The vintage and prewar market is at least partially driven by the "Holy Grail" of cards, the 1909 T206 Honus Wagner. Please enter the verification code that you received on your email. As a rookie, he did not hit a homer. There are a massive 5,228 of them in PSAs population report. 1985 Fleer Kirby Puckett RC #286. Lets be honest. With the hunter green borders, clip art of a baseball hat with team names, and the vintage Topps logo, this card screams, collect me! Sure, Gwynn was one of the greatest hitters who ever played with 8 batting titles to his name, but why are collectors willing to pay so much for this card in top grade? But the key card of the set would be of a 20-year-old guy who posted a 2-4 mark and 5.56 ERA in 31 innings the year before. There are a few Frank Thomas minor league cards, but the 1987 Auburn Tigers are the most elusive. Which doesnt make them very exciting. Rickey Henderson's 1980 rookie card is a thing of beauty, no doubt. PSA has seen just 516 of the O-Pee-Chee Barry Bonds rookie cards. We use cookies to help personalize content, tailor and measure ads, and provide a safer experience. Furthermore, the cardstock on the Tiffany cards is bright white instead of yellow or grey, making them much more appealing. He threw fastballs over 100mph consistently and even into his 40s. Another great 89 Upper Deck RC. He deserves so much more than that. Those are some pretty good numbers considering these cards may have been thrown in a dumpster at one time. A 1982 Topps Orioles Future Stars base set card will make a great addition to any authentic Baltimore Orioles fan collection. Of the players shown here, only one went on to set the major league record for consecutive games played, collect 3,184 hits, win two league MVP awards, play in 19 All-Star Games and earn a plaque in Cooperstown. This is probably a team-issued shot, and considering Jackson only played in 25 games that first season, there would have not been a lot of options at the print deadline. MT 9. It was Johnson who fared better over his career, collecting five Cy Young awards including four in a row while winning 303 games and landing in Cooperstown. After Fernando started 8-0 with a 0.50 ERA with eight complete games and five shutouts in his first eight starts, "Fernandomania" swept across the country. Top 25 Most Valuable Baseball Cards from the 1980's - Update with giveaway! In 2007, he was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility and currently has the fifth-highest voting percentage (98.53%). The card shows teammate Johnny Ray but has all Barry Bondss information on the front and back. And you thought Lex Luthor had a lot of brain power . There was a time when the world came together for one thing: finding Wade Boggs Topps RCs. This set is one of the rarest Topps sets ever produced, with less than 100 of each card known today. Many still are. Donruss and Fleer would join the market in 1981 and that competition would help light the spark for the hobby craze of the 1980s. But this, the only RC of future Hall of Famer Raines pictured alone, is about as close as it gets. Interestingly, he bounced back in 1981 to dominate not in strikeouts but by turning in an incredible 1.69 ERA with a .688 winning percentage, both career bests, while finishing fourth in Cy Young voting. The fans roared their approval and Winfield shook his hand with a knowing glance. So, the supply is meager. The availability of this set is much more limited than the regular issue Topps Traded set. By navigating the site, you agree to the use of cookies to collect information. For those who dont know, Bill Ripken had the word F**k Face boldly written in black sharpie on the bottom of his bat. We should have been hoarding up Michael Jordan cards back then. And, fortunately for the collecting world, Topps gave him a standalone rookie card when they included him in their 1982 Topps Traded set. Ripken was one of my favorite players as a kid and it has been nice to see this card get much more notoriety as time passes. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network and Amazon. . Lee Smith was primarily a relief pitcher during his 18-year career in the Major Leagues. Although Jeff Schneider and Bob Bonner didnt have much of a career in the Major Leagues, the player centered in the middle sure did. And like Fernando Valenzuela two years before, Kittle without question was instrumental in advancing the chase of the Rookie Card in the industry. One of the pack-pulled Rookie Cards during Juniors rookie season, but it comes with a tough blend of purple and black border. This example looks similar to his far less valuable 1987 Topps rookie card; however, this is the O-Pee-Chee version. So, it's well over twenty times more difficult to find this card in a PSA 10 holder than it is his Topps rookie. Starting off the list of most valuable