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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 #546
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Vintage Cardboard Collectibles)
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 spent the first half hour or so pulling 98 commons and semi-stars from the neon green binder of Uncle Dick's Cards, and adding the big purchase of the day, the Rollie Fingers (#597) rookie card, and after adding a few more star cards, the remaining cash I had was starting to burn a hole in my wallet. I had noticed the common/semi-star boxes at the tables of Vintage Cardboard Collectibles, and I found 14 more cards for our 1969 Topps set and six cards for our not-yet-officially collecting 1959 Topps set. This is the first of those 14 cards. After the obligatory dealer discount, I handed over the last of my cash, and we exited the show for the drive home.
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It's Bob, Bobby and Bob on the ERA League Leaders card, and given Bob Gibson's (#200) stunningly low 1.12 ERA from the year of the pitcher, he could have appeared on this card all by himself. Bobby Bolin's (#505) 1.98 ERA isn't too shabby either, although according to Baseball Reference, it actually rounds up to 1.99. Baseball Reference goes the opposite way for Bob Veale (#520), rounding his ERA down to 2.05 for the season. Gibson's historic mark is the third lowest in National League history if you count Tim Keefe's 0.86 mark in 105 innings pitched in 1880. Mordecai Brown is a more accurate comparison, as his ERA was 1.04 in 1906 in 277 1/3 innings pitched. Gibson's mark came over 304 2/3 innings, which included 28 complete games (out of 34 starts) and 13 shutouts. This was the only year in Gibson's 17-year career in which he led the league in ERA. Bolin and Veale would never have a mark this low again.
The back of the card lists every eligible pitcher with at least 162 innings thrown in 1968, rounding out with the Phillies' Rick Wise (#188) and his 4.55 ERA in 182 innings pitched. Having some more room, Topps gave collectors a list of essentially the top relievers, with Ronnie Kline (#and his 1.67 ERA leading the way.
