1969 Topps #568 Cecil Upshaw
About Cecil Upshaw
Upshaw had his best season in 1969, appearing in a career-high 62 games and posting a 2.91 ERA with 27 saves, tying for second in the National League as the Braves won the NL West. He also hit the only home run of his career that May off Philadelphia's Turk Farrell. Atlanta lost the NL Championship Series to the Mets, with Upshaw pitching in all three games. This card, from the set's sixth print series, is a single-player issue for Upshaw with Atlanta.
Cecil Upshaw was a 6-foot-6 sidearm relief pitcher who spent nine seasons in the majors, most of them anchoring the Atlanta Braves bullpen. Signed by the Milwaukee Braves out of Centenary College for a $30,000 bonus, he debuted in October 1966 and became the club's closer, ranking among the National League's top ten in saves four times between 1968 and 1972, including a career-high 27 saves in the Braves' 1969 division-winning season. His career was nearly derailed in April 1970 when he tore ligaments in his pitching hand attempting to touch an awning on a San Diego sidewalk with teammates; he returned to form in 1971 after months of rehabilitation. He was later traded to the Houston Astros, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and finally the Chicago White Sox, retiring after the 1975 season with 86 career saves and a 3.13 ERA over 348 games. He died in 1995 at age 52.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 245 | 10 | 45 | 118 | 47 | 14 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 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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Related cards
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- #100 Hank Aaron
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- #154 Jim Britton
- #177 Ron Reed
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #568 card?
It is card #568 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Cecil Upshaw of the Atlanta Braves.
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.