baseball cards from the 1980s is the 1980 Topps George Brett base set card. Another valuable card from the 1985 Topps Tiffany set is the Roger Clemens rookie card #181. And with every new season came some great and memorable cards. Topps produced their Tiffany collectors edition cards in their regular Topps issue sets, Topps Traded sets, and Bowman sets in 1989. Fleer was ahead of the curve for this one, as well as card #10 on this very list. Shop the 1986 Donruss Bo Jackson rookie card on eBay, Shop the 1980 Topps baseball cards on eBay, Shop the 1984 Fleer Update Roger Clemens rookie card on eBay, Shop the 1982 Topps Cal Ripken Jr. rookie card on eBay, 1982 Topps Orioles Future Stars base set card, Shop the 1982 Topps Lee Smith rookie card on eBay, Shop the 1989 Fleer Bill Ripken baseball card on eBay, Shop the 1984 Donruss Don Mattingly rookie card on eBay, Shop the 1981 Topps Pete Rose baseball card on eBay, Shop the 1982 Topps Trade Cal Ripken Jr. rookie card on eBay, Shop the 1985 Topps Tiffany Kirby Puckett rookie card on eBay, Shop the 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany Barry Bonds rookie cards on eBay, Shop the 1984 Topps Tiffany Don Mattingly rookie card on eBay, Shop the 1988 Best Ken Griffey Jr. minor league card on eBay, Shop the 1980 Topps Nolan Ryan baseball card on eBay, Shop the 1983 O-Pee-Chee Tony Gwynn rookie card on eBay, Shop the 1985 Topps Tiffany Mark McGwire rookie card on eBay, Shop the 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany Bo Jackson rookie card on eBay, 565 of the Tiffany Traded Bo Jackson rookies, Shop the 1989 Bowman Tiffany Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card on eBay, Shop the 1985 Topps Tiffany Roger Clemens rookie card on eBay, Shop the 1987 O-Pee-Chee Barry Bonds rookie card on eBay, Shop the 1987 Barry Bonds rookie card error on eBay, Shop the 1980 WBTV Cal Ripken Jr. minor league card on eBay, Shop the 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson rookie card on eBay, 8 Best Baseball Cards to Collect in 2022 Hall of Fame Potential, Best Chipper Jones rookie card & baseball card list. The vintage baseball cards are some of the most collectible and highest-selling cards f. Barry appeared in several 1986 year-end releases that are considered XRCs. But 509 home runs and a National League batting title later, Sheffield stood on his own name. Anyone hear from Bonner or Schneider lately? Important: Judging condition and understanding the grading system will . It had a couple things going for it: The iconic Rated Rookie logo and Canseco pictured by himself. This drives the $2,000 price tag behind this legendary players card. Got thousands baseball football basketball ,and hockey . This is because they had less distribution than regular-issue Topps cards. Nobody wants to look goofy while trying to make the all-important first impression and all. Cant have that. One of the higher-end rookies is the 1984 Topps Tiffany #8 card. Yes, it was corrected but by then it had made industry headlines and the C Nettles was all anyone wanted. 1980 Rickey Henderson Topps RC #482 (buy on eBay) The most popular rookie card of one of the greatest ever baseball players. The whited-out variation has 105 in population while the scribbled-out in white only has 67, which takes 1st place for the rarest variation. First, new collectors entered the hobby based on the idea of treating baseball cards as an investment. Five years after that he was named the 1995 NL Most Valuable Player and in 2012, the Baseball Writers Association of America elected him to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Nothing spectacular about this Pete Rose card besides its very low PSA 10 population report. The evidence is that a PSA 9 mint copy, with 748 in existence, sells for considerably less than $100. Predating his other MLB cards by a year, the 1984 Fleer Update Roger Clemens is legitimately rare in top condition. PRICES POP APR FACTS REGISTRY SHOP WITH AFFILIATES. And, like Clemens, that might cut into the value and prestige of his 1985 Fleer Rookie Card to a . If found in GEM-MT 10 condition, Henderson's 1980 #482 Topps card will be worth $27,500 right now. Topps manufactured a striking Pete Rose card in 1980, featuring an intense close-up shot of the player's face. With 29,032 cards in the PSA pop report, the 1982 Topps Ripken rookie card has one of the highest population reports of all 1980s baseball cards. Fleer broke Topps' monopoly with a landmark court case in 1980 that opened the door for the Philadelphia gum maker and others to produced baseball cards starting in 1981. That ones found in the main 1989 Donruss set. This is, hands down, his best rookie card to date. Of the many Barry Bonds rookie cards, his 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany rookie card is one of the most valuable. If youre a Barry Bonds collector or an 80s baseball card collector, O-Pee-Chee cards are the way to go. Therefore, the market has responded by boosting the price level of Gwynn's rookie in PSA 10 condition to the price levels you see here. Being the Canadian cousin to Donruss, you can see that there isn't much different about the Leaf design overall except for the green leaf logo in the upper-left and the French text and Leaf trademark data on the reverse. The same design of this card also appeared in the Nestle and O-Pee-Chee sets that year and all three cards are worth around $250-300 in top grade. 