1969 Topps #506 Paul Blair
About Paul Blair
1969 Topps #506, from the fifth series, reached collectors during the most productive year of Blair's career. Batting second behind Don Buford, he hit .285 with career highs of 26 home runs, 76 RBI and 102 runs, and those 26 homers alongside 20 steals made him the first Oriole to reach 20 of each in one season. Fans voted him onto the All-Star team for the first time, and he drove in six runs as Baltimore swept Minnesota in the playoffs before losing the World Series to the Mets.
Paul Blair broke in with the Baltimore Orioles in September 1964 and spent thirteen seasons as their center fielder, anchoring the outfield of the club that won four American League pennants and two World Series titles between 1966 and 1970. Born in Cushing, Oklahoma, and raised in Los Angeles, he was signed by the Mets as a shortstop in 1961 and drafted away by Baltimore a year later. His instincts in center were the rarest thing about him: he played shallow on purpose and ran down the balls hit over his head, winning eight Gold Gloves, seven of them in a row from 1969 through 1975. He made two All-Star teams, in 1969 and 1973, and his most productive year came in 1969, when he hit .285 with 26 home runs, 76 RBI and 102 runs and became the first Oriole with 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in the same season. Traded to the New York Yankees in January 1977, he won two more championships as a reserve outfielder, then closed out his career with a short stop in Cincinnati and a last handful of games back in New York in 1980. His manager at Stockton hung the nickname Motormouth on him in 1963 for his nonstop talking. Baltimore elected him to the Orioles Hall of Fame in 1984.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 246 | 0 | 24 | 129 | 63 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 0 |
| SGC | 8 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 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.
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 Baltimore Orioles cards:
- #7 American League 1968 ERA Leaders
- #9 American League 1968 Pitching Leaders
- #15 Boog Powell
- #37 Curt Motton
- #66 Orioles 1969 Rookie Stars
- #86 Pete Richert
- #113 Dave May
- #141 Bill Dillman
- #151 Clay Dalrymple
- #185 Tom Phoebus
- #203 Dave Johnson
- #228 Dave Leonhard
- #250 Frank Robinson
- #277 Rod Hendricks
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #506 card?
It is card #506 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Paul Blair of the Baltimore Orioles.
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.