1969 Topps #497 Julian Javier
About Julian Javier
Javier's bat came back in 1969. Across 143 games he hit .282, the best full-season average of his career, with 139 hits, 28 doubles, 10 home runs, 59 runs scored and 42 RBIs, and he drew 40 walks for a .336 on-base percentage. Almost all the power came at home: eight of the ten homers landed in St. Louis. It was his ninth straight Opening Day start at second base, and the last season he would top .270. Card 497 belongs to the fifth series of the 1969 set.
Manuel Julian Javier Liranzo, born August 9, 1936 in San Francisco de Macoris, was a Dominican second baseman who spent twelve of his thirteen major league seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, 1960 through 1971, before a final year with the Cincinnati Reds in 1972. Pirates scout Howie Haak signed him for the 1956 season; blocked in Pittsburgh by Bill Mazeroski, he was traded to St. Louis in May 1960 and was in the starting lineup the same day, with two hits against the Giants. Tall and lanky at 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds, he built his reputation on speed, range and bunting rather than power, and earned the nickname the Phantom for turning the double play while slipping away from sliding baserunners. He was a two-time All-Star, in 1963 and 1968, and won World Series rings with the Cardinals in 1964 and 1967, batting .333 across nineteen World Series games. He finished with a .257 average and 1,469 hits. At home he founded a youth league later renamed for Roberto Clemente, a four-team summer league, and, with his son Stan, the Gigantes del Cibao of the Dominican Winter League. He entered the Dominican Republic Hall of Fame in 1978 and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2022.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · National Baseball Hall of Fame · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 257 | 4 | 42 | 123 | 47 | 22 | 11 | 8 | 0 |
| SGC | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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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- #10 National League 1968 Pitching Leaders
- #12 National League 1968 Strikeout Leaders
- #18 Dick Schofield
- #39 Dick Hughes
- #60 Nelson Briles
- #85 Lou Brock
- #110 Mike Shannon
- #136 Cardinals 1969 Rookie Stars
- #160 Vada Pinson
- #162 World Series Game #1 - Gibson Fans 17; Sets New Record!
- #164 World Series Game #3 - McCarver's Homer Puts St. Louis Ahead
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #497 card?
It is card #497 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Julian Javier of the St. Louis Cardinals.
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.