#506 Paul Blair - Baltimore Orioles

Paul L.D. Blair
Baltimore Orioles
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  168
Born:  February 1, 1944, Cushing, OK
Signed:  Signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent, July 20, 1961
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1964-76; New York Yankees 1977-79; Cincinnati Reds 1979; New York Yankees 1980

World Series Appearances:  Baltimore Orioles 1966, 1969-71; New York Yankees 1977-78
Died:  December 26, 2013, Baltimore, MD (age 69)

Paul Blair was an eight-time Gold Glove winner and was the regular center fielder for the Orioles dynasty that won four American League pennants and two World Series between 1966 and 1971.  Blair played a key role in the Orioles' 1966 World Series victory, hitting the game-winning home run in Game 3 and robbing the Dodgers' Jim Lefebvre (#140) of a home run in Game 4 that would have tied the game.  He led the league in triples with 12 in 1967.  Blair's excellent range in the outfield led to his Gold Glove honors, including seven in a row between 1969 and 1975.  His best season was perhaps 1969 when he made his first All-Star team and batted .285 with 26 home runs and 76 RBIs - both career highs.  

1967 Topps #153

After 13 seasons with the Orioles, Blair was dealt to the Yankees before the 1977 season and he'd win two more World Series rings in the Bronx.  Blair collected 1,513 hits over 1,947 games, batting .250, and he was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame in 1984.  Blair's 104 assists as a center fielder are currently 39th on the all-time list.  He served as a college and minor league coach from the early 1980s until the early 2000s.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set / Card #448
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.

Having had success the prior two shows at Uncle Dick's Cards with his well-organized, neon common binders, I opted to pull up a chair once again at the friendly dealer's array of tables.  The aim was simple:  Clear out Uncle Dick's 1969 Topps commons, starting off where I had left off the year before with card #501 and going through the end of the set, card #664.  In less than 25 minutes, I completed my quest, and this is the fourth of 98 commons pulled from the binder.  After a generous dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, this card was a little over a dollar.

The Card / Orioles Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

Blair wore #6 with the Orioles between 1965 and 1976.  The cartoon on the back of the card highlights his game-winning home run against the Dodgers in 1966 World Series Game 3, and Topps had previously spotlighted this event with a card in its 1967 flagship set's World Series subset.  The write-up refers to Blair's struggles in 1968, in which he batted just .211 in the Year of the Pitcher.  Topps reprinted this card in its 2002 Topps Archives set.

Accuracy Index:  Blair's card scores a +5, a mark becoming much more prevalent in these higher series cards.

1969 Season
As mentioned above, this was Blair's career year.  As the regular center fielder for the pennant-winning Orioles, Blair set career bests in home runs and RBIs.  His 7.1 bWAR was second on the team to only Frank Robinson (#250), who had a 7.5 mark.  Blair's 20 stolen bases led the Orioles.  He was third in the league in hits (178), fourth in doubles (32), second in outfield assists (12), and led the league with 13 sacrifice bunts.  Blair easily handled Twins' pitching in the ALCS, batting .400 (6 for 15) but slumped in the World Series against the Mets with only a pair of hits in 20 at-bats.

1965 Topps #473

1970 Topps #285

1976 Topps #473

1978 Topps #114

1980 Topps #281

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #473
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (17):  1965-80
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2013 Topps Archives #224
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  163 in the Beckett online database as of 12/31/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#505 Bobby Bolin - San Francisco Giants / #507 Cookie Rojas - Philadelphia Phillies

#505 Bobby Bolin - San Francisco Giants

Bobby Donald Bolin
San Francisco Giants
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  185
Born:  January 29, 1939, Hickory Grove, SC
Signed:  Signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent, December 10, 1956
Major League Teams:  San Francisco Giants 1961-69; Milwaukee Brewers 1970; Boston Red Sox 1970-73

World Series Appearances:  San Francisco Giants 1962
Died:  June 2, 2023, Easley, SC (age 84)

Bobby Bolin pitched in more games (345) for the Giants during the 1960s than any other pitcher, topping both Juan Marichal (#370) and Gaylord Perry (#485) who had 328 and 289 appearances respectively.  Bolin was a 10-game winner in four different seasons and made his sole World Series appearance in 1962, pitching in two games against the Yankees.  A reliable starting pitcher during the peak of his career, his best season came in 1968 during the "Year of the Pitcher."  Bolin went 10-5 that season over 34 starts, earning a 1.99 ERA, second only to Bob Gibson (#200) and his ERA of 1.12.  A reliever at the end of his career, he saved a career-high 15 games for the Red Sox in 1973.  Bolin's career record was 88-75 over 13 seasons with a 3.40 ERA.  He had 51 saves and 1,175 lifetime strikeouts.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set / Card #447
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.

