1969 Topps #20 Ernie Banks
About Ernie Banks
Two 1969 cards, both first series: #6, the National League home run leaders card he shares with Willie McCovey and Richie Allen, and his base card #20. Banks was 37 in 1968 and hit .246 with 32 home runs and 83 RBI, behind McCovey's league-leading 36. The Cubs went 84-78 for third place, their second straight winning season.
Ernest Banks of Dallas turned pro in 1950 with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League, then spent two Army years in Germany during the Korean War. The Cubs bought his contract in September 1953, and he became the first Black player to appear in a game for Chicago, debuting on the 17th without ever spending a day in the minors. A shortstop until he became the Cubs' regular first baseman in 1962, Banks was the first National League player to win back-to-back MVP awards, in 1958 and 1959, both for losing clubs. He hit a major-league-best 47 home runs in 1958, led the NL in RBI both seasons with 129 and then 143, and in 1960 won the first Gold Glove given a Cub. Called Mr. Cub and Mr. Sunshine for the disposition behind his standing invitation to play two, he was an All-Star in 11 seasons, played in 14 All-Star Games, and hit 512 home runs, the 500th on May 12, 1970, at Wrigley Field. He retired after 1971 having never played a postseason game. His No. 14 became the first number the Cubs retired, in 1982; he entered the Hall of Fame in 1977 on the first ballot, took the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013, and died in Chicago in 2015.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2) · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 4,340 | 17 | 318 | 852 | 718 | 693 | 578 | 1,151 | 13 |
| SGC | 1,403 | 1 | 27 | 104 | 177 | 272 | 280 | 518 | 24 |
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 Ernie Banks in this set: #6 League Leaders
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
- #43 Joe Niekro
- #63 Jim Hickman
- #88 Rich Nye
- #115 Bill Hands
- #147 Leo Durocher
- #171 Glenn Beckert
- #198 Willie Smith
- #225 Don Kessinger
- #247 Gene Oliver
- #268 Al Spangler
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #20 card?
It is card #20 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ernie Banks 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.