1969 Topps #626 Gene Michael
About Gene Michael
Michael took over as the Yankees' regular shortstop in 1969 after New York traded incumbent Tom Tresh to Detroit, and he responded with a career-high .272 average, crediting hitting tips from Joe Pepitone and encouragement from coach Elston Howard. A seventh-series high number, this card at the position he would hold for New York through the mid-1970s.
Eugene Richard Michael, nicknamed Stick for his slender build, was a switch-hitting shortstop from Kent, Ohio who played ten big league seasons (1966-1975) with the Pirates, Dodgers, Yankees and Tigers. Signed by Pittsburgh out of Kent State, where he also starred in basketball, he reached the majors in 1966 and became a regular for the Yankees from 1969 through 1974, batting a career-high .272 in 1969. A slick, heady defender rather than a power hitter, he finished with a .229 average, 15 home runs and 226 RBIs over 973 games, and was known for pulling off the hidden-ball trick multiple times in his career. After retiring as a player he went on to manage both the Yankees and the Chicago Cubs and later served as Yankees general manager, where he is credited with rebuilding the farm system that produced the club's late-1990s dynasty.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 325 | 10 | 66 | 153 | 62 | 23 | 6 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 26 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 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 New York Yankees cards:
- #9 American League 1968 Pitching Leaders
- #25 Roy White
- #46 Fritz Peterson
- #69 Steve Hamilton
- #87 Horace Clarke
- #114 Yankees 1969 Rookie Stars
- #191 Lindy McDaniel
- #212 Tom Tresh
- #237 Bobby Cox
- #262 Mike Kekich
- #292 Al Downing
- #313 Bill Robinson
- #332 Fred Talbot
- #354 Nate Oliver
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #626 card?
It is card #626 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Gene Michael of the New York Yankees.
Why is #626 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.