1989 Topps #380 Rickey Henderson. Which is a minimal amount. So its safe to say they are scarce. The total Topps count is at 13,308! An underappreciated card for much of Robbies career, it did gain some momentum as fans and followers began looking at his career as a whole and how good he was at second base. Everybody wanted one. The greatest lead-off hitter in the entirety of baseball history, Rickey Henderson finds no equal in the career rankings for both stolen bases and runs scored, keeping the spirit of the Dead Ball Era alive into the twenty-first century. And, you guessed it, the Tiffany version is even more valuable in PSA 10 condition. If it looking for someone specifically. It is collectible from the get-go, with only 5,000 Tiffany sets printed in 85. Havent seen this card before? The 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany version of Barry Bonds' iconic rookie can be worth big bucks, as much as $1,250 in PSA condtition. Seems like this was a good day. Awesome article, definitely captured the essence of the 1980s. When he entered the 1984 All-Star Game in San Francisco to open up the fifth inning, Gooden was 19-years old, just two years out of Hillsborough High School in Tampa. As a result of the legal process, Rose accepted his placement on baseball's permanently ineligible list, which would ban him from the game and Cooperstown for life. . PSA has seen just 728 copies of this specific Mattingly rookie card. PSA 9s sell for considerably less in the $300 $400 price range. Puckett died of a stroke at age 45, becoming the second-youngest man to pass away after already being enshrined in Cooperstown. Who cares if there are more copies printed to stretch around the world twice? Top 5 Baseball Cards From the 80s Let's take a look at the top 3 cards from the Decade of Decadence. 1981 Donruss wasnt littered with a lot of visually appealing cards. The All-Star designation on this card seems pretty appropriate. His mainstream Rookie Cards appeared the next spring. Which gives them a much more elegant look. You were royalty. In addition to the low population, Pete Rose cards are highly collectible, and the set design for the 81 Topps cards has a nice early baseball card touch. 1987 Donruss Greg Maddux RC #36 (buy on eBay) We feel the 1987 Greg Maddux Leaf rookie cards is not only one of the most underrated baseball cards of the 1980s but one of the most underrated in all of the card hobby. The headline: Strawberry Fields Forever. FernandoMania was on full display in the summer of 81, and until Topps added him in its late-season Traded Set, the only card picturing the lefty alone and not paired with other prospects came via the good folks at Fleer. Now that he's forever a Los Angeles sports hero, Gibson's rookie card is a must-have. "100 Most Valuable Baseball Cards: The All-Time Dream List." Baseball Reference. What list of valuable baseball cards from the 1980s is complete without the Johnny Ray/Barry Bonds error card? However, he and Lee Smith both received the nod to Cooperstown when the Today's Game Era Committee selected them as part of the Hall of Fame Class of 2019. 1984 Fleer Update Roger Clemens RC #27 Although it may never be made official, Roger Clemens put up Hall of Fame numbers. Ken Griffey Jr. It was the be-spectacled Ron Kittle, who slugged home runs a very, very far distance and at a rate that caught fans and collectors attention. Owner of one of the most famous World Series home runs ever hit, and one of the nicest guys to ever grace the front of a baseball card. An RC of one of the games greatest, this one isnt winning any beauty contests. Having won the 1985 Heisman Trophy Award while at Auburn, he was then selected No. Give Fleer credit for getting The Rocket in its 1984 Update set when the competitors waited until the next year to include him in their sets. A 1963 Topps Pete Rose is worth more than a 1983 Topps Pete Rose. Additionally, the second-year Tiffany sets cards resemble regular-issue variety but feature a high-gloss finish. With over 2,200 George Brett cards graded by PSA, most will agree they are highly collectible. Henderson is often regarded as the MLB's greatest lead-off hitter and base-runner. Meanwhile, this might be the only time Johnny Ray was ever mistaken for Barry Bonds. If