1969 Topps: #419 Rod Carew AS

Thursday, March 2, 2023

#419 Rod Carew AS - Minnesota Twins

All-Star cards returned to Topps sets in 1968 under The Sporting News banner for a three-year run between 1968 and 1970. Topps included 20 All-Star cards in its 1969 set, featuring 10 All-Stars from each league and one player from each position, including both a right-handed and left-handed pitcher.

Building the Set / Card #36
December 3, 2022 from The Philly Show (Huggins & Scott Auctions)

At the outset of The Philly Show, more formally known as the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania, we needed just four cards to complete our 1965 Topps set. I wrote a full summary of the show in this post over at The Phillies Room.

The show so far had been an all-timer. Major purchases were made (1965 and 1969 Topps Mickey Mantle, 1969 Topps Reggie Jackson rookie card, Diamond Stars Rogers Hornsby), our 1965 Topps set was completed and I admittedly wasn't ready to leave just yet. With a little more cash in hand, I decided to find a few more cards for our now newly-collecting 1969 Topps set.

1969 Topps #165

I found a box of vintage semi-star cards at the table of Higgins & Scott Auctions from Silver Spring, Maryland, with a "50% Off" sign attached to it. It was truly a hodge podge of minor stars, checklists, multi-player Rookie Stars cards and other assorted randomness. After confirming the cards were indeed 50% off the sticker prices, I found eight interesting cards needed for our set and parted with my final $50 of the day. This Carew All-Star card was $5, which seems like a steal?

The Card / Twins Team Set / Carl Yastrzemski Puzzle

Rod Carew (#510) gets the nod as the American League's All-Star second baseman, joining first baseman Ken Harrelson (#240), shortstop Bert Campaneris (#495) and third baseman Brooks Robinson (#550) in the infield. Carew was indeed the starting second baseman for the American League All-Stars in both 1968 and 1969, going 0 for 6 over the two exhibition games. He has two cards in each the 1968 and 1969 Topps sets - a base card and an All-Star card - and both his 1969 base and All-Star cards recycle the photos used for his 1968 cards.

The stock photo used in the background behind Carew features Lou Brock (#85), with Topps recycling the image from this set's World Series subset (#165). Topps airbrushed out Brock's #20, and blurred the photo a little to fool collectors into thinking that was Carew in action in the background. The backs of these All-Star cards contain a puzzle piece of either Pete Rose (#120) or Carl Yastrzemski (#130). The back of Carew's card features a full section of Yaz's jersey.

Topps All-Star Card Appearances (13): 1968-1970, 1974-1983