1969 Topps wraps up on binder page 61 three slots short of a full page, which just happens to be the perfect size to fit in the three Tigers from the Topps Deckle Edge issue. Unlike the ‘68 game cards, which felt out of place, these B&W cards fit in nicely with the rest of the set
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One thing I love about 1969 Topps is that they really brought back the All Star cards. Yea, there were All Star cards on ‘68, but as in ‘62 they’re visually similar to the base card. These scream ALL STAR!
On page 60 we get a perfect row of them and they are just the best.
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Page 59: Willie Horton and shirtless Willie Horton. Dick McAuliffe and Dick McAuliffe in a silly hat. ‘68 was all about Denny McLain, but as the prior page showed, the World Series was all about Mickey Lolich! We get his card too. First page of 1969’s that are mostly the base design.
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Page 58 is special. The fabulous World Series subset dominates the page, with 30-game winner Denny McLain taking one of only two normal card spots. The game-by-game headlines from the ‘68 World Series simply cannot be topped. Best subset in Tigers card history.
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Binder page 57 brings us the start of 1969 Topps. You don’t get a great feel for the set on this page, what with the Leaders cards and the Checklist, but the base cards have this understated but nice design that I like a lot. Love the leader variety including the different Denny pics
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It's Championship Day, so what better way to celebrate a Michigan win than with the 1968 Champs and TWO cards of UofM's own Bill Freehan (and battery mate Mickey Lolich) on Binder Page 56. On page 56a I added the '68 "Topps Game" cards with a third (and Kaline).
Go Blue!
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Need some Championship energy right now (Go Blue!) and these are the ‘68 Tigers to deliver it. Pg. 55 has Kaline, Cash and Horton, plus a young John Hiller just emerging as a force on the mound. Also, long time broadcaster Jim Price as seen in his playing days.
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We’ve reached 1968 here on binder page 54 - a special year for Tigers fans. In our first glimpse of the “burlap sack” set, leaders are back at the top of the set, Denny McLain is leaning in to get the sign on his way to 30 wins, and we get our only Tigers card of HOFer Eddie Mathews.
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We wrap up 1967 Topps on binder page 53. Like with 1966 these are tricky high numbers (looking at you Norm Cash and Mickey Stanley). We also get George Korince (for real this time).
With space on the page, I gladly added my favorites: Venezuelan “Retirado” cards of Cobb and Cochrane
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It’s late and I’m tired but I’m the interest of keeping the streak alive, here is binder page 52, of the very good 1967 Tigers that lost the pennant on the last day of the season, but did win their home opener like the Tigers did today!
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Page 51 - the Earl Wilson page! Sure, he’s not pictured as a Tiger in any of them. My favorite card on this page is Bengal Belters, which I’m guessing is a common opinion. Though airbrushed, Mayo Smith is the new Tigers skipper, after Chuck Dressen’s death in 1966.
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50 pages into the binder gets us to 1967 Topps. Top heavy with star power (3 of the first 5 cards), Topps goes a little off-brand with its dual rookie cards, the design for which stands out in a way they haven’t in prior years. Also: Dave Wickersham has red text for some reason?
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Page 49 is the worst. High Numbers. Did it take too many years and too many dollars to get a team card? It did! Should players like Orlando McFarlane and John Sullivan cost more than like a buck? They should not! Yet here we are. A completed page that I’m just happy to be done with
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How is it that on Page 48 we get the same airbrushed photo shoot of Gates Brown that we had in 1964? He was fully in uniform in between! Kaline, Cash and Lolich are the stars, but personally I’m partial to Bill Monbouquette’s cocked eyebrow and Dick Tracewski’s fielding pose.
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Page 47 is almost half multi-player cards and the Tigers are well represented! This is the first release where the League Leaders are not the first cards in the set
Mickey Stanley gets his first card, and Larry Sherry gets his first Tigers cap after 2 capless years. Congrats to both
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Page 46 kicks off 1966 Topps with Horton and Freehan as the big names. Interesting mix of “definitely spring training” and “definitely Yankee stadium” photos
Chuck Dressen get his last card - he would only manage 26 games before being sidelined with a heart issue and died in August.
