1969 Topps #559 Cardinals Rookie Stars - Joe Hague / Jim Hicks
On this card: Joe Hague, Jim Hicks
About this card
This is one of the 52 Rookie Stars cards in the 1969 Topps set, each carrying two or three young players under a club or league title. A Rookie Stars card is a rookie card only for the players pictured who had no earlier Topps flagship card - the rookie-card answer on each card names them.
The story on this card
Card #559, from the sixth print series, is a Rookie Stars card shared with fellow Cardinals farmhand Jim Hicks and stands as Hague's recognized rookie card. Hague made St. Louis's Opening Day roster after Orlando Cepeda was traded for Joe Torre in spring training, but went hitless in his first eight games and was optioned to Triple-A Tulsa in June, where he batted .332. He returned as a September call-up, closing the year with a .170 average, two home runs and eight RBIs in 40 games for the Cardinals. A left-handed-hitting first baseman/outfielder out of Texas, Hague spent six seasons with the Cardinals and Reds, reaching the 1972 World Series with Cincinnati before his career ended in 1973.
1969 Topps #559 comes from the Rookie Stars subset, shared with Joe Hague, and pictures Hicks with the St. Louis Cardinals, whose organization had acquired his contract after the 1967 season. His breakout .366 average and 23 home runs for the Triple-A Tulsa Oilers in 1968 made him a Pacific Coast League MVP heading into this card year, and 1969 became his only full major league season, split between the Cardinals and the California Angels. A right-handed-hitting outfielder and first baseman out of East Chicago, Indiana, whose 1968 Pacific Coast League MVP season with Tulsa earned him his only full big-league year in 1969.
Sources: Wikipedia (Joe Hague) · Wikipedia (Jim Hicks)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 418 | 13 | 128 | 186 | 59 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| SGC | 8 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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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Related cards
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- #85 Lou Brock
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- #136 Cardinals 1969 Rookie Stars
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- #162 World Series Game #1 - Gibson Fans 17; Sets New Record!
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #559 card?
It is card #559 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Joe Hague and Jim Hicks. This is one of the 52 Rookie Stars cards in the 1969 Topps set, each carrying two or three young players under a club or league title. A Rookie Stars card is a rookie card only for the players pictured who had no earlier Topps flagship card - the rookie-card answer on each card names them.
Is 1969 Topps #559 a rookie card?
Yes - #559 is the rookie card of Joe Hague. Jim Hicks had already appeared on an earlier Topps card, so it is not his rookie card.
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.