1969 Topps #49 Royals Rookie Stars - Steve Jones / Eliseo Rodriguez
On this card: Steve Jones, Eliseo Rodriguez
Two printing states of this card exist, distinguished by the spelling of Eliseo Rodriguez's surname; the corrected spelling is the scarcer version.
About this card
This is one of the 52 Rookie Stars cards in the 1969 Topps set, each carrying two or three young players under a club or league title. A Rookie Stars card is a rookie card only for the players pictured who had no earlier Topps flagship card - the rookie-card answer on each card names them.
The story on this card
Jones spent his final big-league season with the expansion Kansas City Royals, who took him 10th in the 1968 expansion draft. He went 2-3 with a 4.23 ERA in 20 games, four starts, before his last appearance on September 21, 1969. His 1969 Topps Rookie Stars card, #49, from the set's first print series, is a recognized rookie card, shared with Royal Eliseo Rodriguez. It comes in two states distinguished by the spelling of Rodriguez's surname, the corrected spelling the scarcer of the two. A left-handed pitcher who debuted with the 1967 White Sox, was traded to Washington, then taken by Kansas City in the 1968 expansion draft, closing his three-year career there in 1969.
Rodriguez opened the 1969 season as the expansion Kansas City Royals' starting catcher, having arrived from the Yankees in the October 1968 expansion draft. He caught 90 games, hit .236 with 2 home runs and 20 RBIs, and earned his first All-Star selection as the Royals' only representative that year. His Topps rookie card, #49, is a Kansas City Royals Rookie Stars subset issue from the first print series, an early-series card, shared with fellow Royals rookie Steve Jones. Puerto Rican catcher who played nine big league seasons for five clubs, made two All-Star teams, and caught one of Nolan Ryan's no-hitters with the Angels.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject
Print variations
Two states of #49 are tracked individually: 49a - Rodriquez On Front and 49b - Rodriguez On Front. The difference is on the front of the card (spelling).
States catalogued by the PSA master set registry and the Trading Card Database; each is tracked here individually.
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49a - Rodriquez On Front | |||||||||
| PSA | 228 | 0 | 4 | 58 | 60 | 53 | 32 | 19 | 2 |
| SGC | 17 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 49b - Rodriguez On Front | |||||||||
| PSA | 137 | 1 | 3 | 44 | 41 | 24 | 13 | 11 | 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. Where a grader registers a variation separately its population is listed under that variation; SGC slabs whose label names no variation are counted under 49a - Rodriquez On Front.
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 Kansas City Royals cards:
- #29 Dave Morehead
- #71 Steve Whitaker
- #93 Joe Foy
- #116 Chuck Harrison
- #137 Wally Bunker
- #159 Jerry Adair
- #211 Galen Cisco
- #239 Bob Taylor
- #258 Jackie Hernandez
- #279 Roger Nelson
- #298 Dave Nicholson
- #352 Paul Schaal
- #376 Royals 1969 Rookie Stars
- #396 Jim Campanis
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #49 card?
It is card #49 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Steve Jones and Eliseo Rodriguez. This is one of the 52 Rookie Stars cards in the 1969 Topps set, each carrying two or three young players under a club or league title. A Rookie Stars card is a rookie card only for the players pictured who had no earlier Topps flagship card - the rookie-card answer on each card names them.
Is 1969 Topps #49 a rookie card?
Yes - #49 is a rookie card for every player pictured on it: Steve Jones and Eliseo Rodriguez.
Is the misspelled #49 the scarce one?
No - the reverse of the usual rule. The "Rodriquez" misspelling is the common state and is the base card here; the corrected "Rodriguez" front is the scarcer state.
Does 1969 Topps #49 have variations?
Yes. Two states are catalogued and tracked individually: 49a - Rodriquez On Front (The front misspells Eliseo Rodriguez as "Rodriquez" - the error, yet the common state, so it is the base row here) and 49b - Rodriguez On Front (Corrected to "Rodriguez" on the front - the scarcer state; the "Rodriquez" error is the common one and holds the base slot). Owning any one of them fills the #49 slot; the master set counts each state.
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.