1969 MLB Location-map with jersey-logos with 1969 attendances, featuring the ’69 World Series champion New York Mets.
This is my third in a series.
Here are links to the first two posts in this series:
•1967 MLB Location-map with Jersey-logos & Attendances, featuring the ’67 World Series champions: the St. Louis Cardinals;
•1968 MLB Location-map with Jersey-logos & Attendances, featuring the ’68 World Series champions: the Detroit Tigers.

The map shows the locations of the 24 Major League Baseball teams of 1969.
At the foot of the map-page are 1969 MLB Statistical Leaders (in both the American League and the National League), in the following categories: ERA, Wins, WAR for Pitchers; Batting Average, Home Runs, RBIs, WAR for Position Players. A photo of each player is shown, with stats; photo credits are at the foot of this post.

At the top of the map-page is a section for the 1969 MLB champions, the New York Mets. I featured photos of the 12 players on the ’69 Mets with the highest WAR [Wins Above Replacement], plus the their manager, Gil Hodges. Photo credits are at the foot of this post. The players are: Tom Seaver (RHP & 1969 Cy Young Award winner), Cleon Jones (LF), Tommie Agee (CF), Jerry Koosman (LHP), Jerry Grote (C), Tug McGraw (LHP/reliever), Gary Gentry (RHP), Bud Harrelson (SS), Art Shamsky (OF/1B/PH), Ron Taylor (RHP/reliever), Don Cardwell (RHP), Ken Boswell (2B).

On the map, next to each MLB team’s location-dot there are 3 things: their cap-logo, one of their jersey-logos (either home or away jersey), and a rectangular box (listing: ballpark, win total in 1969, and home average attendance in ’69). The jersey-logos are either from a photo of the old jerseys (see 22 photo credits at the foot of this post) or illustrations of such: one (California Angels) from sportslogos.net; one (Detroit Tigers) that I drew myself. The jersey-logo for each team is sized to reflect that team’s 1969 average attendance: the larger the jersey-logo, the higher the attendance that year. Any other team logos on the team’s uniforms in 1969 are also shown (specifically, shoulder-patch-logos, of which there were 6 of such in 1969: for the Astros, the Braves, the Cubs, the Mets, the Padres, and the Twins).
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Speaking of shoulder-patch logos, there was another thing going on in Major League Baseball in 1969: the 100th anniversary of the first professional touring baseball club: the Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869. A special red-white-&-blue modernist logo was created – reputedly using the formidable silhouette of Minnesota Twins’ slugger Harmon Killebrew. {See this: MLB logo looks like Harmon Killebrew at bat (from 2011, by Pioneer Press/news@pioneerpress.com via twincities.com). Also see this: Who is that silhouetted man? (from 2008, by Paul Lucas at espn.com).} So anyway, this logo, in the form of the Centennial patch, was worn by almost all the MLB teams in 1969 (on at least one of their jerseys that year), except for the Pittsburgh Pirates (I have no idea why, and neither does this baseball card blogger, at wrigleywax.blogspot.com). {To get a quick glance at all those uniforms, here are links to the Baseball Hall of Fame website’s ‘Dressed to the Nines’ database’s 1969 pages: 1969 AL; 1969 NL (illustrations by Marc Okkonen).} If you are wondering about the Cubs, in the illustration in the preceding link, the logo is not visible, as it is located on the raised shoulder that is holding the bat. But I included an image of the logo on the Cubs’ road jersey on the map here. I included several of the MLB-100th-anniversary-logos on the map, on the jerseys of the A’s, Astros, Cubs, Dodgers, Giants, Indians, and Mets. This MLB-100th-anniversary logo, in a very slightly altered form, has become the official MLB logo to this day. And each MLB team wears a version of this logo on the back of their ball caps, done in team colors.
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1969 MLB expansion & Divisional re-organization…

