1969 Topps #616 Don McMahon
About Don McMahon
Card #616 is a high number from Topps' seventh series, the stretch of the set collectors chase last, and it pictures McMahon with the Detroit Tigers. Chicago sent him to Detroit on July 26, 1968 in a straight swap for Dennis Ribant; the Tigers wanted a 38-year-old arm that could stand the heat of a pennant race, and got 20 relief outings, a 3-1 record and a 2.02 ERA. Detroit took the American League flag and beat St. Louis in seven games, though his own World Series was rough: three runs in two innings over two appearances, including a three-run homer by Orlando Cepeda. In August 1969 the Tigers dealt him to San Francisco, his seventh and final club.
Donald John McMahon was a right-handed relief pitcher from Brooklyn, New York, signed by the Boston Braves as an amateur free agent in 1950 and converted from third base to the mound in their farm system. He did not reach the majors until June 30, 1957, at age 27, after roughly five and a half years in the minors and two years in the Army, and he believed he was the first pitcher ever called up strictly as a reliever. Used almost entirely out of the bullpen, he appeared in 874 games, just two of them as a starter, and finished 90-68 with a 2.96 ERA, 1,003 strikeouts and 153 saves. He was a 1958 National League All-Star selection and won World Series rings with the 1957 Braves and the 1968 Tigers, also pitching for the Colt .45's, Indians, Red Sox, White Sox and Giants. Sold or traded six times between ages 32 and 39, he had a habit of pitching his best ball in his first season with a new club. He never spent a day on the disabled list, and he threw his last big league pitch in 1974 at age 44 while serving as the Giants pitching coach.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 296 | 10 | 81 | 147 | 30 | 20 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| SGC | 17 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #616 card?
It is card #616 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Don McMahon of the Detroit Tigers.
Why is #616 harder to find?
It is a high number card from the seventh and last print series, #589-664 - the scarce end of the set.
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.