1968 Topps #159 Don Kessinger
About Don Kessinger
1968 Topps #159, from the set's second series, shows Kessinger with the Cubs in the year he was voted by his peers to start at shortstop for the National League in the All-Star Game. He opened the season hot enough to be named the Cubs' Player of the Month for April, and finished the year leading NL shortstops in games, assists, total chances, and double plays.
Don Kessinger was a switch-hitting shortstop who anchored the Chicago Cubs infield for eleven seasons after signing out of the University of Mississippi, where he had also been an All-American basketball player. Paired for nine straight years with second baseman Glenn Beckert, Kessinger made six All-Star teams and won two Gold Gloves, repeatedly leading National League shortstops in assists and putouts. His trademark play, a backhanded stop in the hole that he whipped across his body to first, earned the nickname "The Down Pat" from teammate Ferguson Jenkins. After Chicago traded him to St. Louis in 1975, he finished his career with the Chicago White Sox, where in 1979 he became the last player-manager in American League history. He later coached baseball at Ole Miss, his alma mater.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 288 | 5 | 64 | 134 | 47 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 0 |
| SGC | 16 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 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
More Chicago Cubs cards:
- #5 National League 1967 Home Run Leaders
- #9 National League 1967 Pitching Leaders
- #11 National League 1967 Strikeout Leaders
- #13 Chuck Hartenstein
- #37 Billy Williams
- #60 Ken Holtzman
- #83 John Stephenson
- #101 Glenn Beckert
- #119 Ted Savage
- #136 Randy Hundley
- #179 Bill Stoneman
- #184 Lou Johnson
- #202 Adolfo Phillips
- #219 Rob Gardner
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1968 Topps #159 card?
It is card #159 of the 598-card 1968 Topps Baseball set, picturing Don Kessinger of the Chicago Cubs.
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.