Major League Baseball’s 1969 season was the first season of the Divisional Era.
1969 also saw a 4-team expansion – MLB’s third expansion of the decade. The Kansas City Royals and the Seattle Pilots joined the American League; the Montreal Expos and the San Diego Padres joined the National League. [Note: the Seattle Pilots relocated to Milwaukee, WI as the Milwaukee Brewers just one year later (in 1970); the Montreal Expos relocated to Washington, DC as the Washington Nationals 36 years later (in 2005).] So in 1969, the now-12-team AL, and the now-12-team NL were divided into two 6-team divisions each, with those divisional winners playing in a best-of-5-series, the winners, of course, advancing to the World Series.
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Brief re-cap of the 1969 regular season…
The American League saw no real divisional title-races in 1969. The Baltimore Orioles, with an MLB-best record of 109-53, won the AL East easily, by 19 games, and then, in the new playoffs, swept the AL West champion Minnesota Twins in 3 games. In the National League East, the once-hapless New York Mets, who had never had a winning record in their 7 seasons, came back from 9 games behind the Chicago Cubs, going 37-11 down the stretch. In their relatively new, 5-year-old venue, Shea Stadium (which they shared with the NFL’s New York Jets), the Mets drew the biggest crowds in all of baseball that year, drawing 26.5 K per game. The Mets went 100-62, and beat out the faltering Cubs by 8 games to win the NL East title. The NL West saw an unusual 5-team divisional race, with the Astros dropping out first, then the Dodgers and the Reds fell off, while the Giants and the Braves battled it out until the second-to-last day. The Atlanta Braves won the NL West, but then were swept by the Mets in the playoffs. But going into the Fall Classic, the Baltimore Orioles were the oddsmakers’ choice, and were heavy favorites to win the World Series over the New York Mets…
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1969 World Series: New York Mets beat Baltimore Orioles in 5 games…

The “Amazin’ Mets” beat the heavily-favored Orioles, in a huge upset. The 8th-year Mets became the first expansion-team to win the World Series. There were spectacular catches by two Mets outfielders (Tommie Agee & Ron Swoboda – see below). The Mets’ Donn Clendenon hit 3 HRs, and was the MVP. Tom Seaver, Gary Gentry, and Jerry Koosman all pitched effectively for the Mets, with Koosman winning twice, including the Game 5 clincher (see below).
-Here is a 9-minute video of the 1969 WS, 1969 World Series – Baltimore Orioles versus New York Mets (video uploaded by Scott Gordon at youtube.com).
-Here is a 40-minute video on the ’69 Mets (with much sharper video images), 1969 World Series Film New York Mets (video uploaded by Sports Revisited at youtube.com).

Photos and Images above – 1969 NY Mets/Shea Stadium WS pin-logo from sportslogos.net. Aerial shot of Shea Stadium (circa late 1960s, and probably taken during the 1969 WS), photo unattributed at flickr.com. Tommie Agee’s two catches (game 3)…1st catch: photo unattributed at centerfieldmaz.com; 2nd catch: unattributed at thisdayinbaseball.com. Ron Swoboda catch (game 4), unattributed at slicethelife.com. Donn Clendenon in ’69 WS, photo by Herb Scharfman/Getty Images at gettyimages.com. Jerry Koosman pitching in ’69 WS, photo unattributed at mets.tumblr.com. Nolan Ryan & Jerry Grote celebrate on the mound, photo unattributed at centerfieldmaz.com. View from 3rd-base-side box seats as Mets (and their fans) begin their celebration, photo by AP via nydailynews.com.
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Photos of Mets players on map page…
-Tom Seaver, photo unattributed at theathletic.com.
-Cleon Jones, photo by AP via newsday.com.
-Tommie Agee, photo unattributed at sabr.org.
-Jerry Koosman, Topps 1969 card via amazon.com.
-Tug McGraw, photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images via risingapple.com.
-Jerry Grote, photo unattributed at metsinsider.mlblogs.com.
-Bud Harrelson, photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images at gettyimages.in.
-Gary Gentry, photo unattributed at posterazzi.com.
-Art Shamsky, photo unattributed at twitter.com/[@artshamsky].
-Ron Taylor, photo unattributed at pinterest.com.
-Don Cardwell, photo by Eric Sckweikardt/Sports Illustrated via gettyimages.in.
-Ken Boswell, Topps 1969 card via picclick.com.
-Gil Hodges (manager), photo unattributed at metsmerizedonline.com.
-1969 NY Mets uniforms, illustration by Marc Okkonen at exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org/dressed_to_the_nines.

