1969 Topps #491 Twins Rookie Stars - Jerry Crider / Geo. Mitterwald
On this card: Jerry Crider, Geo. Mitterwald
The card prints the co-featured player's name as "Geo. Mitterwald," a standard period abbreviation rather than an error.
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
Jerry Crider debuted with the Minnesota Twins in 1969, working almost exclusively in relief across 21 appearances and going 1-0 with a 4.71 ERA over 28.2 innings. He shares card #491, part of print series 5, with fellow rookie Twin Geo. Mitterwald in the set's Rookie Stars subset. It is a recognized rookie card for Crider and comes in two collectible states distinguished by the color of the printed player names: yellow and white. Right-handed pitcher for the 1969 Minnesota Twins and 1970 Chicago White Sox, going 5-7 with a 4.51 ERA in a two-year career before settling in Mexico.
In 1969 Mitterwald backed up John Roseboro, catching 63 of his 69 games and helping Minnesota, under manager Billy Martin, reach the ALCS. His 1969 Topps card (#491) is a Rookie Stars issue from the fifth print series, shared with pitcher Jerry Crider, and comes in two collectible states distinguished by the color of the player names on the front. A steady-handed Twins and Cubs catcher across 11 big-league seasons who caught for Billy Martin's 1969 Twins, reached two ALCS with Minnesota, and later coached in the majors himself.
Sources: Wikipedia (Jerry Crider) · Wikipedia (George Mitterwald)
Print variations
Two states of #491 are tracked individually: 491a - Names In Yellow and 491b - Names In White. The difference is on the front of the card (name color).
States catalogued by the PSA master set registry and the Trading Card Database; each is tracked here individually.
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Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 491a - Names In Yellow | |||||||||
| PSA | 249 | 3 | 37 | 110 | 50 | 19 | 16 | 12 | 2 |
| SGC | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 491b - Names In White | |||||||||
| PSA | 174 | 0 | 4 | 27 | 39 | 45 | 33 | 24 | 2 |
| SGC | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 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.
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Related cards
More Minnesota Twins cards:
- #1 American League 1968 Batting Leaders
- #30 Bob Allison
- #56 Rich Reese
- #77 Ron Perranoski
- #99 Twins 1969 Rookie Stars
- #121 Joe Grzenda
- #146 Jim Perry
- #194 Ted Uhlaender
- #218 John Roseboro
- #242 Frank Kostro
- #265 Chico Cardenas
- #290 Jim Kaat
- #317 Bruce Look
- #336 Jim Roland
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #491 card?
It is card #491 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jerry Crider and Geo. Mitterwald. 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 #491 a rookie card?
Yes - #491 is the rookie card of Jerry Crider. Geo. Mitterwald had already appeared on an earlier Topps card, so it is not his rookie card.
Does 1969 Topps #491 have variations?
Yes. Two states are catalogued and tracked individually: 491a - Names In Yellow ("Crider and Mitterwald" prints in yellow letters on the front - the common state of this fifth-series card) and 491b - Names In White ("Crider and Mitterwald" prints in white letters - the scarce state of the pair; white letters are the premium side on all 23 of the set's name-color variations (#440-511)). Owning any one of them fills the #491 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.