1969 Topps #14 Al McBean
About Al McBean
Low-number #14 in Topps' first series for 1969 is the only one of these cards to show McBean with a club other than Pittsburgh. San Diego took him 50th in the expansion draft, and the new franchise gave him the ball for the fifth game in its history, an April 12 loss to Juan Marichal and the Giants in which he worked into the eighth. That was his only outing as a Padre; within days San Diego traded him to the Dodgers for infielder Tommy Dean and pitcher Leon Everitt. He relieved in Los Angeles the rest of the way, going 2-6 with a 3.91 ERA and four saves in 31 games.
Alvin O'Neal McBean, born May 15, 1938, in Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas, was the first pitcher from the U.S. Virgin Islands to reach the major leagues and for decades the only one. Pirates superscout Howie Haak found him at a 1957 tryout camp on St. Thomas that McBean attended as a photographer for a local paper; talked into working out in borrowed spikes, he signed for a $100 bonus and debuted on July 2, 1961. A right-hander with a hard sinker who threw from whatever arm angle suited him that day, he moved between the rotation and the bullpen for ten seasons: Pittsburgh from 1961 through 1968 and again in 1970, San Diego in 1969, and Los Angeles from 1969 into 1970. His best year was 1964 - 8-3 with a 1.91 ERA and 21 saves, good for The Sporting News National League Fireman of the Year. He finished 67-50 with a 3.13 ERA and 63 saves in 409 games. A famously sharp dresser who played to the crowd, he was a friend and Pirates roommate of Roberto Clemente, who stood as best man at his 1962 wedding. He went home to St. Thomas to work in recreation for the territory and died there on January 31, 2024, at 85.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 380 | 19 | 166 | 144 | 29 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 17 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #14 card?
It is card #14 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Al McBean of the San Diego Padres.
How many cards are in the 1969 Topps Baseball set?
664 cards, tracked as 696 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 664 with none skipped and no printed number shared by two cards; 32 cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately, 23 of them the yellow- and white-letter name pairs of #440-511.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, Baseball Almanac, 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.