The 1969 Topps baseball set build is underway!
One of my 2020 Collecting goals is to complete my 1969 Topps baseball set. It will be my first set from the 60s, and should be a nice challenge. The star power and prevalence of short prints give it some value and will force me to do some searching, but it also doesn’t have any cards that are out of reach with a little planning.
I will use this post to review the set and provide the first update on the pursuit of my goal!
Set Review
The 1969 Mantle is his final card as an active player.
When this 664 card set was released, it held the title of the biggest set in the history of sports cards. Collectors had to piece together seven series worth of cards, and the higher the series, the harder the cards are to find.
Four packaging options existed for this set. Wax packs, rack packs, cello packs, and a special blue cello pack were all options to choose from.
The design of the set reminds me of a mashup of the 1967 and 1968 releases. The team name is at the bottom of the card in block letters (similar to 1967), and once again, a circular element returns from the 1968 set. However, this time it housed the player’s name and position.
One of the ways Topps was able to get the set size so large, was the use of a variety of subsets. League Leaders, Sporting News All Stars, and World Series Highlights provide alternative image designs from the standard base card. Topps even tried to make the checklists more desirable by putting a small image of a star player at the top of the card.
The set contains the rookie cards of Reggie Jackson and Rollie Fingers, along with some other well known names like Bobby Cox and Bobby Bonds. Mickey Mantle’s last card as an active player, and Nolan Ryan’s first solo card make for two of the more sought after cards in the release.
Variations exist for several cards, mostly pertaining to the color of the players name.
There are two insert sets to collect if you are interested in obtaining a “master set”. First, a 48 card Decal set was an unnumbered “sticker” insert. The other option is the more widely known “Deckle Edge” set, which contained 35 die cut cards. The Deckle edges also contain a blue facsimile autograph.
The Pursuit of 664
The journey begins with a starter set of just over 100 cards. As I picked up a variety of collections over the last few years, I put aside the vintage cards and as slowly accumulating some starter sets.
Fortunately for me, the Mantle and Reggie Jackson are two of the cards I’m starting with! There are a handful of other stars and semi-stars in my starter set, so that will help keep the cost manageable.
The first source of filling the set is coming from Sportlots. I went through the first block of cards I needed, and found a handful of sellers that had multiple cards. I’ve got about 75 cards on the way which will let me learn which of these sellers provide the best service! After these cards arrive, I’ll start building my binder for the first hundred cards in the set.
Selling on the site lets me build up store credit, and I love using that store credit to purchase my set needs. Even though it’s not technically true, it feels like I’m getting the cards for free!
In the coming weeks I’ll have additional articles showing my progress and some of the more notable additions to the build!
I’ll also be talking about more topics like this on upcoming episodes of my Podcast, The WaxPackHero Sports Card Minute! It’s available here via the podcast link at the top of the page, so you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google Play!
I love this Banks card, and a moustacheless Rollie rookie is worth a look too!