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Glenn Alfred Beckert
Chicago Cubs
Second Base
Born: October 12, 1940, Pittsburgh, PA
Signed: Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent before 1962 season
Major League Teams: Chicago Cubs 1965-73; San Diego Padres 1974-75
Died: April 12, 2020, Englewood, FL (age 79)
During his 11-year major league career, including nearly a decade with the Cubs, Glenn Beckert was a four-time All-Star and a Gold Glove winner in 1968. He and Don Kessinger (#225) were the Cubs' steady double play combination for most of the 1960s. Beckert's Gold Glove season saw him bat .294 with a league-leading 98 runs scored. He'd make the first of four consecutive All-Star teams in 1969 and Beckert finished as the runner-up to the league's batting title in 1971 when he batted .342. Tough to strike out, he led the league five times in at-bats per strike out. Beckert spent the final two seasons of his career as a back-up infielder for the Padres in 1974 and 1975. In 1,320 career games, he batted .283 with 685 runs scored and his 3,712 assists as a second baseman are currently 70th on the all-time list. Beckert was among the many Cubs' immortals inducted into the inaugural Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame class in 2021.
During his 11-year major league career, including nearly a decade with the Cubs, Glenn Beckert was a four-time All-Star and a Gold Glove winner in 1968. He and Don Kessinger (#225) were the Cubs' steady double play combination for most of the 1960s. Beckert's Gold Glove season saw him bat .294 with a league-leading 98 runs scored. He'd make the first of four consecutive All-Star teams in 1969 and Beckert finished as the runner-up to the league's batting title in 1971 when he batted .342. Tough to strike out, he led the league five times in at-bats per strike out. Beckert spent the final two seasons of his career as a back-up infielder for the Padres in 1974 and 1975. In 1,320 career games, he batted .283 with 685 runs scored and his 3,712 assists as a second baseman are currently 70th on the all-time list. Beckert was among the many Cubs' immortals inducted into the inaugural Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame class in 2021.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #603
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (Vintage Sports)
The Card / Cubs Team Set / Accuracy Index +1
1969 Season
Beckert suffered through a series of injuries throughout the season, including a likely concussion from an on-field collision with Mike Shannon (#110) in April, the effects of the flu that same month, a beaning resulting in 15 stitches on his chin on a pitch thrown by Gary Ross (#404) in May, and finally a severely jammed thumb on a collision with baserunner Tony Cloninger (#492) in May. Beckert still managed to make the All-Star team, but a supposed curse from a black cat crossing Beckert's path on September 9th cost the Cubs at shot at the playoffs. The Cubs had a 7 1/2 game lead with 40 games remaining to play, but eventually fell to the Mets in the division following the black cat incident. Beckert played in 131 games, batting .291 with 22 doubles, a home run and 37 RBIs.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #549
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1965-1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1993 Upper Deck All-Time Heroes #8
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 97 in the Beckett online database as of 1/1/26.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Building the Set / Card #603
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (Vintage Sports)
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. My second stop was the aptly named Vintage Sports table. I always appreciate a dealer with clear signage explaining their pricing method, and Vintage Sports had a marker in their selection of 1969 Topps cards laying out that cards without a sleeve were $1 and cards with a sleeve were $2. I had one "high number" in a sleeve, and that was a whopping $4.
I found 28 commons needed before moving on to my third stop. This was the 8th of 28 total cards bought from Vintage Sports, and the 44th of 91 cards for the set added overall on the day. Unsleeved, this card cost less than $1 after a dealer discount - another absolute bargain.
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| September 9, 1969 - Beckert and the black cat |
Topps used the same exact photo as already seen on Beckert's 1967 card. The back of the card highlights Beckert's accomplishments from the 1968 season, including his Gold Glove win and his 28-game hitting streak.
Accuracy Index: Beckert's card slips to a rating of +1 due to the repeat photo.
1969 Season
Beckert suffered through a series of injuries throughout the season, including a likely concussion from an on-field collision with Mike Shannon (#110) in April, the effects of the flu that same month, a beaning resulting in 15 stitches on his chin on a pitch thrown by Gary Ross (#404) in May, and finally a severely jammed thumb on a collision with baserunner Tony Cloninger (#492) in May. Beckert still managed to make the All-Star team, but a supposed curse from a black cat crossing Beckert's path on September 9th cost the Cubs at shot at the playoffs. The Cubs had a 7 1/2 game lead with 40 games remaining to play, but eventually fell to the Mets in the division following the black cat incident. Beckert played in 131 games, batting .291 with 22 doubles, a home run and 37 RBIs.
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First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #549
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1965-1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1993 Upper Deck All-Time Heroes #8
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 97 in the Beckett online database as of 1/1/26.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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