Having had success the prior two shows at Uncle Dick's Cards with his well-organized, neon common binders, I opted to pull up a chair once again at the friendly dealer's array of tables.  The aim was simple:  Clear out Uncle Dick's 1969 Topps commons, starting off where I had left off the year before with card #501 and going through the end of the set, card #664.  In less than 25 minutes, I completed my quest, and this is the third of 98 commons pulled from the binder.  After a generous dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, this card was less than a dollar.

The Card / Giants Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

Photos for Bolin's 1968 and 1969 Topps cards (and maybe his 1965 Topps card?) were likely taken at the same time.  The write-up on the back of the card highlights his 1.98 ERA from the 1968 season, and Bolin appears earlier in the set on the ERA League Leaders card (#8).  The cartoon highlights a no-hitter thrown by Bolin in 1959 while a member of the Eugene Emeralds of the Northwest League.

This is one of 23 cards available in the set's fifth series available as either "yellow letter" or "white letter" variations, with the yellow letter variations being more prevalent.  This is the more prevalent yellow letter variation with Bolin's last name printed in yellow.

Accuracy Index:  Bolin's card scores a semi-standard by now +5.

1969 Season
In his last of nine seasons with the Giants, Bolin pitched in 30 games, making 22 starts, and was 7-7 with a 4.43 ERA.  Bolin served as the fourth starter for the Giants, behind Perry, Marichal and Mike McCormick (#517).  On December 12th, he was dealt to the Seattle Pilots for Dick Simpson (#608) and Steve Whitaker (#71).  While he appears in a Pilots uniform on his 1970 Topps card, the Pilots moved to Milwaukee to become the Brewers before the start of the 1970 season.

1961 Topps #449

1963 Topps #106

1968 Topps #169

1970 Topps #574

1974 Topps #427

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1961 Topps #449
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (14):  1961-74
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1978 TCMA The 1960s I #109
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  53 in the Beckett online database as of 12/30/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#504 6th Series Checklist 513-588 / #506 Paul Blair - Baltimore Orioles

#503 Larry Brown - Cleveland Indians

Larry Leslie Brown
Cleveland Indians
Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  160
Born:  March 1, 1940, Shinnston, WV
Signed:  Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before 1958 season
Major League Teams:  Cleveland Indians 1963-71; Oakland Athletics 1971-72; Baltimore Orioles 1973; Texas Rangers 1974

Died:  April 13, 2024, Stuart, FL (age 84)

Larry Brown was a steady-fielding, light-hitting middle infielder for parts of 12 seasons with four different American League teams.  Most of his career was spent with the Indians, where he was a regular at shortstop in 1967 and 1968.  Brown was a career .233 batter and enjoyed his best seasons at the plate in 1965 (.253 average, 22 doubles) and 1968 (.234 average, career-high 116 hits).  He suffered a scary injury on May 4, 1966, colliding with teammate Leon Wagner (#187) on a play and suffering a skull fracture.  Brown missed six weeks of the season while recovering.  

A semi-regular with the Indians throughout the 1960s, he ultimately lost his starting job in early 1970 when Jack Heidemann took over as the team's regular shortstop.  Brown was sold to the Athletics the following season, and he'd play four seasons as a back-up infielder or pinch-hitter with the Athletics, Orioles and Rangers.  He retired following the 1974 season.  In 1,129 career games, Brown collected 803 hits and had 47 home runs with 254 RBIs.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set / Card #446
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.

Having had success the prior two shows at Uncle Dick's Cards with his well-organized, neon common binders, I opted to pull up a chair once again at the friendly dealer's array of tables.  The aim was simple:  Clear out Uncle Dick's 1969 Topps commons, starting off where I had left off the year before with card #501 and going through the end of the set, card #664.  

In less than 25 minutes, I completed my quest, and this is the second of 98 commons pulled from the binder.  After a generous dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, this card was less than a dollar.

The Card / Indians Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

There's a chance the photos used for Brown's Topps cards between 1966 and 1969 were all taken at the same photo session.  

Similar to his 1965 Topps card, Brown's older brother Dick is referenced on the back.  Dick Brown was a catcher for the Indians (1957-59), White Sox (1960), Tigers (1961-62) and Orioles (1963-65).   The elder Brown, at the time a scout for the Orioles, tragically passed away in April 1970 at the age of 35 from a brain tumor.  He appeared in his sixth and final Topps flagship set in 1963.

