#168 1968 World Series Game 7 - Lolich Series Hero Outduels Gibson

The 1968 World series marked the last time two teams faced off in the Fall Classic without having to first advance via a playoff series.  With Major League Baseball expanding to 24 teams in 1969, the two leagues were split into four divisions and a League Championship Series would determine the World Series opponents between 1969 and 1993.

The Cardinals and Tigers were powerhouses in their respective leagues, easily advancing to the World Series.  This was a rematch of the 1934 World Series, when the Gashouse Gang of the Cardinals had bested the Tigers in seven games.  The Tigers would prevail this time, winning their first title since 1945, and their third World Series title overall as the Cardinals couldn't repeat after winning in 1967 against the Red Sox.

World Series cards were a key subset in Topps flagship sets throughout the 1960s and 1970s, with a card highlighting each game along with a series capping "Celebration" card.  Topps designed its World Series cards in its 1969 set to have the appearance of the front page of a newspaper, with The Sporting News getting some free publicity as the paper's banner.

Building the Set / Card #642

September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (Crazy Boxes)

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.  I'm not even sure how best to describe the fifth table I visited.  I typically steer clear of tables that look incredibly disorganized or tables that look as if the dealer put minimal effort into his/her display.  This table was both.  But the crudely designed, hand-made sign advertising "Entire Table is 50% Off" made me stop and at least look at what was in the 1969 Topps hodgepodge of cards.  And I'm glad I did.  It took me a solid 20-25 minutes to go through the cards that were loosely in order, but I found seven cards I needed with either mislabeled prices (?) or prices that hadn't been updated since the 1980s.  I paid a little over $0.50 for this World Series card, the second of seven cards purchased from what I'm calling the Crazy Boxes table, and I wished I had made this table my first stop.

The Card / Tigers Team Set / Cardinals Team Set  

Starting on only two days rest, Mickey Lolich (#270) again got the call to start the game, his third start of the series.  Bob Gibson (#200), also making his third start, but on three days rest, was set to face Lolich in the deciding game of the 1968 World Series.  Advertised as a pitcher's duel, Lolich and Gibson did not disappoint, with both shutting down the other team's offense through six innings.  In the top of the seventh, and with two outs, Norm Cash (#80) and Willie Horton (#180) both singled.  Jim Northrup (#580) hit a fly ball that some said would have been typically caught by Gold Glove center fielder Curt Flood (#540), but Flood initially misjudged the ball and it fell in for a two-run triple.  Bill Freehan (#390) then doubled Northrup home and the Tigers had a 3-0 lead, plenty of support for Lolich.  The Tigers added another run in the top of the ninth when Don Wert (#443) singled home pinch-runner Dick Tracewski (#126).

Mike Shannon (#110) connected for a solo home run off Lolich in the bottom of the ninth, spoiling his shutout, but Tim McCarver (#475) hit a pop foul caught by Freehan a batter later, giving the Tigers the title.  Gibson ended the series with a record 35 strikeouts, but Lolich was named World Series MVP.

Sources:

Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

#167 1968 World Series Game 6 / #169 Tigers Celebrate Their Victory

#431 Bill Freehan AS - Detroit Tigers

All-Star cards returned to Topps sets in 1968 under The Sporting News banner for a three-year run between 1968 and 1970.  Topps included 20 All-Star cards in its 1969 set, featuring 10 All-Stars from each league and one player from each position, including both a right-handed and left-handed pitcher.  

Building the Set / Card #558
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 13th 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.

The Card / Tigers Team Set / Pete Rose Puzzle

Bill Freehan (#390) was an 11-time All-Star, starting behind the plate seven consecutive times, between 1966 and 1972, and having his streak broken by Carlton Fisk in 1973.  Freehan was 2 for 2 in the 1969 All-Star Game, hitting a solo home run of Steve Carlton (#255) in the third and adding an RBI-single against Bob Gibson (#200) in the fourth.  He was one of the only bright spots for the junior circuit, as they lost the game by a score of 9-3.

The stock photo used in the background is actually Freehan from a photo featured earlier in the set on a World Series subset card (#165).  The backs of these All-Star cards contain a puzzle piece of either Pete Rose (#120) or Carl Yastrzemski (#130).  The back of Freehan's card features the top of Rose's hat.

Topps All-Star Card Appearances (3):  1968-70

1968 Topps #375

1970 Topps #465

Sources:  
Baseball Reference

Sports Collectors Daily - Mistaken Identities

#430 Johnny Bench AS - Cincinnati Reds / #432 Bob Gibson AS - St. Louis Cardinals

#390 Bill Freehan - Detroit Tigers

William Ashley Freehan
Detroit Tigers
Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  203
Born:  November 29, 1941, Detroit, MI
Signed:  Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent before 1961 season
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1961, 1963-76

World Series Appearances:  Detroit Tigers 1968
Died:  August 19, 2021, Petoskey, MI (age 79)

Playing his entire career for his hometown Tigers, Bill Freehan was a perennial All-Star, a five-time Gold Glove winner and one of the best catchers of his era.  Freehan played baseball and football at the University of Michigan before signing his first contract with the Tigers in 1961.  Assuming regular catching duties for the team in 1964, he made his first of ten straight All-Star teams while batting .300 for the season with 18 home runs and 80 RBIs.  A year later, his offensive output would slip but he'd win the first of five consecutive Gold Gloves.  Freehan's career year helped win the Tigers win the pennant in 1968, as he batted .263 with 25 home runs 84 RBIs.  He didn't do much in the World Series at the plate, but he caught every inning of all seven games as his Tigers defeated the Cardinals.

