1969 Topps #225 Don Kessinger
About Don Kessinger
Kessinger appears twice in 1969 Topps: #225 from the third series and #422, a Sporting News All-Star subset card from the fourth series, both with the Cubs. That season he set a major league record for shortstops with 54 straight errorless games, made his second straight All-Star team, scored a career-high 109 runs, and won his first Gold Glove as Chicago's infield chased the pennant before its late-season collapse.
Don Kessinger was a switch-hitting shortstop who anchored the Chicago Cubs infield for eleven seasons after signing out of the University of Mississippi, where he had also been an All-American basketball player. Paired for nine straight years with second baseman Glenn Beckert, Kessinger made six All-Star teams and won two Gold Gloves, repeatedly leading National League shortstops in assists and putouts. His trademark play, a backhanded stop in the hole that he whipped across his body to first, earned the nickname "The Down Pat" from teammate Ferguson Jenkins. After Chicago traded him to St. Louis in 1975, he finished his career with the Chicago White Sox, where in 1979 he became the last player-manager in American League history. He later coached baseball at Ole Miss, his alma mater.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 264 | 2 | 38 | 132 | 65 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 11 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 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 Don Kessinger in this set: #422 Sporting News All-Stars
More Chicago Cubs cards:
- #4 National League 1968 RBI Leaders
- #6 National League 1968 Home Run Leaders
- #10 National League 1968 Pitching Leaders
- #12 National League 1968 Strikeout Leaders
- #20 Ernie Banks
- #43 Joe Niekro
- #63 Jim Hickman
- #88 Rich Nye
- #115 Bill Hands
- #147 Leo Durocher
- #171 Glenn Beckert
- #198 Willie Smith
- #247 Gene Oliver
- #268 Al Spangler
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #225 card?
It is card #225 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Don Kessinger of the Chicago Cubs.
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.