1961 Topps #497 Willie Jones
About Willie Jones
Card 497 in the 1961 Topps set comes from the sixth print series. Bowman had pictured him back in the 1950 Whiz Kids season. Topps shows him as a Cincinnati Red, the club he landed with in 1959 after the Phillies traded him to Cleveland on June 6 and the Indians sold him to Cincinnati on July 1. Behind the card sits his 1960 season: 79 games, mostly pinch-hitting and part-time work at third, a .268 average and three home runs. He went hitless in nine games in 1961, played his last game on May 7, and the Reds released him nine days later.
Willie Edward Jones, nicknamed "Puddin' Head" after a 1933 novelty song, was a right-handed-hitting third baseman whose 15 big-league seasons ran from 1947 to 1961. Born in Dillon, South Carolina and raised in Laurel Hill, North Carolina, he was signed out of semipro ball and reached Philadelphia in September 1947. From 1949 through the middle of 1959 he was the Phillies' everyday third baseman, and his best year came with the 1950 National League champion Whiz Kids: career highs of 25 home runs, 88 RBIs, 100 runs and 163 hits, then a .286 World Series against the Yankees, who swept Philadelphia in four games. He was an All-Star in 1950 and 1951. Defense was his calling card - he led National League third basemen in fielding percentage every season from 1952 through 1958 except 1957, led them in putouts seven times, and finished at .963 for his career. The Phillies traded him to Cleveland on June 6, 1959, the Indians sold him to Cincinnati on July 1, and he spent his last season and a half with the Reds before they released him in May 1961. He batted .258 with 190 home runs and 812 RBIs in 1,691 games, and is honored on the Philadelphia Phillies Wall of Fame.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 367 | 5 | 29 | 165 | 104 | 37 | 16 | 11 | 0 |
| SGC | 16 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 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 #497 card?
It is card #497 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Willie Jones of the Cincinnati Reds.
Why is #497 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.