1969 Topps #203 Dave Johnson
About Dave Johnson
Chronic back pain sent Johnson to the chiropractor all year and often left him unable to sit down, yet 1969 was his best season to date: .280 with 34 doubles, a second All-Star selection and the first of his three straight Gold Gloves. Baltimore swept Minnesota in the Championship Series, where he hit .231, then lost the World Series to the Mets in five games with Johnson managing one hit in 16 at-bats. Card #203 is a second-series single, a low number.
David Allen Johnson was born in Orlando on January 30, 1943, grew up an Army officer's son in San Antonio, and signed with the Baltimore Orioles for a $25,000 bonus in 1962 after playing at Texas A&M. He climbed through Stockton, Elmira and Rochester, took the Orioles' second base job from Jerry Adair in the spring of 1966, and stayed a regular for eight seasons. Johnson anchored second base for the Baltimore clubs that won four American League pennants and the 1966 and 1970 World Series, pairing with Mark Belanger and Brooks Robinson on the era's best infield, and he won Gold Gloves in 1969, 1970 and 1971 while reaching four All-Star Games. Traded to Atlanta after the 1972 season, he hit 43 home runs in 1973, joining Darrell Evans and Hank Aaron as the first trio of teammates to reach 40 in a season. Two years with the Yomiuri Giants followed, then reserve duty with the Phillies and Cubs through 1978. A Trinity University mathematics major, Johnson was among the first managers to feed lineups into a computer; he won the 1986 World Series with the Mets, took Manager of the Year honors in 1997 and 2012, and entered the Mets Hall of Fame in 2010. He died on September 5, 2025.
Sources: SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 294 | 5 | 61 | 145 | 51 | 14 | 5 | 12 | 1 |
| SGC | 15 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 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.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Shop 1969 Topps cards Live auctions Buy It Now on eBay Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
More Baltimore Orioles cards:
- #7 American League 1968 ERA Leaders
- #9 American League 1968 Pitching Leaders
- #15 Boog Powell
- #37 Curt Motton
- #66 Orioles 1969 Rookie Stars
- #86 Pete Richert
- #113 Dave May
- #141 Bill Dillman
- #151 Clay Dalrymple
- #185 Tom Phoebus
- #228 Dave Leonhard
- #250 Frank Robinson
- #277 Rod Hendricks
- #299 Mark Belanger
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #203 card?
It is card #203 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Dave Johnson of the Baltimore Orioles.
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.