#169 1968 World Series - Tigers Celebrate Their Victory

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 #643

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 third 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  

Dick McAuliffe (#305), Denny McLain (#150) and Willie Horton (#180) are featured on the obligatory World Series wrap-up/celebration card, and I always appreciated these somewhat oddball inclusions into the Topps base sets.  There's a whole lot of very small statistics on the card's back, and anyone interested in reading any of that would first need to find a magnifying glass.

Sources:

Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

#168 1968 World Series Game 7 / #170 Frank Howard - Washington Senators

#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

#166 1968 World Series Game 5 - Kaline's Key Hit Sparks Tiger Rally

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 #635

September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (Richie's Sports Cards)

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.  After about 90 minutes of walking and buying, while running low on funds, and even lower on stamina, I found a nice display of vintage Topps star cards at Richie's Sports Cards, from Manalpan, New Jersey.  I quickly and easily picked up six more star cards needed for our set from Richie's my fourth stop of the show.  This is the first of those six cards, and it cost less than $6 after a discount.

The Card / Cardinals Team Set / Tigers Team Set  

With the Cardinals leading the series three games to one, it was do or die time for the Tigers.  Mickey Lolich (#270), the Tigers' Game 2 winner, again took the mound and pitched a complete game, allowing three runs on nine hits while striking out eight.  All three runs allowed by Lolich came in the first inning, and he settled down after that.  The Tigers chipped away against Cardinals' starter Nelson Briles (#60) with a pair of runs in the fourth inning on RBIs from Norm Cash (#80) and Jim Northrup (#580).  Trailing 3-2 heading to the bottom of the seventh, Briles allowed Lolich to reach with a single, chasing him from the game to be relieved by Joe Hoerner (#522).

Needing seven outs to secure the World Series title, Hoerner allowed four straight baserunners, coughing up the lead and giving the Tigers the momentum shift they needed.  Dick McAuliffe (#305) singled and Mickey Stanley (#13) walked to load the bases.  Al Kaline (#410) brought two runs home with a single to center, giving the Tigers the lead.  Cash added another RBI single and the inning would end with the Tigers now ahead, 5-3.

I was able to find the image Topps used for the card fairly quickly from the Getty Images website, and the photo actually depicts Kaline hitting his Game 3 home run off the Cardinals' Ray Washburn (#415) in a losing effort.  Tim McCarver (#475) was behind the plate for the Cardinals throughout the series, but that's home plate umpire Stan Landes shown here, while Doug Harvey was actually behind the plate for Game 5.

Sources:

Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

#165 1968 World Series Game 4 / #167 1968 World Series Game 6

#163 1968 World Series Game 2 - Tiger Homers Deck the Cards

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 #601
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 6th of 28 total cards bought from Vintage Sports, and the 42nd of 91 cards for the set added overall on the day.  Sleeved, this card cost less than $2 after a dealer discount.

The Card / Tigers Team Set / Cardinals Team Set

After getting shutout by Bob Gibson in Game 1, the Tigers' bats awakened against Cardinals' starting pitcher Nelson Briles in Game 2, played on October 3, 1968.  Briles worked a 1-2-3 inning in the first with Willie Horton connecting for a home run with one out in the top of the second.  Briles' counterpart, Mickey Lolich, hit a solo home run in the third, and Norm Cash homered to lead off the sixth, chasing Briles from the game.  Steve Carlton entered in relief and would allow a two-run single to Dick McAuliffe to give the Tigers a commanding 5-0 lead.

The Cardinals scored their lone run in the bottom of the sixth, when Orlando Cepeda singled home Lou Brock.  With the score 6-1 heading to the ninth, Cardinals' reliever Joe Hoerner gave up two final runs on bases loaded walks to Don Wert and Lolich.

The card shows Horton hitting his home run with Tim McCarver behind the plate for the Cardinals, and home plate umpire Jim Honochick looking on.  Lolich would never hit a regular season home run, and was a lifetime .110 batter with five doubles and a pair of triples.  The home run and then later a bases loaded walk, makes this easily his top offensive game in his 13-year big league career.

Sources:

Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

#162 1968 World Series Game 1 / #164 1968 World Series Game 3

#162 1968 World Series Game 1 - Gibson Fans 17; Sets New Record!

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 #564
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 fifth of 36 total cards bought from America's Pastime, and the fifth of 91 cards for set added overall on the day, and it cost a little less than $10 after the dealer discount.

The Card / Tigers Team Set / Cardinals Team Set

It was a pitching match-up for the ages with the Tigers' Denny McLain (#150), 31-6 in the regular season with a 1.96 ERA, facing off against the Cardinals' Bob Gibson (#200), 22-9 in the regular season with a 2.12 ERA.  There was no score in the game until the bottom of the fourth, when Roger Maris and Tim McCarver (#475) both walked with one out.  Mike Shannon (#110) singled home Maris and both McCarver and Shannon would come home a batter later on a Julian Javier (#497) single to right.  Tigers' manager Mayo Smith (#40) pinch-hit for McLain in the top of the sixth, with reliever Pat Dobson (#231) taking over.  Lou Brock (#85) gave the Cardinals a 4-0 lead in the seventh with a solo home run off Dobson.  That's all Gibson needed, and he'd strike out the side in the ninth - Al Kaline (#410), Norm Cash (#80) and Willie Horton (#180) - to secure the Game 1 win and set a new strikeout mark for a World Series game.  Sandy Koufax held the prior record of 15 strikeouts in a game, set during the 1963 World Series, and Gibson's record still stands today.

