#572 Giants Heroes - Willie McCovey / Juan Marichal CPC

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)

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.

Marichal and McCovey in 2013

The Card / Giants Team Set

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.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

#571 Cap Peterson - Cleveland Indians / #573 Jim Palmer - Baltimore Orioles

#4 1968 N.L. RBI Leaders - Willie McCovey / Ron Santo / Billy Williams

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 #440
January 6, 2024 from Tomball, TX (The Battersbox)

Proving I'm taking a leisurely pace with this blog and spending time with each and every card added, this league leader card was added over a year ago with cards from three other sets I'm collecting or will be collecting.  

Wanting to start the new year off appropriately, I impulsively took advantage of a storewide sale at The Battersbox on New Year's Day, with the 1936 Diamond Stars Al Lopez (#527) card as the cornerstone of my purchase.  Lopez arrived five days later from Texas, along with three other cards from the 1955 Bowman, 1959 Topps and 1969 Topps sets.  The National League RBI Leaders card was less than $6.

With hindsight of the full year now behind me, 120 cards were added to our 1969 Topps set in 2024, with 115 of those cards recently added at The Philly Show in December.  I spent the bulk of the year going through and posting about 256 different cards purchased between March and December 2023.

The Card / Giants Team Set / Cubs Team Set

There are three future Hall of Famers on this card, and I'm sure this would have been a thrill for a Cubs fan to find in packs of Series One cards back in 1969.  Willie McCovey (#440) led the league in 1968 with 105 RBIs, and he'd top that tally with 126 RBIs in 1969 while once again leading the league and winning MVP honors.  Teammates Ron Santo (#570) and Billy Williams (#450) tied for second place in the league with 98 RBIs.  McCovey crossed the 100-RBI plateau with four RBIs on September 22nd against the Braves.  Santo enjoyed a late surge, guaranteeing his spot on this card, with nine RBIs in the last four games of the season.  And Williams had actually led the league as late as September 18th before being overtaken by McCovey and tied by Santo.  Just missing appearing on this card, with 38 RBIs each, were Tony Taylor (#108), Roberto Pena (#184), Tony Gonzalez (#501) and Dick Dietz (#293).

#3 1968 A.L. RBI Leaders / #5 1968 A.L. Home Runs Leaders

#416 Willie McCovey AS - San Francisco Giants

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 #377
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 85th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me less about $4.25.

1971 Topps Greatest Moments #11

The Card / Giants Team Set / Carl Yastrzemski Puzzle

Willie McCovey (#440) was the starting first baseman for the National League All-Stars and the game's MVP in 1969.  McCovey hit a two-run home run in the top of the third off Blue Moon Odom (#195), and added a solo home run in the fourth off Denny McLain (#150).  He had two more at-bats in the game before being replaced in the sixth inning by Lee May (#405).  McCovey was a six-time All-Star, getting starts at first base in the 1966, 1968, 1969 and 1971 All-Star Games.

This is McCovey's third of five appearances in the set, as he had already appeared on two League Leaders cards (#4 and #6), and his base card was still coming up.  He also appears on a Giants Heroes combo card (#572) with teammate Juan Marichal (#370).  The action photo on this card is actually Tony Oliva (#600), with Topps recycling a photo used on the back of Oliva's 1964 Topps Giants card, and it would be used again on his 1971 Topps Greatest Moments card.  The backs of these All-Star cards contain a puzzle piece of either Pete Rose (#120) or Carl Yastrzemski (#130).  The back of McCovey's card is the first piece of the Yaz puzzle.

Topps All-Star Card Appearances (3):  1960, 1969-70

1960 Topps #554

1970 Topps #450

Sources:  
Baseball Reference

Sports Collectors Daily - Mistaken Identities

#415 Ray Washburn - St. Louis Cardinals / #417 Ken Harrelson AS - Boston Red Sox

#440 Willie McCovey - San Francisco Giants

Willie Lee McCovey
San Francisco Giants
First Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  198
Born:  January 10, 1938, Mobile, AL
Signed:  Signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent, March 12, 1955
Major League Teams:  San Francisco Giants 1959-1973; San Diego Padres 1974-1976; Oakland Athletics 1976; San Francisco Giants 1977-1980

World Series Appearances:  San Francisco Giants 1962
Died:  October 31, 2018, Palo Alto, CA (age 80)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1986

Willie McCovey enjoyed a 22-year Hall of Fame career that saw him reach the All-Star Game six times and earn N.L. MVP honors in 1969.  He appeared in only 52 games his rookie season in 1959, but his .354 average along with 13 home runs were enough to make him the unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year.  McCovey, nicknamed "Stretch," led the league in home runs in 1963, 1968 and 1969.  He also led the league in RBIs in those latter two years, with his 1969 season leading to his MVP award with a .320 average, 45 home runs and 126 RBIs.  He had been previously named the MVP of the 1969 All-Star Game after hitting two home runs in the contest.  McCovey played in one World Series, with the Giants losing in 1962 to the Yankees.

