1969 Topps Tug McGraw #601 New York Mets

This is the 1969 Topps Tug McGraw #601 — a 7th Series high-number short print from one of the most storied sets in the hobby, issued the same year the Miracle Mets shocked the world.

Card #601 lands squarely in the 1969 Topps High Number Series (#589–664), the rarest tier in the entire set. Topps printed this final series in smaller quantities because it was released late in the season when retail demand had already tapered off, making every card in this range genuinely scarce compared to the lower series. That scarcity is baked in — not manufactured.

As for the player: Tug McGraw was the heartbeat of that 1969 Mets bullpen. He posted a 9–3 record, 12 saves, and a 2.24 ERA during the championship season, then closed out the 1969 NLCS with three scoreless innings in the Mets' 11–6 Game 2 win over Atlanta. He went on to coin the immortal phrase "Ya Gotta Believe," enter the Mets Hall of Fame in 1993, and deliver the final out of the 1980 World Series for Philadelphia — a two-time champion whose legend only grows.

• Set: 1969 Topps Baseball — 664-card set, seven series, the largest Topps set of its era
• Series rarity: 7th Series high-number short print (#589–664), the hardest cards to find in the set
• PSA market comps: PSA 7 copies have sold around $165; PSA 8 examples around $46–$50+; PSA 9 reaching $176
• Player significance: 1969 World Series champion, two-time All-Star, Mets Hall of Famer, 180 career saves

Vintage Mets collectors, 1969 Topps set builders, and relief pitcher historians all want this card — and the high-number short print status means raw, well-centered copies are harder to track down than the price suggests. A legitimate piece of the Miracle Mets.

Available at Collector Station, Easley, SC. Local pickup available. All sales final. Shipping damage must be reported within 48 hours of delivery with photos.