1968 Topps #12 American League 1967 Strikeout Leaders - Jim Lonborg / Sam McDowell / Dean Chance
On this card: Jim Lonborg, Sam McDowell, Dean Chance
Some hobby checklists list a "Lonberg" misspelling on this card, but its back spells Jim Lonborg's name correctly; the misspelled back belongs to #10.
About this card
Cards #1-12 are the League Leaders subset: twelve horizontal cards, each listing the top three or four finishers in one 1967 statistical category, the National League card first and the American League card second in each pair.
The story on this card
This card recaps the 1967 American League strikeout race, and it was Jim Lonborg's finest season: the Red Sox right-hander led the league with 246 strikeouts while going 22-9 for Boston's pennant-winning "Impossible Dream" club, a year that also earned him the AL Cy Young Award. Cleveland's Sam McDowell placed second with 236 strikeouts, going 13-15 for the Indians as "Sudden Sam" continued a run among the league's annual strikeout leaders. Minnesota's Dean Chance rounded out the trio with 220 strikeouts, posting a 20-14 record for the Twins in a season that also brought him a no-hitter and a rain-shortened perfect game. All three pitchers represent their 1967 clubs on this League Leaders card: Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, and Minnesota Twins.
Jim Lonborg - Boston's 1967 Cy Young winner and Gentleman Jim, the soft-spoken Stanford product who outdueled Minnesota on the pennant's final day, then threw a World Series one-hitter before knee and shoulder injuries reshaped a career that ran through Milwaukee and Philadelphia. Sam McDowell, 'Sudden Sam,' was a hard-throwing Cleveland Indians left-hander and six-time All-Star who led the American League in strikeouts five times, capping it with a 20-win, 304-strikeout 1970 that made him The Sporting News AL Pitcher of the Year. Dean Chance was the hard-throwing Angels right-hander who won the 1964 Cy Young Award at 20-9 with a 1.65 ERA, then threw a nine-inning no-hitter and a rain-shortened five-inning perfect game for Minnesota in 1967 on his way to Comeback Player of the Year honors.
Sources: Wikipedia (Jim Lonborg) · Wikipedia (Sam McDowell) · Wikipedia (Dean Chance) · SABR BioProject (Jim Lonborg) · SABR BioProject (Sam Mcdowell) · SABR BioProject (Dean Chance) · Baseball Almanac (Sam McDowell) · Baseball Almanac (Dean Chance) · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 453 | 1 | 44 | 185 | 104 | 49 | 26 | 41 | 3 |
| SGC | 31 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-09-04. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted. Slabs of the yellow team-letter #49 and #66 are 1968 Milton Bradley game cards and are not counted here.
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Related cards
Team card: #137 Minnesota Twins
More Boston Red Sox cards:
- #2 American League 1967 Batting Leaders
- #4 American League 1967 RBI Leaders
- #6 American League 1967 Home Run Leaders
- #10 American League 1967 Pitching Leaders
- #26 Darrell Brandon
- #43 Gary Bell
More Cleveland Indians cards:
- #8 American League 1967 ERA Leaders
- #16 Indians 1968 Rookie Stars
- #35 Steve Hargan
- #54 Stan Williams
- #71 Vern Fuller
- #94 Lee Maye
More Minnesota Twins cards:
- #4 American League 1967 RBI Leaders
- #6 American League 1967 Home Run Leaders
- #10 American League 1967 Pitching Leaders
- #28 Ted Uhlaender
- #44 Frank Kostro
- #64 Jim Merritt
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1968 Topps #12 card?
It is card #12 of the 598-card 1968 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Lonborg, Sam McDowell and Dean Chance. Cards #1-12 are the League Leaders subset: twelve horizontal cards, each listing the top three or four finishers in one 1967 statistical category, the National League card first and the American League card second in each pair.
Is #12 a "Lonberg" error card?
No. Some hobby checklists list #12 as a "Lonberg" misspelling, but TCDB records no error on #12 and the #12 back pictured here spells Jim Lonborg correctly. The misspelled back belongs to #10, the AL Pitching Leaders card, where both backs are tracked as a variation.
How many cards are in the 1968 Topps Baseball set?
598 cards, tracked as 606 collectible states. The numbers run from 1 to 598 without a gap and no printed number carries two different cards; eight cards - six of the seven checklists, #10 AL Pitching Leaders and #400 Mike McCormick - carry a catalogued print variation that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, BaseballCardPedia, Baseball Almanac, Beckett, Baseball-Reference, the SABR BioProject and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, PSA & SGC population reports. Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-10-12.