1962 Topps #579 Jim Schaffer
About Jim Schaffer
Card 579 belongs to Topps' seventh series, the short-printed high numbers, and it is the recognized rookie card of the St. Louis catcher, arriving a full year after his 1961 debut. The season it accompanied was spare work: 70 games but only 66 at-bats, the mark of a catcher sent in for an inning or two at the end, and a .242 average with no home runs. Scarcity is what this card trades on. A seventh-series short print turns up far less often, and far less often well centered, than any other card in his run.
Jimmie Ronald Schaffer is a right-handed catcher from Limeport, Pennsylvania, born April 5, 1936. He signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent in 1955, a year after graduating from Coopersburg High School, and spent six seasons in the minors before debuting on May 20, 1961, lining a single off the Cubs' Dick Ellsworth in his first big-league at-bat. That rookie year gave him the most work he would ever get, 68 games and 153 at-bats. From there he moved constantly, catching for the Cardinals, Cubs, White Sox, Mets, Phillies and Reds across eight seasons and finishing at .223 with 11 home runs and 56 RBI in 304 games. He later managed in the Baltimore Orioles' farm system, coached the Texas Rangers bullpen in 1978, then joined the Kansas City Royals' staff in 1980 and stayed a decade, earning a World Series ring with the 1985 champions. He retired from baseball after the 1989 season and went home to Limeport, where he and his wife Jeanne raised five children.
Sources: Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 244 | 1 | 5 | 68 | 88 | 59 | 15 | 7 | 1 |
| SGC | 36 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-09-24. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8), and PSA's qualified grades are counted separately from the straight-grade rows shown here. Slabs of the three cards printed #139 are joined by description, never by number alone. PSA registers the green tints as a separate set; a tint's population is listed under that state of the card it belongs to.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Live auctions Buy It Now on eBay Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
Team card: #61 St. Louis Cardinals Team
More St. Louis Cardinals cards:
- #14 Bill White
- #19 Ray Washburn
- #28 Minnie Minoso
- #50 Stan Musial
- #83 Larry Jackson
- #106 Carl Sawatski
- #118 Julian Javier
- #149 Bob Duliba
- #167 Tim McCarver
- #198 Johnny Keane
- #202 Carl Warwick
- #223 Alex Grammas
- #241 Johnny Kucks
- #266 John Anderson
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1962 Topps #579 card?
It is card #579 of the 600-card 1962 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Schaffer of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Is 1962 Topps #579 a rookie card?
Yes - #579 is the 1962 Topps rookie card of Jim Schaffer.
Why is #579 harder to find?
It is a high number card (cards 523-598) from the seventh print series, distributed last and in the smallest quantity - the toughest cards in the set and home to all 42 short prints and the Rookie Parade. It is also a short print card (42 cards, all in 523-598). Printed in smaller quantity than the rest of the seventh series.
How many cards are in the 1962 Topps Baseball set?
600 cards, tracked as 708 collectible states. The numbers run from 1 to 598 with no gaps, but three different cards were printed #139 - two Hal Reniff poses, catalogued 139a and 139b, and the Babe Hits 60 Babe Ruth Special, 139c - so 598 numbers make 600 cards; 93 cards carry catalogued print variations, the series-2 green tints among them, that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Baseball Almanac, Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, BaseballCardPedia, 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 2026-10-03.