1969 Topps #2 National League 1968 Batting Leaders - Pete Rose / Matty Alou / Felipe Alou
On this card: Pete Rose, Matty Alou, Felipe Alou
About this card
Cards #1-12 are the League Leaders subset: six categories from the 1968 season - batting average, RBI, home runs, ERA, pitching (wins) and strikeouts - with the American League card first and the National League card second in each pair, and the top three men on each card (#9 names four, after a tie for third in American League wins).
The story on this card
Card #2, second in the 1969 Topps set, carries the National League's 1968 batting leaders board, topped by Pete Rose at .335. Rose had missed three weeks with a broken thumb before closing the year on a hot streak to hold off Pittsburgh's Matty Alou, who hit .332. Atlanta's Felipe Alou, Matty's older brother, placed third at .317, putting both Alou brothers on the card chasing the same title from different clubs. The design stacks all three names, teams, and batting averages together, part of Topps' annual League Leaders run that opens each year's set.
Pete Rose - Cincinnati's hometown signing who became "Charlie Hustle," the National League Rookie of the Year in 1963 and the Big Red Machine's spark plug, later baseball's all-time hits leader with 4,256 - and still not a Hall of Fame inductee. Matty Alou was the middle Alou brother, a slap-hitting outfielder whose swing was remade by Pirates manager Harry Walker into the 1966 National League batting title, won over brother Felipe, the first of four straight .330-plus seasons, and a 1972 World Series ring with Oakland. Felipe Alou was a three-time All-Star outfielder for the Giants and Braves who led the National League in hits twice, and one third of the majors' only all-brother outfield with Matty and Jesus before becoming baseball's first Dominican-born manager.
Sources: Wikipedia (Pete Rose) · Wikipedia (Matty Alou) · Wikipedia (Felipe Alou) · SABR BioProject (Pete Rose) · SABR BioProject (Matty Alou) · SABR BioProject (Felipe Alou) · Baseball Almanac (Pete Rose) · Baseball Almanac (Matty Alou) · Baseball Almanac (Felipe Alou) · MLB.com
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 1,101 | 1 | 82 | 202 | 243 | 198 | 153 | 218 | 4 |
| SGC | 192 | 0 | 4 | 23 | 40 | 38 | 35 | 50 | 2 |
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 Cincinnati Reds cards:
More Pittsburgh Pirates cards:
- #8 National League 1968 ERA Leaders
- #36 Luke Walker
- #50 Bob Clemente
- #82 Pirates 1969 Rookie Stars
- #104 Steve Blass
- #131 Chris Cannizzaro
More Atlanta Braves cards:
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #2 card?
It is card #2 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Pete Rose, Matty Alou and Felipe Alou. Cards #1-12 are the League Leaders subset: six categories from the 1968 season - batting average, RBI, home runs, ERA, pitching (wins) and strikeouts - with the American League card first and the National League card second in each pair, and the top three men on each card (#9 names four, after a tie for third in American League wins).
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.