1969 Topps #465 Tommy John
About Tommy John
Card #465 is a fifth-series number, and it shows John back on his feet after the shoulder injury that closed out 1968. Gary Peters took the Opening Day ball while John went second in the rotation. He opened with a four-hit complete-game shutout of Oakland on April 9, then held Cleveland scoreless for 7 2/3 innings on May 10. He stood 6-11 on September 1 before winning his last three decisions to finish 9-11 with a 3.25 ERA over 33 starts.
Thomas Edward John was a left-handed pitcher born May 22, 1943, in Terre Haute, Indiana, and signed by the Cleveland Indians at eighteen in 1961 on the strength of a curveball taught to him by a friend of his father. He debuted for Cleveland in September 1963, then made his name with the Chicago White Sox from 1965 through 1971, tying for the American League shutout lead with five in 1966, sharing it again with six in 1967, and posting a 1.98 ERA in 1968 that brought his first All-Star selection. Traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Dick Allen after the 1971 season, he tore his ulnar collateral ligament in 1974; the ligament-replacement operation Dr. Frank Jobe performed that year cost him the 1975 season and has been known as Tommy John surgery ever since. He returned to win 20 games in 1977 and pitched in the 1977 and 1978 World Series, then added 21- and 22-win seasons for the New York Yankees. A four-time All-Star, he lost all three World Series he appeared in, and retired in 1989 after a record-tying 26th season with 288 wins, the second most of any pitcher since 1900 outside the Hall of Fame. He died in 2026.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 397 | 2 | 36 | 168 | 77 | 47 | 28 | 39 | 0 |
| SGC | 42 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 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.
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Related cards
More Chicago White Sox cards:
- #34 Gary Peters
- #54 Cisco Carlos
- #75 Luis Aparicio
- #97 Buddy Bradford
- #123 Wilbur Wood
- #155 Pete Ward
- #173 White Sox 1969 Rookie Stars
- #179 Don Pavletich
- #222 Duane Josephson
- #248 Bob Priddy
- #283 Sandy Alomar
- #309 Walt Williams
- #328 Joe Horlen
- #363 Russ Nixon
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #465 card?
It is card #465 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Tommy John of the Chicago White Sox.
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.