1969 Topps #525 Earl Wilson
About Earl Wilson
Card #525, a sixth-series number in 1969 Topps, is Wilson's world champion card. He went 13-12 in 1968 with a 2.85 ERA, the lowest of any full season he pitched, striking out 168 in 224.1 innings across 34 games in a rotation fronted by Denny McLain's 31 wins and Mickey Lolich's 17. He also matched his own career high with seven home runs at the plate. That October he started Game 3 of the World Series against St. Louis and lost it 7-3, going 4.1 innings for three earned runs on four hits and six walks; it was his only appearance as Detroit came back to take the Series in seven.
Earl Wilson was a right-handed pitcher out of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, born October 2, 1934. The Boston Red Sox signed him in 1953, the season his arm moved him out from behind the plate and onto the mound, and on July 28, 1959 he became the first Black pitcher to appear for the franchise. On June 26, 1962 he no-hit the Los Angeles Angels 2-0 at Fenway Park and homered in the same game, the first African American to throw a no-hitter in the American League. Boston traded him to Detroit in June 1966; he answered with a 13-6 finish and then, in 1967, a career-best 22 wins that tied Jim Lonborg for the American League lead. He started Game 3 of the 1968 World Series for the champion Tigers and closed out 1970 with the San Diego Padres, finishing 121-109 with a 3.69 ERA and 1,452 strikeouts. He also hit 35 home runs, a total only a handful of pitchers have ever bettered. He settled in Detroit as a businessman and later led the Baseball Assistance Team, which aids former players in need, before a heart attack took him in April 2005 at 70.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 464 | 16 | 165 | 231 | 31 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 11 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 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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- #5 American League 1968 Home Run Leaders
- #9 American League 1968 Pitching Leaders
- #11 American League 1968 Strikeout Leaders
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- #80 Norm Cash
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #525 card?
It is card #525 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Earl Wilson of the Detroit Tigers.
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.