Accuracy Index:  Brown's card receives a +5.

1969 Season
Once again the opening day shortstop for the Indians, Brown eventually lost playing time to rookie Eddie Leon, with Leon taking over the regular job in July.  With Leon now at shortstop, Brown still got an occasional start at third base over the remaining months of the season.  In 132 games, Brown batted .239 with 10 doubles, four home runs and 24 RBIs.

1964 Topps #301

1966 Topps #16

1968 Topps #197

1970 Topps #391

1972 Topps #279

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1964 Topps #301
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9):  1964-72
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1981 TCMA The 1960s II #416
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  53 in the Beckett online database as of 12/29/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#502 Minnie Rojas - California Angels / #504 6th Series Checklist 513-588

#502 Minnie Rojas - California Angels

Minervino Alejandro Rojas
California Angels
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  170
Born:  November 26, 1933, Remedios, Cuba
Signed:  Signed by the San Francisco Giants as an amateur free agent before 1960 season
Major League Teams:  California Angels 1966-68

Died:  March 23, 2002, Los Angeles, CA (age 68)

Minnie Rojas pitched professionally in 10 different seasons, spending two years pitching in Mexico and parts of three years with the Angels.  Rojas came up with the Angels in 1966 as a 32-year-old rookie, and was one of the more effective relievers in the league.  In 47 games that season, he was 7-4 with a 2.88 ERA and 10 saves.  His career year came in 1967 when Rojas was 12-9 with a 2.52 ERA in 72 games with a league-leading 27 saves.  Rojas won The Sporting News Fireman of the Year honors in the American League following the season, and finished 24th in the league's MVP voting.

His success was short-lived, as arm injuries limited his output in 1968 to 38 appearances and six saves.  Rojas would attempt a comeback with the Angels in 1969, pitching with their top farm team in Hawaii, but the injuries were too much to overcome and he'd retire from baseball.  In 157 big league games, Rojas was 23-16 with a 3.00 ERA in 261 innings pitched and 43 career saves.  Rojas and his family were involved in a tragic and deadly auto accident in 1970, leaving the former pitcher partially paralyzed.

Building the Set / Card #445
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Here we go again!  On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.

Having had success the prior two shows at Uncle Dick's Cards with his well-organized, neon common binders, I opted to pull up a chair once again at the friendly dealer's array of tables.  The aim was simple:  Clear out Uncle Dick's 1969 Topps commons, starting off where I had left off the year before with card #501 and going through the end of the set, card #664.  In less than 25 minutes, I completed my quest, and this is the first of 98 commons pulled from the binder.  After a generous dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, this card was less than a dollar.

Between 2021 and 2024, spread over four different baseball card shows, I purchased 467 of the 664 cards needed for our 1969 Topps set from Uncle Dick's, or a little over 70% of the set.

The Card / Angels Team Set / Accuracy Index +3

This is the final of three Topps flagship set appearances for Rojas, and all three cards are somewhat similar.  The write-up on the back alludes to the arm trouble that would derail Rojas' career.  The cartoon highlights his big league debut on May 30, 1966, in which Rojas got the start and pitched 5 1/3 innings against the Indians.  He'd allow a solo home run to Fred Whitfield (#518), with Dean Chance (#620) entering in relief for the Angels and converting a 3 2/3 inning save.

Accuracy Index:  Rojas' card drops to a +3, as the uniform is accurate (+5), but he didn't pitch with the Angels in 1969 (-2).

1969 Season
Rojas appeared in 15 games with Charros de Jalisco of the Mexican league, and 12 games with the Hawaii Islanders, the Angels top farm team.  He was 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA in 12 games and 18 innings pitched for the Islanders.  As mentioned above, his arm troubles were too difficult to overcome and Rojas would retire from baseball without returning to the Angels.