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Photos of 1969 MLB leaders on map page…
-Dick Bosman, 1970 Topps card via tcdb.com.
-Juan Marichal, photo unattributed at twitter.com/[@sfgiants].
-Denny McLain, photo unattributed at pinterest.com.
-Tom Seaver, photo by Neil Leifer at si.com.
-Denny McLain, photo unattributed at pinterest.com.
-Bob Gibson, photo unattributed at lehmansbaseball.wordpress.com.
-Rod Carew, photo by Neil Leifer at si.com.
-Pete Rose, photo unattributed at cardboardmemories.com.
-Harmon Killebrew, photo unattributed at twinstrivia.com.
-Willie McCovey, photo unattributed at first-draft.com.
-Harmon Killebrew, photo by Neil Leifer at si.com.
-Willie McCovey, photo unattributed at cooperstownexpert.com.
-Rico Petrocelli, Topps 1969 card at ebay.com.
-Henry Aaron, Sports Illustrated cover [Aug. 13 1969] at sicovers.com.
-Willie McCovey, photo by Diamond Images/Getty Images via gettyimages.de.
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Photos of jersey-logos used on the map-page…
-Tom Seaver 1969 NY Mets road jersey, from worthpoint.com. -Tom Seaver 1969 NY Mets home jersey, from greyflannelauctions.com.
-Atlanta Braves 1969 home jersey, from customthrowbackjerseys.com.
-Baltimore Orioles 1969 road jersey, from Heritage Auctions at sports.ha.com
-Boston Red Sox home jersey-logo, photo from sports.ha.com.
-Chicago Cubs 1969 road jersey, from mitchellandness.com.
-Chicago White Sox 1969 road jersey, from Heritage Auctions at sports.ha.com.
-Cincinnati Reds 1969 road jersey, from mitchellandness.com.
-Cleveland Indians 1969 road jersey, from lelands.com via nallhal.top.
-Houston Astros 1969 road jersey, from mitchellandness.com.
-Kansas City Royals 1969 road jersey, from worthpoint.com.
-Los Angeles Dodgers 1969 road jersey, from Heritage Auctions at sports.ha.com.
-Minnesota Twins home jersey circa 1968-71, from lelands.com.
-Montreal Expos 1969 road jersey, from customthrowbackjerseys.com.
-New York Mets 1969 home jersey, from mitchellandness.com.
-New York Yankees road jersey circa 1967-71, from customthrowbackjerseys.com.
-Oakland A’s 1969 road alternate jersey, from customthrowbackjerseys.com. -Philadelphia Phillies 1969 home jersey, from worthpoint.com.
-Pittsburgh Pirates ca. 1967-69 road jersey, photo from lelands.com.
-1968 St. Louis Cardinals jersey-logo, photo from scpauctions.com.
-San Diego Padres 1969 home jersey, from Heritage Auctions at sports.ha.com.
-1969 San Francisco Giants road jersey, photo from Heritage Auctions at sports.ha.com.
-Seattle Pilots 1969 road jersey, from scpauctions.com.
-Washington Senators 1969 road jersey, from mlbcollectors.com.
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Thanks to all at the following links…
-Base map, by US federal government employee at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StatesU.svg.
-Baseball-Reference.com.
-1969 Major League Baseball season (en.wikipedia.org).