Freehan had several steady seasons after that championship season, continuing as the Tigers' regular catcher through the 1975 season.  He'd later instruct Lance Parrish, his heir behind the plate for Detroit, while also doing some broadcasting work and returning to the Tigers for several seasons as a catching instructor.  Freehan had 1,591 career hits, batting .262 with 200 home runs and 758 RBIs.  He led the league in being hit by pitch three times and had a career mark of 114 HBPs.  He ranked among the top of just about every defensive catching category when he retired, and he's currently 17th in putouts (9,941), 26th in games (1,581), 88th in runners caught stealing (433) and 44th in fielding percentage (.993).

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

Building the Set / Card #358
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)

Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times.  I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.

Similar to my strategy from March, I wanted to focus on accumulating commons and having found success with Uncle Dick's Cards before, I didn't mess around and headed right for the neon green binders.  I pulled 145 cards from the binder containing cards 301 to the end of the set, stopping when I reached 500.  This card was the 66th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me a little over $1.

The Card / Tigers Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

This is one of two Freehan cards in the set, as he appears later in the All-Star subset (#431).  That's first base coach Wally Moses making a cameo appearance behind Freehan, wearing #51.  Moses coached with the Tigers between 1967 and 1970, and he appears to be hitting ground balls to the infielders here.  Moses' only other Topps appearance came as a floating head on the Reds' coaches card in the 1960 Topps set.  The back of the card highlights Freehan's success behind the plate and credits his skills with helping to lead the champion Tigers.

Accuracy Index:  Freehan's accurate card scores a +5.

Inserts:  Freehan is included in the 35 card Topps Deckle Edge insert set.

1960 Topps #459

1969 Season
Back behind the plate for the defending World Champions, Freehan batted .262 in 143 games, with 16 home runs and 49 RBIs.  As the starting catcher for the American League All-Stars, Freehan was 2 for 2 with a third inning home run off Steve Carlton (#255).  He won his fifth and final Gold Glove following the season.

1963 Topps #466

1968 Topps #470

1970 Topps #465

1973 Topps #460

1977 Topps #22

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1963 Topps #466
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15):  1963-77
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2013 Panini Golden Age #96
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  198 in the Beckett online database as of 9/2/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#389 Dan Coombs - Houston Astros / #391 Ray Culp - Boston Red Sox

#165 1968 World Series Game 4 - Brock's Lead-Off HR Starts Cards' Romp

The 1968 World series marked the last time two teams faced off in the Fall Classic without having to first advance via a playoff series.  With Major League Baseball expanding to 24 teams in 1969, the two leagues were split into four divisions and a League Championship Series would determine the World Series opponents between 1969 and 1993.

The Cardinals and Tigers were powerhouses in their respective leagues, easily advancing to the World Series.  This was a rematch of the 1934 World Series, when the Gashouse Gang of the Cardinals had bested the Tigers in seven games.  The Tigers would prevail this time, winning their first title since 1945, and their third World Series title overall as the Cardinals couldn't repeat after winning in 1967 against the Red Sox.

World Series cards were a key subset in Topps flagship sets throughout the 1960s and 1970s, with a card highlighting each game along with a series capping "Celebration" card.  Topps designed its World Series cards in its 1969 set to have the appearance of the front page of a newspaper, with The Sporting News getting some free publicity as the paper's banner.

Building the Set / Card #278
September 23, 2023 from The Philly Show (Ed's Old Baseball Cards)
Given the massive haul of 193 cards acquired for our 1969 Topps set at the March Philly Show, I held off on adding more cards throughout the summer of 2023.  We weren't even going to go to the Philly Show last September, but our oldest son's baseball tournament was rained out, and we found ourselves with a free weekend.  I wrote about the show originally over at The Phillies Room.

I added just 15 cards to our set build at this show, all from the same dealer, Ed's Old Baseball Cards out of the Buffalo area.  Technically, the cards I bought were from Ed's associate, Gary, who explained he was along for the ride and brought a bunch of his vintage cards for sale.  I picked four needed star cards first, and Gary gave us a nice discount on the purchase, so we went back after securing a few autographs.  I picked 11 more commons and semi-stars from his modest selection of 1960s Topps cards for sale, including this World Series card.  Posting for these 15 cards should take me a lot less longer than what it took to get through the box of cards brought home from the March 2023 Philly Show.

The Card / Cardinals Team Set / Tigers Team Set  

The Cardinals seemingly figured out 31-game winner Denny McLain (#150), jumping on the eventual American League Cy Young Award winner for four runs in the first three innings of the game.  McLain's troubles were likely connected with a steady rain, which delayed the start of the game by 35 minutes.  As highlighted on this card, Lou Brock (#85) led off the game with a home run.  Roger Maris reached when McLain dropped a pop-up and would come around to score on a Mike Shannon (#110) RBI-single.  An RBI-triple from Tim McCarver (#475) followed by an RBI-double from Shannon in the third, combined with a 75-minute rain delay, would chase McLain from the game.  Cardinals' starting pitcher Bob Gibson (#200) helped his own cause with a home run off reliever off Joe Sparma (#488) to lead off the fourth.  Gibson would secure his second RBI of the game with a bases loaded walk in the eighth inning.

On the mound, Gibson pitched a complete game, winning his second game of the World Series.  He struck out 10 and allowed a fourth inning solo home to Tigers' center fielder Jim Northrup (#580).  The Cardinals had a commanding 3-1 lead in the World Series following this victory and they needed to win one of the next three games in order to secure back-to-back World Championships.

Eddie Mathews started at third base for the Tigers, batting seventh and going 1 for 2 with a walk in his final game as a player.

Sources:

Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

#164 1968 World Series Game 3 / #166 1968 World Series Game 5