The 1969 Topps baseball card set is one of the most infamous issues in the history of the hobby due to the number of errors that appeared on cards that year. While minor printing errors have always been a part of the production process for baseball cards over the decades, the sheer volume and significance of mistakes in the ’69 set stands out compared to other years. Within the 792 card checklist of the regular issue are close to two dozen errors ranging from malformed images to missing or incorrect information. Some of these pressing plant problems have become highly sought after by error card collectors willing to pay top dollar to acquire the misprints.
One of the most famous flubs from the 1969 Topps set involves future Hall of Famer Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants. On card #590, Mays is shown wearing his familiar number 24 Giants road jersey but the team name listed underneath is incorrect as “Metropolitans” instead of “Giants.” This is considered one of the signature error cards from the year due to Mays’ stature in the game and the comedic nature of mistakenly labeling him as a member of a defunct 19th century team. Another well-known miscue features Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski on card #87. The future World Series hero has his name spelled incorrectly as “MAZEROWSKY” which created a very scarce and desirable collectible piece.
In addition to player name and team name mix-ups, there were several 1969 Topps cards that contained issues with the physical images themselves. Giant slugger Willie McCovey had a miscut card #178 where part of the photo was sheared off, removing a chunk of his left shoulder. A similarly cropped photo error occurred on Brewers pitcher Ken Sanders’ card #325. The most dramatic photo flaw involved Expo Cookie Rojas’ card #398 which was missing nearly the entire upper half of his face, just showing his cap and lower neck. This “headless” Rojas remains one of the strangest errors in the set.
Position or uniform number mistakes were not abnormal for the 1969 Topps production run. Pitchers Dave Giusti and Gary Nolan each had their numbers swapped, as Giusti was listed as “37” instead of “26” on the Pirates card #283 and Nolan was dubbed “26” rather than his actual “37” as a Red. Tigers outfielder Gates Brown had his uniform #24 displayed but was identified as a first baseman on card #150. Yankees pitcher Stan Bahnsen had the extraordinary error of being called a catcher on card #410 despite having never played the position.
Multiple cards in the 1969 set even contained mistakes regarding which league or division a player was associated with. Phillies first baseman Dick Allen was dubbed a player in the National League West division when in fact he participated in the National League East on card #132. Just one card away, Frank Quilici of the Minnesota Twins was credited with playing in the American West while it should have listed the accurate American League West on card #133.
Some errors had to do with statistical inaccuracies. Pitcher Steve Arlin’s 1969 Topps card #275 stated he had 35 career wins when in actuality he only owned 23 victories to that point. The back of reliever Danny Frisella’s card #276 listed him with 4 career losses when in fact he was still without a single defeat. Strangest of all, Oakland pitcher Catfish Hunter saw his 1968 ERA inflated from 1.63 to 16.30 on the back of his card #492, an off-by-nearly-15 runs discrepancy.
As 1969 Topps production was rushed to meet deadlines, low quality control allowed several other quirks into the set. Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst had the team he piloted listed as the “St. Louis” instead of writing out the full “St. Louis Cardinals” on card #649. Cubs slugger Billy Williams’ team was abbreviated as “CHI” rather than “CHC” on card #671. Pitchers Sam McDowell of the Indians on card #449 and Chuck Dobson of the Angels on card #567 each had their head shots flipped left-to-right, mirror images of how they were meant to appear.
Perhaps the most ironic error came on the card of future great manager and executive Whitey Herzog #405. As a playing coach for the Royals, his position was printed as “Manager-Coach” despite the fact he only ever served as a coach or manager, never actually playing in any games during that 1969 season. It showed even team and league personnel were not immune from mistakes within Topps’ rushed production cycle fifty years ago.
Over the decades since, error cards from the troubled 1969 Topps set have become tremendously valuable to collectors. Mint condition copies of the Mays-Mets, Mazeroski name misspelling, and severe photo chopped Rojas are routinely valued in the thousands of dollars today. Even relatively minor statistical or uniform gaffes can still command hundreds due to their status as identifiable mistakes. The sloppiness exhibited by Topps during manufacturing of the 1969 cards, while an embarrassment at the time, has contributed to the set achieving iconic renown as one of sportscard history’s most error-laden issues.