McCovey had 521 career home runs when he retired, placing him seventh on the all-time list at the time.  He accumulated a lifetime batting average of .270 with 1,555 RBIs.  McCovey hit his final home run on May 3, 1980, giving him the distinction, along with Ted Williams (#650), Rickey Henderson and Omar Vizquel, of having homered in four different decades.  His 18 grand slams are the most ever in the National League.

The Giants retired his #44 in 1980, and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986, his first year of eligibility.  When the Giants moved into their new ballpark in 2000 (now called Oracle Park), the San Francisco Bay inlet beyond the right field fence was named McCovey Cove.

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

Building the Set / Card #273
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, including this McCovey card.  Gary gave us a nice discount on the purchase, so we went back after securing a few autographs and I picked 11 more commons and semi-stars from his modest selection of 1960s Topps cards for sale.  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 / Giants Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

The photo used for the card is likely from 1967, and it was taken at the same time as the photo used for McCovey's 1968 Topps card.  This is one of five cards he appears on in the set, including the RBI Leaders (#4) and Home Run Leaders (#6) cards, an All-Star card (#416) and a combo card (#572) with fellow future Hall of Famer Juan Marichal (#370).  Given this was his MVP year, the card has been reprinted by Topps a few times, first re-appearing on the MVP subset in the 1975 Topps set.

This is one of 23 cards available in the set's fifth series available as either "yellow letter" or "white letter" variations, with the yellow letter variations being more prevalent.  This is the more prevalent yellow letter variation with McCovey's last name printed in yellow.

Accuracy Index:  McCovey's card scores a +5.

Inserts:  McCovey is included in the 35 card Topps Deckle Edge insert set and is one of 48 decals in the Topps Decals insert set.  He's one of 27 players to appear in both insert sets.

1969 Season
Already a superstar, as pointed out on the back of this card, this was McCovey's career year.  He batted .320 with 45 home runs and 126 - both career highs and both marks leading the league.  McCovey also topped the league with a .453 OBP and a .656 slugging percentage, while setting a new major league record with 45 intentional walks.  The starting first baseman for the National League All-Stars, McCovey led the way with a pair of home runs, hit off Blue Moon Odom (#195) in the third and Denny McLain (#150) in the fourth.  He appeared in 149 games for the second place Giants, making 148 starts at first base.

In the postseason MVP voting, McCovey tied Tom Seaver (#480) with 11 first place votes but had more higher ranked votes overall.

1960 Topps #316

1965 Topps #176

1972 Topps #280

1975 Topps #450

1980 Topps #335

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1960 Topps #316
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (21):  1960-1980
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2023 Topps Archives #99
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  1,614 in the Beckett online database as of 3/29/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

National Baseball Hall of Fame
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#439 White Sox Rookie Stars / #441 Dennis Higgins - Washington Senators

#6 1968 N.L. Home Run Leaders - Willie McCovey / Richie Allen / Ernie Banks

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 #13
April 30, 2022 from Ocean City Sports Show

Growing up in South Jersey, I'd look forward to the Ocean City Baseball Card show every summer, saving my precious birthday or gas mowing money so that I could spend it all during one glorious afternoon inside the Ocean City Music Pier among dozens of tables of vintage baseball cards.  When my wife Jenna texted me that there was a baseball card show coming up in Ocean City on April 30th this past year, I admittedly got giddy.  We needed 11 cards to complete our 1965 Topps set, I had plans to begin collecting a 1969 Topps set, and I figured I'd add a Diamond Stars card or two to that growing set.  We loaded the family in the car, trekked down to Ocean City, and I stepped inside the Music Pier for the first time in over 20 years.

The memories came flooding back, but none of the former baseball card dealers from my youth did.  There were maybe 15 tables scattered on the lower portion of the Music Pier floor and I immediately scanned mostly shiny slabbed cards, bobble heads, signed jerseys, and nary a vintage baseball card in sight.  It was a little depressing.  Determined to come away with something, anything for my collection, I scoured a "3 for $20" box and came away with a few cards for Doug's collection, namely Alec Bohm relic cards, and six cards from sets I'm not even collecting yet, including this League Leaders card and its diamond-cut back.

The Card / Giants Team Set / Phillies Team Set / Cubs Team Set

Willie McCovey (#440) won both the league's home run and RBI titles in 1968, and he'd repeat that feat again in 1969 - his MVP season.  McCovey had previously led the league in home runs in 1963 when he connected for 44.  His 36 home runs in 1968 seem like a low total, but 1968 was universally acclaimed as the Year of the Pitcher.  Dick Allen (#350) finished second with 33 home runs, and he'd lead the American League in this category in both 1972 and 1974.  Ernie Banks (#20) rounds out the trio with 32 home runs.  Banks had previously led the league in home runs in his MVP season of 1958 and again in 1960.  

If not for a monster game on the final day of the 1968 season, in which Allen hit three home runs against the Mets, this card would have shown McCovey, Banks and then Allen and Billy Williams (#450) tied for third place with 30 home runs each.

I appreciate the added touch of adding every player to have hit a grand slam in 1968 on the back of the card.  Allen led in this category with two.

#5 1968 A.L. Home Run Leaders / #7 1968 A.L. ERA Leaders