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Maris, Killebrew, Mays and Clemente Pulled from Sealed 1961 Topps Pack

Just Collect Uncovers Star-Studded Pull From Pack Sealed for 65 Years

September 17, 2026

1961Topps-1

Sealed for 65 years, Just Collect did a live break of a PSA-graded and sealed cello pack of 1961 Topps baseball. We hoped for A star. Wished for A Hall of Famer. The pack delivered MORE than we could dream of!

Just Collect offers with both modern and vintage products. One of our highly-anticipated breaks happened this week when we broke a PSA-graded, sealed 1961 Topps series one cello pack! These cards haven't seen the light of day in 65 years - a time when Elvis ruled radio and a ticket to one of his concerts cost a cool $3 to get in, when gas was 29 CENTS per gallon, and a cello pack of Topps baseball cards was only a dime. If only those prices were true today.

Topps released their 1961 set in multiple series, much as they still do today. This cello pack had cards from the first series. Cards numbered 1-88 make up the first series and include a few legendary names! A few cards we hoped to pull were:

#2 Roger Maris
#10 Brooks Robinson
#20 Robin Roberts
#30 Nellie Fox
#35 Ron Santo (rookie)
#41 NL Batting Leaders with both Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente
#42 NL Home Run Leaders with Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, and Ed Matthews
#44 AL Home Run Leaders with both Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris
#49 NL Strikeout Leaders with Sandy Koufax

Of course, the odds to pull a star or Hall of Famer were long given the pack had just 12 cards and the series has 88 cards. However, ANY cards from this pack were going to be desirable, both from a value and provenance standpoint.

On the value side, we can look at recent sales of graded cards in high grade condition. While a Gem Mint 10 grade could not be guaranteed, the best chance at a card receiving a high grade is one that is pack-fresh! As of today, PSA has graded 413,491 cards from the 1961 Topps baseball set, and just 943 cards received a grade of 10. Using the Roger Maris, card #2, as an example, only ONE card in the world was graded PSA 10. There isn't even a current price for the PSA 10 available, and the last PSA 9 (there are 24 in existence) sold for $11,965.00! Set collectors love high graded cards for their sets, and ANY card in this pack will certainly catch the eyes of those in the hobby.

Provenance is huge! These cards are about to have their first owner. Imagine - just a single owner of a card that is 65 years old. Cards you find at your local hobby shop or from the Internet could have been anywhere, but these cards are straight from the Topps factory to an original owner's hands.

Our breaker, S10, donned his protective gear, and cracked the PSA case. The list of customers who purchased a spot in the break had their names randomized. Then, carefully, the pack was opened. The pack was everything and more!

This pack contained:

ROGER MARIS
(2) HARMON KILLEBREW
1960 NL LEADERS with WILLIE MAYS and ROBERTO CLEMENTE

Maris was the 1961 MVP and hit his then record of 61 home runs in a single season. What a card to own!

Killebrew is a Hall of Famer who led the league in home runs six different seasons. Shout out to Topps quality control not being what it is today and slipping in TWO cards of Harmon Killebrew!

Mays may be the greatest all-around player, and Clemente is a downright legend.

Here is a video of the break; you can watch all the action unfold!

Here are photos of the pack and top hits:

For a cool piece of history, the eighth card in the pack is of Tracy Stallard, the pitcher who up gave up Roger Maris' 61st home run!

Congratulations to Rob, James, JJ, Charles, Jeffery, and Stephen for these beautiful cards!

If you'd like to join one of our live breaks, you can visit us any time here:

Interested in selling a collection? Just Collect is always buying! We offer a . Read below to see how easy it is to contact us and you can read about collections we have previously purchased.

INCREDIBLE COLLECTIONS PURCHASED

Check out blogs featuring incredible collections Just Collect proudly purchased such as:

The Oregon Farm Collection with a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle discovered in an old barn!
Two 1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky rookie cards - a pair of rookies from the Great One!
1990's Precious Metal Gem basketball cards include some of the rarest, most sought-after cards in modern history.
The Aaron Judge Collection with high-end one of one cards and multiple rookie autos.
Topps Venezuela Collection including a scarce Willie Mays card.

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Just Collect is always buying vintage sports and non-sports cards from 1879 to 2009 as well as select modern cards. If you have a collection that you are considering selling, contact us today to discuss or get our industry-leading purchase offer. If you have a collection that you want appraised, please contact us and we would be happy to discuss your collection and help you understand the real cash value of your collection in the current marketplace. Check out the Just Collect Buy List.

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We offer many ways to evaluate your cards other than or using our website, too.

Travel to Us

If you can make the trip here like the son from my hometown did for this collection- we can make a deal at the office. We once met a father-son duo that drove eight hours from Virginia to meet us to sell a Michael Jordan rookie card stored in Tupperware since 1986 - great read here.

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If you have a valuable collection and want us to come to you, we'll hop on the next plane out.

Meet in New York City

If you're near New York City and would like to meet in a public place, our owner, Leighton, would be happy to meet you; read all the information here.

SHIP your collection

If you choose to mail your cards for an appraisal, we will evaluate your cards for FREE still. If you choose not to sell the cards, we'll ship them back shipping fees paid by us! We can offer our FedEx account with 2-day shipping, fully insured, all covered by us. Simply contact the office to set up this option.

OUR BUYING PHILOSOPHY

We've run into a wide range of people and collections over the last 25 years. Although Just Collect is known for buying vintage sports cards and especially vintage baseball cards, we are also extremely interested in buying non-sports cards, too!

Every collection and every collector is different and we treat EVERY collection with the respect and attention that we show for our own collections. We understand that many have put their heart and souls into building their collections. So when you're ready to sell, we understand the feelings that you're going through and will work with you to help you reach a decision that is a WIN/WIN, because if you're not happy, we're not happy.