Topps reprinted this card in its 2001 Topps Archives set.

Sources:

Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

#161 John Purdin - Los Angeles Dodgers / #163 1968 World Series Game 2

#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

#167 1968 World Series Game 6 - Tiger 10-Run Inning Ties Mark

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 #189
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)

In mid-March, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set.  That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon.  I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.

This is the 112th of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York.  My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside.  After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far.  With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298.  The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing a little over $3.

The Card / Tigers Team Set / Cardinals Team Set  

The Cardinals returned home to Busch Stadium for Game 6, on Wednesday, October 9th, needing one more win to repeat as World Series Champions.  Denny McLain (#150) was starting for the Tigers, facing off against Ray Washburn (#415) for the Cardinals.  Washburn had been the Game 3 winner for the Cardinals, but he had endured a shaky outing on the way to a 7-3 win.  McLain had already lost two World Series games, Game 1 and Game 4, and was back on short rest to try to keep the Tigers' season alive.  The 31-game winner and the eventual Cy Young and MVP winner for 1968 would pitch a complete game for the Tigers, allowing a run while striking out seven.

Washburn did not fare nearly as well, getting knocked out in the third inning with his team already trailing and the bases loaded.  Al Kaline's (#410) single chased Washburn and gave the Tigers a 3-0 lead.  Larry Jaster (#496) replaced Washburn and threw fuel onto the fire.  Norm Cash (#80) singled home Mickey Stanley (#13), putting runners at the corners and giving the Tigers a 4-0 lead.  Jaster walked Willie Horton (#180) to load the bases, and Jim Northrup (#580), who had already hit four regular season grand slams, launched a home run to deep right field, giving the Tigers a 8-0 advantage.  Three more runs would score and the game went to the bottom of the the third with the Tigers holding a commanding 12-0 lead.

The Tigers would eventually win the game, 13-1, forcing a Game 7.

Sources:

Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

#166 1968 World Series Game 5 / #168 1968 World Series Game 7

#164 1968 World Series Game 3 - McCarver's Homer Puts St. Louis Ahead

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 #76
February 23, 2023 from Glen Morgan, WV
A few nights after I learned of Tim McCarver's passing, I found his two cards from the 1969 Topps set from eBay seller nflmlb with reasonable Buy It Now prices.  The two cards were a combined $11 and arrived a day or two later from Morgan, West Virginia.

My earliest memories of McCarver are as a Phillies broadcaster in the early 1980s, and I met him in the Phillies' broadcast booth the same night I played catch on the Veterans Stadium outfield turf with Bob Dernier.  (I need to memorialize that full story at some point, likely over at The Phillies Room.)  My strongest memories of McCarver involve by maternal grandfather, my Pop-Pop, tuning in to watch Mets games, just so he could root against the hated Mets and criticize McCarver for his broadcasting style.  My Pop-Pop loved the Phillies, never missing a televised game, and he'd sometimes spend an evening flipping channels from the Phillies (Channel 17, then 29), to the Yankees (Channel 11), to the Mets (Channel 9) depending on which game was the most interesting that night.  He's the one who first clued me in to the life hack of having the Phillies game on the radio and turning down the volume of the TV set so that he could follow Harry Kalas and Richie Ashburn when they moved over to radio for a few innings.  I did that throughout the Phillies' entire 2022 playoff and World Series run, never hearing a word of any of the national broadcasters and preferring to listen to Scott Franzke tell me what was going on.  In any event, I can't remember any specific reason why my Pop-Pop held McCarver in such low regard, and maybe he's giving McCarver an earful now in that great ballpark in the sky.

The Card / Cardinals Team Set / Tigers Team Set

With the series tied at 1-1, the two teams faced off on October 5th at Tiger Stadium.  Ray Washburn (#415) was on the mound for the Cardinals, facing off against the Tigers' Earl Wilson (#525).  Al Kaline (#410) hit a two-run home run in the third to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead, but the Cardinals would take the lead for good in the fifth.  With Wilson starting the inning, Lou Brock (#85) singled to center, stole second and came home on a double to left by Curt Flood (#540).  Roger Maris walked next, ending Wilson's day and bringing reliever Pat Dobson (#231) into the game.  McCarver launched a three-run home run to deep center field, scoring Flood and Maris and giving the Cardinals a 4-2 lead.  Orlando Cepeda (#385) would put the game out of reach in the seventh with his own three-run home run, again scoring Flood and Maris.

Topps uses a photo of McCarver crossing the plate on the front of the card, and goes with a weird, hybrid box score on the back, showing hitting and fielding summaries along with a line score.  Mike Shannon (#110), the on-deck batter, has his head cut off by Topps, so I'm not going to tag him as actually appearing on this card.  This Maris cameo marks his only appearance in the 1969 Topps set, as the slugger retired following the 1968 World Series.  Tommy Matchick (#344), Wayne Comer (#346) and Jim Price (#472) are all shown without positions for the Tigers in the box score, and each of them pinch-hit at some point during the game.

Sources:

Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

#163 1968 World Series Game 2 / #165 1968 World Series Game 4