1969 Topps #35 Joe Morgan
About Joe Morgan
Morgan's lone 1969 card, #35, is a first-series base issue, and the season behind it is a lost one: a torn ligament in his left knee held him to 10 games and a .250 average in 1968, after three years as Houston's regular second baseman. He was healthy again by the time the card reached packs, playing 147 games in 1969 with 15 home runs and 94 runs scored. It is his last Topps card of the decade, issued two years before the November 1971 trade to Cincinnati.
Joe Morgan was a 5-foot-7 second baseman who became one of the most complete players in baseball history. Signed by the Houston Colt .45s out of Oakland City College in 1962, he broke into the majors in September 1963, took over as Houston's regular second baseman in 1965, and finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting. He spent nine years in Houston, making All-Star teams in 1966 and 1970, before a November 1971 trade sent him to the Cincinnati Reds. In Cincinnati, Morgan became the igniter of the Big Red Machine, teaming with Pete Rose and Johnny Bench to win back-to-back World Series titles in 1975 and 1976 while claiming the National League Most Valuable Player award both years, the first National League second baseman to win it in consecutive seasons. He drove in the winning run in Game 7 of the 1975 World Series, won five straight Gold Gloves from 1973 through 1977, made ten All-Star teams overall, and finished his 22-year career with 2,517 hits, 268 home runs and 689 stolen bases. Nicknamed "Little Joe," he flapped his back elbow at the plate, a habit suggested by Houston teammate Nellie Fox. Morgan was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990, his first year on the ballot, and later became a network broadcaster.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 1,532 | 3 | 81 | 394 | 357 | 263 | 187 | 246 | 1 |
| SGC | 334 | 2 | 6 | 38 | 71 | 77 | 64 | 76 | 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 Houston Astros cards:
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- #76 Norm Miller
- #96 Denver Lemaster
- #119 Doug Rader
- #156 Astros 1969 Rookie Stars
- #186 John Edwards
- #202 Don Wilson
- #208 Donn Clendenon
- #257 Jim Ray
- #278 Gary Geiger
- #308 Wade Blasingame
- #337 Marty Martinez
- #360 Jim Wynn
- #389 Dan Coombs
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #35 card?
It is card #35 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Joe Morgan of the Houston Astros.
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.