you were around for the card boom of the late 1980s and early 1990s, you'll surely recognize this iconicMark McGwire rookie card. Your Account has been confirmed and activated successfully. Donruss dramatically changed its look from its first set in 1981 to its second in 1982. In addition to the enormous submission number, whats even more shocking is that only 517 have been given the prestigious PSA 10 grade. So far, I have found that in 1985, Topps commissioned O-Pee-Chee, its Canadian branch, to make a test mini set similar to the 1975 Topps Mini set. Many people often wonder if there are any 80s baseball cards worth money. NM-MT 8. He pointed out a 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson rookie card to his 11-year-old son, Gavin. Interestingly, Ryan's highest single-season strikeout total in nine years with the Houston Astros was only 270 in 1987, a year in which he also led the NL with a 2.76 ERA. The 1980s was a decade of big change for baseball cards. Free shipping for many products! And so on. When it was included in Fleers legendary 1984 Update set, many collectors were baffled by the image of Rose in the rouge, blanc et bleu of the Montreal Expos. Sometimes youll find versions of these that look like they were hand-cut by a kid with plastic scissors and little use for even borders. He made one All-Star appearance and never sniffed more than 136 hits in a single season. Great article. After pacing the league in strikeouts during seven of his previous eight seasons with the Angels, nearly everyone expected that he would be at the top every year. The Littlefield can still be found, but its value hasnt changed much in the last 35 years. My next move was to go diving through my cards to see if I had one. Because Jackson was such a massive prospect in football and baseball, he is still highly collectible. Barry looks thrilled to be getting his picture taken. Of those 22 submitted, 14 were found in mint condition, with just 1 being gem mint. After an eBay auction that ended in October 2022, one copy sold for an impressive $1,800. However, Puckett is the only player to meet both of those criteria making this card the only Hall of Fame rookie card in the 1985 Topps set. While vintage cards like the T206 Honus Wagner and the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle have continued to soar in value, baseball card's boom times produced no such valuable merchandise. The original printing contained a stadium Marlboro sign over the Big Units left shoulder. This is one of the hobbys most iconic and recognizable error cards. Some hold out hope that baseball will someday forgive him and allow the all-time hits leader into the Hall of Fame, but it still seems highly unlikely. But the best thing that the 82 set had going for it was this very affordable Cal Ripken Jr. RC. Fleer may have a shorter history than some in the hobby, but they produced some real zingers during their run. The young, bearded lefty poses in his White Sox uniform on his 1981 Topps rookie card, which has received a nice boost in price ever since his Hall of Fame induction. As I mentioned above, the value goes through the roof when found in gem mint condition. Click on any card to see more graded card prices, historic prices, and past sales. For some reason, Topps did not include every member of the team as they notably left out players like Barry Larkin and Will Clark, among others. So, I stuck with big-name companies like Topps, Fleer, Donruss, Upper Deck and others when building this list. However, one thing is clear about this card and the set in general: they are incredibly difficult to find in top condition. But, when you add a name like Nolan Ryan (or Rickey Henderson above) to the mix then the price only skyrockets. In 1962, Topps had opted not to sign Wills to a trading card deal, apparently believing he was not major league material. There is, however, a big market for older baseball cards and other sports cards (generally cards manufactured before 1980). He would lend his bat to several teams, including the White Sox, Orioles, A's, Rangers, and Indians, as he bounced around quite a bit. If the population remains low, these could increase in value over time. Sandberg's status as a Hall of Famer and one of the most beloved Cubs of all-time keeps demand for high grade specimens of his rookie card at lofty price levels. For example, common 1909 T206 cards are worth something while many common cards printed in the 1980's are not. The Topps Traded set, however, has had a mind-blowing 46,835 submitted! There wasnt a lot to get excited about when the 1987 Fleer Update sets arrived, outside of the first Fleer card of A.L. But it was baseball in 1988, so buy it we did, mostly looking for the highly-touted Mets prospect who looked like the kid who sat near the back of your social studies class. . However, the Bo