1969 Topps #609 Phil Gagliano
About Phil Gagliano
Gagliano's last Topps card of the decade, #609, is a seventh-series high number listing him at second base. It reports 53 games and a .229 average with 13 RBIs for the 1968 pennant winners, in a season so tilted toward pitching that teammate Bob Gibson finished with a 1.12 ERA. He pinch-hit in Games Two, Five and Seven of that World Series, going 0-for-3, as Detroit came back from a 3-1 deficit and took the title at Busch Stadium.
Phil Gagliano was a versatile utility man who spent parts of twelve major league seasons, 1963-1974, with the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds. A Memphis native, he signed with the Cardinals in September 1959 out of high school for a $10,000 bonus, reached the majors on April 16, 1963, and finished with 171 games at second base, 133 at third, 64 in the outfield corners and 30 at first, batting .238 with 336 hits, 14 home runs and 159 RBIs in 702 games. He was farmed out to Jacksonville in July of the Cardinals' 1964 title season and left off the World Series roster, though the club voted him a three-quarter share; he did play in the 1967 and 1968 Series, beating Boston in seven games and then losing to Detroit in seven. His best average came late: .324 for the 1971 Red Sox, part of a 1971-1973 run that made him one of the majors' top pinch hitters. His younger brother Ralph reached Cleveland for a single game in 1965. Gagliano worked in liquor sales and then as an operations manager after baseball, retired in 2002, and died December 19, 2016, in Hollister, Missouri, at age 74.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2) · Baseball Almanac (3)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 230 | 0 | 15 | 102 | 75 | 22 | 9 | 7 | 0 |
| SGC | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 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 St. Louis Cardinals cards:
- #8 National League 1968 ERA Leaders
- #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
- #165 World Series Game #4 - Brock's Lead-Off HR Starts Cards' Romp
- #181 Mel Nelson
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #609 card?
It is card #609 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Phil Gagliano of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Why is #609 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.