The 1961 Morrell Meats baseball card set is one of the more unique issues from the early 1960s. Morrell Meats was a meat packing company based in Syracuse, New York that distributed their products throughout the northeastern United States. In 1961, they issued a 132 card set featuring players from the American and National Leagues. What makes this set stand out compared to typical baseball card releases of the time is that they focused entirely on featuring star players rather than full team rosters.
Some key things to know about the 1961 Morrell Meats set in terms of values and what drives pricing for the individual cards:
Inserted in Morrell Meats packaging as a promotional item, the cards have a thin cardboard stock composition. They measure approximately 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches, which was standard for the early 1960s.
The front of each card features a color portrait of the player along with their name, team, and position. On the back, there is a blank white space. No other statistics or biographical information are included.
Only three Hall of Famers are included in the set – Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Eddie Mathews. Their rarity drives their prices much higher relative to other stars featured from 1961.
Condition is extremely important when evaluating the value of these cards due to the thin stock. Even lightly played or worn examples tend to sell for modest amounts. Near mint or better condition cards command the highest prices.
PSA/BGS authentication and grading also provides a substantial premium. CGC slabs are also seen occasionally for high end examples, but the majority of Morrell cards remain raw.
Prices fluctuate quite a bit depending on how recent the last confirmed sale for a particular player or serial number was. Active recent sales data is the best way to accurately gauge value trends over time.
Some highlights of estimated values in different grades for the most valuable cards in the 1961 Morrell Meats set:
Willie Mays:
PSA 8 – $900-1200
PSA 9 – $1200-1500
PSA/BGS 10 – $1800-2500
Hank Aaron:
PSA 8 – $500-750
PSA 9 – $750-1000
PSA/BGS 10 – $1200-1800
Eddie Mathews:
PSA 8 – $450-650
PSA 9 – $650-900
PSA/BGS 10 – $1000-1500
Orlando Cepeda:
PSA 8 – $300-450
PSA 9 – $450-600
PSA/BGS 10 – $700-1000
Johnny Callison:
PSA 8 – $250-350
PSA 9 – $350-500
PSA/BGS 10 – $550-800
Don Drysdale:
PSA 8 – $200-300
PSA 9 – $300-450
PSA/BGS 10 – $500-700
Beyond the star rookie and Hall of Fame players, there are many other solid major leaguers included that can still return reasonable values depending on condition, with PSA/BGS 10 examples ranging from $150-500. Players like Juan Marichal, Bill White, Billy Pierce, Harmon Killebrew and Roberto Clemente remain regularly attainable even in high grades for collectors.
One of the most exciting aspects of the Morrell Meats set is the high-end population reports. Only a small number of PSA/BGS 10 examples are known to exist for nearly all the cards, making pristine copies exceptionally rare. An overall scarce vintage set from the early 1960s, condition sensitive cardboard stock, and a focused checklist of star players makes the 1961 Morrell Meats baseball card issue a very interesting collectible niche within the industry over 60 years later. While certainly not as widely collected as typical tobacco or bubblegum card releases, knowledgeable vintage card collectors seek out and appreciate the obscurity and condition challenges that this unique supermarket promotional issue presents.
The 1961 Morrell Meats baseball card price guide shows a set led by the ultra high-end valuations of Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews. Many other stars sprinkled throughout the 132 card checklist can still offer affordable collecting and investing opportunities depending on the specific player and grade. Long-term, with such a scarce high-end population, condition sensitive composition, and more collectors expanding into deeper vintage card areas, the 1961 Morrell brand seems poised to remain a desirable niche collectible for years to come within the baseball card industry.
