The 1969 Chicago Cubs baseball cards are famous among collectors for marking a transitionary period for the franchise. Coming off their previous World Series championship in 1908, the Cubs struggled throughout most of the 20th century with playoff droughts and near misses. By the late 1960s signs of promise were emerging that a new era might be dawning at Wrigley Field.
The 1969 Cubs squad finished in a surprising second place in the National League East with an 83-79 record, just 3 games back of the New York Mets. While still not good enough to reach the postseason, it represented measurable improvement from their prior seasons and fostered hopes that the Cubs were building something sustainable under manager Leo Durocher. Top young talents like Ferguson Jenkins, Glenn Beckert, and Ron Santo were entering their primes and forming the core of the lineup.
That optimism was reflected in the baseball cards issued by Topps that year. For the first time, the entire Cubs roster was included on cards rather than just select players. Minor leaguers and backups got their own cards alongside the stars. The design was also notably updated from prior years with cleaner graphics and bigger closer photos of the players. Gone were the old-fashioned rounded edges, replaced by square modern cuts that showed the Cubs wanted to leave behind their losing past.
Perhaps the most intriguing card from the set was that of Jenkins, who had just come off a Cy Young Award winning season in 1968 where he led the NL with 27 wins and 309 strikeouts. His dominance on the mound made him an early face of the Cubs rebuilding effort. But even Jenkins’ great 1968 didn’t prepare collectors for what was to come – over the next several years he would cement his status as one of baseball’s truly elite pitchers and carry the Cubs to within a game of the 1969 World Series.
Other young position players like Beckert and Sando also had exciting flashy cards that year that hinted at brght futures. Beckert was coming off a breakout 1968 where he hit .342 and established himself as an on-base machine at second base. His card depicted him crouched into his unique open stance at the plate. Sando’s showed him towering over the catcher ready to unleash on a pitch after clubbing 25 home runs in 1968.
More established veterans on the 1969 squad like Willie Smith, Don Kessinger, and Randy Hundley also received due recognition from Topps. Each had been integral cogs for the Cubs throughout the 1960s. Smith was a versatile outfielder and hitter while Kessinger anchored shortstop with his slick defense. Hundley provided pop from the catcher spot. Their longevity in Chicago made them fan favorites as the Cubs tried changing their fortunes.
The 1969 Cubs baseball cards were also a final way for collectors to remember fading stars from the past era likeBilly Williams and Adolfo Phillips before they moved on. Williams remained a productive outfielder but was nearing the end of his Cubs tenure. He blasted 27 homers in 1969 before being traded after the season. Phillips had fallen out of regular playing time but popped up for sporadic at-bats, and his card served as a nod to his contributions earlier in the 1960s.
While the 1969 season itself didn’t end in a trip to the postseason, it set the stage for greater success to follow. Within the next few years, manager Leo Durocher and the young Cubs core led by Jenkins, Beckert and Sando broke through to capture the NL East title in 1971. They pushed the powerful Pittsburgh Pirates to a fifth and final game in the NLCS before falling just short of the World Series. By the mid-1970s, Chicago was a regular October presence riding the talents developed from that late-1960s rebuilding process. The 1969 baseball cards reflected how a new day was emerging at Wrigley Field and for the long-suffering Cubs franchise. They captured a memorable transition year that planted seeds for future championships. In the collector market, those cards still resonate as some of the most iconic from the franchise’s history.
