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In the set's sixth series, Topps made the decision to include four (and only four) combo cards featuring members of the Orioles, Senators, Athletics and Giants. A staple throughout the prior decade-plus of Topps sets, the combo cards would make a brief, final appearance with these four cards and then disappear again. Various checklists also denote these as "CPC" for combo player cards.
Building the Set / Card #579
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime)
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 20th of 36 total cards bought from America's Pastime, and the 20th of 91 cards for set added overall on the day, and it cost a little under $10 after the dealer discount.
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| Marichal and McCovey in 2013 |
I have to wonder if Topps intended to create one of these combo player cards for each of the 24 teams in the league and just ran out of steam (or good photos), ditching the idea after only four cards. While Willie McCovey (#440) and Juan Marichal (#370) are unquestionably Giant Heroes, room could have been made on the card for the two other future Hall of Famers from the Giants' roster - Willie Mays (#190) and Gaylord Perry (#485). Perry hadn't yet solidified his Hall of Fame credentials, but Mays certainly had, although Mays was 37 years old at the time, seven years older than either McCovey or Marichal. Maybe Topps wanted to highlight the younger stars on the Giants, or maybe they only had the ability to get a picture of McCovey and Marichal together.
In case collectors needed reminding, the back of the card does a great job summing up why both players are worthy to be called Giant Heroes, and the copy writer for Topps even throws in a pun at the end with, "These two offensive and defensive stars are truly Giants of the game today." This is McCovey's fifth appearance in the set. He shows up on two league leaders card, an All-Star card, his base card and this combo card.
1969 Season
McCovey and Marichal were first and second on the Giants in terms of bWAR with marks of 8.1 and 7.6, respectively, in 1969. McCovey won league MVP honors, batting .320 and leading the league in both home runs (45) and RBIs (126). Marichal was 21-11 with a league-leading 2.10 ERA in 37 games, while also leading the league with eight shutouts. The Giants finished three games behind the Braves in the National League West pennant race.
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
#571 Cap Peterson - Cleveland Indians / #573 Jim Palmer - Baltimore Orioles
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