1967 Topps #104

1968 Topps #305

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1967 Topps #104
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (3):  1967-69
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1969 Topps #502
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  11 in the Beckett online database as of 12/29/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

#501 Tony Gonzalez - San Diego Padres / #503 Larry Brown - Cleveland Indians

#95 Johnny Bench - Cincinnati Reds

Johnny Lee Bench
Cincinnati Reds
Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  197
Born:  December 7, 1947, Oklahoma City, OK
Drafted:  Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2nd round of the 1965 amateur draft, June 8, 1965
Major League Teams:  Cincinnati Reds 1967-83

World Series Appearances:  Cincinnati Reds 1970, 1972, 1975-76
Hall of Fame Induction:  1989

The de facto leader of the Big Red Machine dynasty that won four National League pennants and a pair of World Championships between 1970 and 1976, Johnny Bench was also one of the best catchers in the history of the game.  Bench was a 14-time All-Star, 10-time Gold Glove winner, the Rookie of the Year in 1968, and two-time MVP winner in 1970 and 1972.  He led the league in home runs and RBIs in both of his MVP seasons, and topped the league again with 129 RBIs in 1974.  Bench was a force for the Reds throughout the 1970s, averaging 33 home runs and 114 RBIs per 162 games between 1970 and 1979.  While he struggled at the plate in the 1975 World Series, he won World Series MVP honors in 1976, batting .533 (8 for 15) with a pair of home runs and six RBIs against the Yankees.  Bench and his superstar teammates Joe Morgan (#35), Pete Rose (#120), Tony Perez (#295), George Foster and others dominated the baseball landscape in the early to mid-1970s.

For his career, Bench batted .267 with 2,048 hits, 389 home runs and 1,376 RBIs.  He still sits atop or close to the top of every major offensive category on the Reds' all-time leaderboard.  Bench retired as the all-time home run leader among catchers with 327, a mark since surpassed by Carlton Fisk and Mike Piazza.  The Reds retired his #5 in 1984, and he was a first ballot inductee into the Hall of Fame in 1989.  Bench was selected as a catcher, along with Yogi Berra, on the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999.

Building the Set / Card #444
November 29, 2024 from Tomball, TX (The Battersbox)
Over the past few years, our youngest son Ben has become quite the Taylor Swift fan, joining the ranks of millions of Swifties around the world.  Having missed her Eras Tour dates in Philadelphia in May 2023, and appreciating how much Ben wanted to see the tour live before it ended, my wife and I took the plunge and bought a pair of tickets on the secondary market for Swift's fifth concert in Toronto on November 22, 2024.  Having satisfied my chauffeuring duties between South Jersey and Toronto, with a pitstop at Niagara Falls, and with Ben and my wife off to the show, I found a nearby restaurant on the night of the concert to enjoy a good meal . . . and purchase a baseball card for our 1969 Topps set.

I didn't realize it at the time, but apparently Moxie's is a chain located throughout Canada and the U.S.  Seated comfortably at the bar at Moxie's Vaughan, and having ordered the steak frites with truffle fries, I spent some time browsing eBay on my phone and looking for a star card needed for our set, as one does.  So while my wife and son were settling into their seats for a 3 1/2 hour Taylor Swift concert, I was ordering this Johnny Bench card from The Battersbox in Tromball, Texas.  (And the steak frites was delicious.)  It was a great trip, and it resulted in a lot of happy memories for our family, and this Bench card will be a nice little reminder of everything.  Thank you Taylor Swift!

The Card / Reds Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

This is Bench's first solo card, as he shared his rookie card in the 1968 Topps set with pitcher Ron Tompkins.  Bench would appear again later in the set on an All-Star card (#430).  His Topps 1968 All-Star Rookie trophy is displayed prominently, and this is probably one of my favorite cards from the set.  It looks as if Bench is sporting a double number on the front of his jersey (#55?), perhaps a number he wore during spring training before switching to his more familiar #5.  The cartoon on the back highlights his first home run, hit on September 20, 1967, off the Braves' Jim Britton (#154).

This card has been reprinted a bunch of times by Topps, and Topps has also liberally re-used this photo on a number of its Bench cards throughout the years.  By my unofficial tally, Topps has reprinted the card 11 times between 2005 and 2021.

Accuracy Index:  Bench's card earns a +5, and I'd award it more points on aesthetics alone if I were doing that kind of thing.

1969 Season
Following his Rookie of the Year win in 1968, Bench showed no signs of a sophomore slump, batting .293 with 26 home runs and 90 RBIs over 148 games with the Reds.  He started his first All-Star Game, going 2 for 3 with a two-run home run off the Yankees' Mel Stottlemyre (#470) in the second inning.  Bench was robbed of a second home run by Carl Yastrzemski's (#130) leaping catch over the left field fence at Washington's RFK Stadium.

1968 Topps #247

1972 Topps #433

1976 Topps #300

1979 Topps #200

1983 Topps #60

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1968 Topps #247
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (18):  1968-84, 1990
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2024 Stadium Club #75
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  3,420 in the Beckett online database as of 12/28/24.

