#12 N.L. Strikeout Leaders - Bob Gibson / Fergie Jenkins / Bill Singer

Beginning in 1961, Topps started including league leader cards in its sets and there are 12 league leaders cards kicking off the 1969 Topps set.  League leader cards can be found at the beginning of each Topps set issued in 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968 and 1969.

Building the Set / Card #561
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime)

On Sunday morning, September 21st, I made the hour-long drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest installment of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, known to its friends as The Philly Show.  The show has a legitimate official sponsor (eBay) and the advertisement for the event notes the show is in its 50th year.  I hadn't attended a baseball card show since the last Philly Show in December, and I was flying solo to this one as our oldest son is in his first month of college at Villanova.  I posted a full summary of the show over at The Phillies Room.

I made stops at six tables at the show, all yielding needed cards for our 1969 Topps set, and I left the show with just 16 more cards to go for my version of a complete set.  The first place I stopped was a table with well-organized and well-marked binders of commons and semi-stars with 20% Off notes across the front of each binder.  

I took my time and found 32 commons and semi-stars needed before asking to see the dealer's star cards from the set.  It turned out this first purchase was also my biggest, as I spent over half my allotted budget here, America's Pastime from Fair Lawn, New Jersey, before moving on to my second stop.  This was the second of 36 total cards bought from America's Pastime, and the second of 91 cards for set added overall on the day, and it cost a little over $2 after the dealer discount.

The Card / Cardinals Team Set / Cubs Team Set / Dodgers Team Set

Future Hall of Famers Bob Gibson (#200) and Fergie Jenkins (#640) were the runaway favorites to earn the league leader honors for strikeouts in 1968.  Gibson nearly missed matching his career-high mark of 270 strikeouts, set in 1965, he'd strike out one more in 1969 with 269, and he'd reach a new career best with 274 strikeouts in 1970.  He struck out 10, 11 and 11 respectively in his final three September starts.  Jenkins would lead the league a year later with 273 strikeouts in 1969.  He had led the league in strikeouts for most of 1968, with Gibson's dominant final three starts eventually overtaking him.

And Bill Singer (#575) is just happy to be here with his 227 strikeouts in 1968.  Singer would also set a career high in 1969 with 247 strikeouts.

#11 1968 A.L. Strikeout Leaders / #13 Mickey Stanley - Detroit Tigers