cy Young Award after new manager Ralph Houk let him start every fourth day. He holds the World Series records for wins, starts, innings and strikeouts, and his 33 2/3 straight scoreless Series innings erased Babe Ruth's mark of 29 2/3. Shoulder trouble finished him in May 1967 at 38, at 236-106 with a 2.75 earned run average. The National Baseball Hall of Fame elected him in 1974.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 1,296 | 3 | 42 | 329 | 331 | 267 | 158 | 166 | 0 |
| SGC | 284 | 0 | 4 | 40 | 70 | 65 | 48 | 54 | 3 |
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 Whitey Ford in this set: #160
Team card: #228 New York Yankees Team
More New York Yankees cards:
- #2 Roger Maris
- #19 Cletis Boyer
- #28 Hector Lopez
- #40 Bob Turley
- #68 Deron Johnson
- #104 John Blanchard
- #116 Joe DeMaestri
- #133 Ralph Houk
- #142 Luis Arroyo
- #160 Whitey Ford
- #180 Bobby Richardson
- #213 Bill Stafford
- #252 Bill Short
- #265 Tony Kubek
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #586 card?
It is card #586 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Whitey Ford of the New York Yankees. Cards #566-586 and #589 are the 22 Sporting News All-Stars, printed in the scarce seventh series - the toughest run in the set.
Why is #586 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.