I'm impressed by the sheer volume of cards Bench has appeared on, and so far on Reggie Jackson (#260) and Mickey Mantle (#500) have appeared on more cards than Bench among the players I've collected for this set.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

National Baseball Hall of Fame
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

#94 Hank Aguirre - Los Angeles Dodgers / #96 Denver Lemaster - Houston Astros

#400 Don Drysdale - Los Angeles Dodgers

Donald Scott Drysdale
Los Angeles Dodgers
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'5"  Weight:  190
Born:  July 23, 1936, Van Nuys, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1954 season
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1956-57; Los Angeles Dodgers 1958-69

World Series Appearances:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1956; Los Angeles Dodgers 1959, 1963, 1965-66
Died:  July 3, 1993, Montreal, Canada (age 56)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1984

One of the most dominant pitchers of his era, Don Drysdale was the 1962 National League Cy Young Award winner, won World Series rings with the Dodgers in 1959, 1963 and 1965, and threw a then-record 58 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings in 1968.  He was a nine-time All-Star.  Drysdale won at least 15 games in seven different seasons, culminating with his career-high 25 wins in 1962.  He led the league in strikeouts three times and innings pitched twice.  Not afraid to keep batters off the plate, Drysdale led the league in hit batters five times and his 154 hit batters over his career ranks 20th on the all-time list.  His amazing run of 58 2/3 innings also came with a record six consecutive shutouts.  Fellow Dodgers' pitcher Orel Hershiser broke the record with 59 consecutive scoreless innings in 1988.  For his career, Drysdale was 209-166 with a 2.95 ERA and 2,486 strikeouts.  A decent hitter too, he was a career .186 batter with 29 home runs and 113 RBIs.  

While playing, Drysdale was a guest star on several television shows, appearing on The Rifleman, Leave It to Beaver and The Brady Bunch, among other shows.  Following his retirement due in part to a chronically sore shoulder, Drysdale began a lengthy broadcasting career.  He worked with the Expos (1970-71), Rangers (1972), Angels (1973-79, 1981), White Sox (1982-87) and Dodgers (1988-93), while also broadcasting games nationally for NBC and ABC.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984, the same year the Dodgers retired his #53.  Drysdale passed away in 1993 after a heart attack suffered on the road before a Dodgers-Expos game.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set / Card #443
April 9, 2024 from Wenonah, NJ (Gar Miller Baseball Cards)
On April 7th, I received an e-mail from Gar Miller, hobby icon, informing me and other customers he had recently updated his inventory of vintage baseball cards for sale at garmillercards.com.  In need of some vintage cardboard, and wanting to see if Miller had any Diamond Stars cards I needed, I decided to check out the new inventory.  

A high-number Red Lucas card from the Diamond Stars set was reasonably priced, so I added it, a few cards needed for our 1969 Topps set and a few random Phillies-related cards to my cart and submitted my order.  Given the proximity of Miller to our house, I wasn't surprised when the cards arrived in our mail box in two days.  The Drysdale card joined Ernie Banks (#20) and the Graig Nettles rookie card (#99) as the trio of cards added to our 1969 Topps set.

The Card / Dodgers Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

This is Drysdale's final appearance in a Topps flagship set, and it's a shame Topps didn't give him a career capping card in its 1970 Topps set.  He appears earlier in the set on the 4th Series checklist card (#314).  The bak of the card highlights his 1962 Cy Young Award winning season and his 58 2/3 consecutive scoreless inning streak from 1968.  Topps reprinted the card in its 2001 Topps Archives set.

Accuracy Index:  His final contemporaneous Topps card scores a +5.

Inserts:  Drysdale is included as one of the 48 decals in the Topps Decals insert set.

1969 Season
Drysdale was limited to 12 starts for the Dodgers throughout the season, and was 5-4 with a 4.45 ERA in 62 2/3 innings pitched.  Having started 35 or more games for nine straight seasons, Drysdale's recurring shoulder injuries finally became insurmountable.  Diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff, the pitching great retired, throwing in his last major league game on August 5th against the Pirates.  His final strikeout victim was Willie Stargell (#545), who Drysdale K'd in the top of the fifth inning.

1957 Topps #18

1962 Topps #340

1963 Topps #360

1965 Topps #260

1968 Topps #145

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1957 Topps #18
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13):  1957-69
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2023 Topps Allen & Ginter Spotless Spans #SS-9
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  632 in the Beckett online database as of 12/28/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

National Baseball Hall of Fame
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#399 Bob Bailey - Montreal Expos / #401 Jake Gibbs - New York Yankees