#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

#420 Ron Santo AS - Chicago Cubs

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 #379
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.

1969 Topps #166

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 87th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost a little over $2.

The Card / Cubs Team Set / Carl Yastrzemski Puzzle

Ron Santo was a nine-time All-Star, and was the starting third baseman at the 1969 All-Star Game in Washington, sharing the infield with shortstop and teammate, Don Kessinger (#225).  Batting fifth, Santo was 0 for 3 in the game, before being replaced at third by Tony Perez (#295) in the sixth.  Santo earned a .333 (5 for 15) All-Star Game average in his nine appearances, making four starts.

The stock photo used in the background behind Santo is Tigers' slugger Al Kaline (#410), and eagle-eyed collectors would recognize the photo of Kaline from earlier in the set, on the 1968 World Series Game #5 card (#166).  The backs of these All-Star cards contain a puzzle piece of either Pete Rose (#120) or Carl Yastrzemski (#130).  The back of Santo's card features Yaz's belt and the bottom left of the puzzle.

Topps All-Star Card Appearances (4):  1968-70, 1974

1968 Topps #366

1970 Topps #454

1974 Topps #334

Sources:  
Baseball Reference

Sports Collectors Daily - Mistaken Identities

#419 Rod Carew AS - Minnesota Twins / #421 Brooks Robinson AS - Baltimore Orioles