1969 Topps #589 Joe Pepitone
About Joe Pepitone
Card #589 is a seventh-series high number in 1969 Topps, and at this point in his career nobody should mistake it for a rookie card. It caught his last year in pinstripes, and a loud one: back at first base for 132 games, he led the Yankees with 27 home runs, batted .242 with 70 RBIs, and took a third Gold Glove. He also disappeared on the club in August, a no-show for one game and then a walkout in the middle of another that brought a suspension and a $500 fine, before making amends with Ralph Houk in September. That December the Yankees sent him to Houston for Curt Blefary.
Joe Pepitone, born October 9, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York, was a left-handed first baseman and center fielder who broke in with the New York Yankees in 1962 and played through 1973 with the Astros, Cubs, and Braves, closing out that final season with the Yakult Atoms in Japan. A three-time All-Star (1963-1965) and three-time Gold Glove winner at first base (1965, 1966, 1969), he hit .258 across twelve seasons with 219 home runs, 721 RBIs, and seven grand slams, and placed among the American League's top 10 in home runs three times and in total bases and RBIs twice each. Signed by the Yankees out of Brooklyn's Manual Training High School for a $25,000 bonus in August 1958, he took over first base from Moose Skowron in 1963 and was the first Yankees first baseman ever to win a Gold Glove. As gifted as he was undisciplined, Pepitone embraced New York nightlife and later wrote candidly about his career and personal struggles in the memoir Joe, You Coulda Made Us Proud. He died March 13, 2023, at 82.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 515 | 2 | 63 | 273 | 114 | 34 | 12 | 17 | 0 |
| SGC | 43 | 0 | 9 | 23 | 8 | 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
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- #114 Yankees 1969 Rookie Stars
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- #212 Tom Tresh
- #237 Bobby Cox
- #262 Mike Kekich
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- #332 Fred Talbot
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #589 card?
It is card #589 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Joe Pepitone of the New York Yankees.
Why is #589 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.