1969 Topps #286 Dock Ellis
About Dock Ellis
Ellis's 1969 Topps card (#286, print series 3) is his rookie card, issued during his first full season as a Pittsburgh Pirates starter. He won a rotation spot for Opening Day and worked deep into games, going 11-17 with a 3.58 ERA over 33 starts and 218.2 innings as the Pirates' staff absorbed Steve Blass's early-season struggles.
Dock Ellis pitched twelve seasons in the majors (1968-1979), most of them with the Pittsburgh Pirates, going 138-119 with a 3.46 ERA and 1,136 strikeouts. A right-hander who threw hard enough to keep friends from playing catch with him, he anchored Pittsburgh's rotation through five NL East titles and the 1971 World Series championship over Baltimore. His signature moment came on June 12, 1970, when he no-hit the San Diego Padres; he later said he pitched it under the influence of LSD, a story that became one of baseball's most retold. Ellis started the 1971 All-Star Game for the National League and went 19-9 with a 3.06 ERA that season. He later pitched for the New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers and New York Mets before returning to Pittsburgh for his final season. Outspoken on race and player rights, Ellis battled substance abuse throughout his career and afterward became a counselor, working with others facing addiction until his death in 2008.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 525 | 1 | 44 | 172 | 120 | 79 | 48 | 60 | 1 |
| SGC | 86 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 16 | 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 Pittsburgh Pirates cards:
- #2 National League 1968 Batting Leaders
- #8 National League 1968 ERA Leaders
- #36 Luke Walker
- #50 Bob Clemente
- #82 Pirates 1969 Rookie Stars
- #104 Steve Blass
- #131 Chris Cannizzaro
- #152 Tommie Sisk
- #175 Jim Bunning
- #192 Jose Pagan
- #219 Freddie Patek
- #243 Ron Kline
- #263 Jerry May
- #307 Gary Kolb
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #286 card?
It is card #286 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Dock Ellis of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Is 1969 Topps #286 a rookie card?
Yes - #286 is the 1969 Topps rookie card of Dock Ellis.
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.