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As we wrap up 1965 Topps on binder page 45, I really only have one thing to say: Jackie Moore looks like a damn movie star. And he's a catcher? This guy looks like the star centerfielder on a CBS Sunday Movie.
Sadly this is the only time we'll see "Hollywood" Jackie on a Tigers card
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Page 44 by the skin of my teeth to keep the daily post streak alive.
Chuck Dressen still yelling one year later. Billy Hoeft returns for the first time since 1959 and can someone please get Larry Sherry a hat? That’s two years in a row!
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Happy Opening, um, Night! Page 43 is a great one and with it the core of the 1968 team is in place. Willie Horton individual card. Denny McLain rookie. Mickey Lolich. Jim Northrup too.
And everybody’s wearing a cap! Great page.
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On binder page 42 we get our first taste of 1965 and every time I see it I think: this is my favorite set of the 60s
On this page we get Kaline and Cash in a row, plus Gator fresh off his only season as a starting OF in 1964, before becoming a legendary Pinch Hitter.
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Anything over a 1/2 page gets a post to itself, and such is the case for Binder Page 41 -- the end of 1964. Rakow and Grey were 2 of the last few cards I needed to complete my 1960s Topps run but the big deal here is the rookie card of Detroit legend Willie Horton.
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Chuck Dressen yelling over to me: “hey you almost forgot to post a binder page today!” Sorry folks!
Page 40 is great. Bill Freehan, Norm Cash bunting, a classic Don Mossi, and of course the AL Bombers, this one with a little extra ornamentation added by my dad when he was 12.
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The giant TIGERS text is most useful here on page 39, when the first three players are hatless or airbrushed. Can’t airbrush Jerry Lumpe’s haircut though! That’s a classic.
1963 Floating Head Bill Faul gets his body back too! Congratulations Bill
(also Al Kaline on this page 🙂)
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For the first 37 binder pages, the teams were denoted by a logo, or text about the size of a player’s name. But in 1964 (pg 38) these are TIGERS cards! Don Demeter in full Philly gear? TIGERS
Lolich enters the fold and we start to see the building blocks of a future championship
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Page 37 - the end of 1963. Norm Cash has a unique off-center shot that I like, we get a great Don Mossi card, and of course Bill Freehan's rookie card. In my heart of hearts, I think he sees the Hall of Fame someday
Coot Veal's inset photo has maybe the worst "D" airbrush out there?
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Page 36 has two Hall of Famers on it, but not the two you expect! Say goodbye to Jim Bunning as a Tiger - this is his last card. Say hello (and goodbye) to HOF Manager Whitey Herzog, his only as a Tiger.
Floating heads abound, and I don't think I like the look of the Orange top.
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Page 35 really gives you that '63 Topps Flavor. I love these base cards so much.
The "Tiger Twirlers" are wearing the 1960 jersey (still!), we get our first rookie stars, and most importantly, two clear shots of Tiger Stadium. Maybe the first we've really seen on a Topps card.
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1963 Topps has 36 Tigers cards, making it perfect for binder pages. It kicks off with Binder Page 34, a mix of league leaders and regular cards
Hey @shlabotnik-rpt.bsky.social we have another Kaline/Kline in a line! Manager gets the fun Tiger logo instead of photo inset.
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Page 33 features All Star cards - an understated design from prior years. As @brewing.bsky.social points out, this is the ONLY Frank Lary card in ‘62. Wertz a Tiger again (‘52)
On Page 33b we get the Rookie Parade; Osborne takes over the tobacco-in-cheek crown from Rocky Bridges.
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Colavito’s Power is the “best” card of Page 32 in my eyes, but Hank Aguirre is easily my favorite. It’s like a high end portrait that feels like a total departure from the rest of the set.
The skipper is showing off the 1960 home uniform
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