1969 Topps #11 American League 1968 Strikeout Leaders - Sam McDowell / Denny McLain / Luis Tiant
On this card: Sam McDowell, Denny McLain, Luis Tiant
About this card
Cards #1-12 are the League Leaders subset: six categories from the 1968 season - batting average, RBI, home runs, ERA, pitching (wins) and strikeouts - with the American League card first and the National League card second in each pair, and the top three men on each card (#9 names four, after a tie for third in American League wins).
The story on this card
1968 was the Year of the Pitcher, and the American League strikeout race that season came down to three Indians-and-Tigers arms. Sam McDowell topped the league with 283 strikeouts for Cleveland, backing a career-best 1.81 ERA. Denny McLain, in his 31-6 MVP and Cy Young season for Detroit, struck out 280. Luis Tiant, McDowell's own Cleveland teammate, finished third with 264 whiffs while posting a league-best 1.60 ERA. Topps' 1969 League Leaders subset puts all three names and totals on one card, Indians and Tigers sharing the board. It is card number 11 in the set's first print series.
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. Denny McLain - Detroit's outspoken right-handed ace, who went 31-6 with a 1.96 ERA in 1968 to become the last 30-game winner in the majors, sweeping the American League Cy Young Award and the MVP. Luis Tiant - a Cuban-born right-hander kept from his parents for 14 years by Castro's revolution, he rebuilt his delivery after a fractured shoulder blade, won 229 games over 19 seasons and beat Cincinnati twice in the 1975 World Series.
Sources: Wikipedia (Sam McDowell) · Wikipedia (Denny McLain) · Wikipedia (Luis Tiant) · SABR BioProject · Baseball Almanac (Sam McDowell)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 760 | 25 | 290 | 272 | 87 | 41 | 19 | 24 | 2 |
| SGC | 41 | 1 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 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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Related cards
More Cleveland Indians cards:
- #7 American League 1968 ERA Leaders
- #9 American League 1968 Pitching Leaders
- #19 Ken Suarez
- #61 Jimmie Hall
- #91 Al Dark
- #118 Stan Williams
More Detroit Tigers cards:
- #3 American League 1968 RBI Leaders
- #5 American League 1968 Home Run Leaders
- #9 American League 1968 Pitching Leaders
- #13 Mickey Stanley
- #40 Mayo Smith
- #80 Norm Cash
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #11 card?
It is card #11 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Sam McDowell, Denny McLain and Luis Tiant. Cards #1-12 are the League Leaders subset: six categories from the 1968 season - batting average, RBI, home runs, ERA, pitching (wins) and strikeouts - with the American League card first and the National League card second in each pair, and the top three men on each card (#9 names four, after a tie for third in American League wins).
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.