1969 Topps #312 Lee Elia
About Lee Elia
This card reflects Elia's final season as an active player. He opened 1969 with the Cubs' Tacoma farm club before being traded to the New York Yankees organization and assigned to Triple-A Syracuse, where a serious knee injury required surgery and forced a three-year break from professional baseball, effectively ending his playing career.
Lee Elia was a Philadelphia-born infielder who spent six seasons working through the Phillies farm system before a 1964 trade sent him to the Chicago White Sox, where he finally reached the majors in 1966 at shortstop. A trade to the Cubs the following year brought a second big-league stint in 1968, but recurring knee trouble limited him to sporadic duty and a career line of 43 hits in 95 games. A knee operation and a three-year break followed his final playing season, after which Elia rebuilt a career on the other side of the dugout, managing in the minors for the Phillies before reaching the majors as a coach and, later, as manager of both the Cubs and the Phillies. His scouting and teaching work over decades in the game touched future stars including Ryne Sandberg and Mike Schmidt.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 198 | 1 | 15 | 114 | 41 | 18 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| SGC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 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.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Shop 1969 Topps cards Live auctions Buy It Now on eBay Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
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
- #20 Ernie Banks
- #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
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #312 card?
It is card #312 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Lee Elia 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.