Jackson football cards have reached prices upwards of $1,500. Value: $40-45 Check prices on eBay (affiliate link) Check prices on Amazon (affiliate link) 18) 1980 Topps Andre Dawson (#235) I was stunned when I read the price next to the Barry Bonds error card. The 1985 Topps Tiffany is Roger Clemenss most valuable rookie card. Of the two sets, his Bowman Tiffany is more valuable, by a long shot, selling for over $2,500 in PSA 10 condition. A fantastic example of how a card could rise and fall. This isnt even Cals first Topps card that appears elsewhere on this list but it was more challenging, and more expensive, to secure after its release in late 1982. Adjusting from the American League to the National League may have been the root cause for the drop-off. 9. Jerome Walton 89 Upper Deck shouldve cracked the top 100. There are two versions of this card. It includes the O-Pee-Chee logo in the upper right in place of the Topps logo. New companies, new technologies and a booming marketplace all brought the hobby into the mainstream. The 1984 Donruss baseball set features player portraits from the chest up. I personally love 80s baseball cards and have some in my personal collection that are worth more than just the monetary value. As you can imagine, finding PSA 10 examples of a given O-Pee-Chee card is substantially more difficult than finding a Topps example in the same condition. Mickey Mantle is a name known even to . This makes the PSA 10 population just 4% of the entire graded population. According to the PSA website, the 1951 Mickey Mantle Bowman RC is Mantle's only rookie card. So, it might be shocking to find that some baseball cards from the 1980scan be worth five and six figures You see, not every card fell victim to overproduction. When examining the bottom left corner, youll find the O-Pee-Chee logo instead of the Topps. In 2012 these were selling for just over $500. Fleer corrected it quickly, but the error fire had already been stoked. Yeah, about that. I love how Ryan's orange Houston Astros cap and the cartoon hat in the lower-left corner work in unison to give this card some fantastic visual pop. Thank you! This variation is not limited to the Bo Jackson rookie card, they can be found on other player cards like Nolan Ryan, George Brett, Roger Clemens, Darryl Strawberry, and many more. For decades, O-Pee-Chee played the role of Topps' counterpart in the Canadian market. With this card, Fleer became the only manufacturer to produce an XRC and RC of The Rocket. The 87 Topps Tiffany regular set and Traded sets are believed to carry the highest print runs of any Tiffany set. Make no mistake, the thrill of finding this card in a regular or cello pack was huge. In terms of errors, there are several greater than this. I remember being in that late-80s baseball card collecting frenzy, and seeing the majority of these cards. And then there was Kirk Gibson's walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series against the Oakland A's. The driver of sales for Topps inaugural boxed Traded Set, the thought of getting a Valenzuela card picturing him alone during Fernandomania caused many a collector to dig for the wallet. Winning the gold medal in the 1988 Olympic games, pitching against and beating Japan in the championship game, was one of the best things that could have happened to Jim Abbott. The same thing that propelled the show Stranger Things to the top of the charts and straight to the hearts of millions across the country. Pucketts quick emergence brought this RC a lot of attention from the first day 85 packs began surfacing. This Topps card features Henderson in action in yellow and white Oakland Athletics uniform, with the bench blurred in the background. This can be attributed to several things. And the introduction of grading to the hobby has led to some collectors paying massive amounts of money for certain cards deemed to be in pristine condition. Big difference. The hype surrounding Ken Griffey Jr. turned out to be well-placed as the legendary slugger went on to a Hall of Fame career. Its a dude dressed like a chicken. A popular card upon its release, this provided collectors with a great look at the young slugger fresh off of winning the 1983 NL Rookie of the Year Award. Especially when compared to the 82 Ripken rookie mentioned above. all different years. Not only did Ripken break Lou Gehrig's streak for consecutive games played, but he also left a legacy as arguably the greatest shortstop who ever played. Chances are, the buyers are either investors to sell them in the distant future or Tony Gwynn collectors with no intention of selling at all. Nolan Ryan made his debut with the Houston Astros in 1980 and that season was a bit unusual for him for one glaring reason:he did not lead the league in strikeouts. Shortcuts: Most Expensive , Cheapest , List by Card # Other than that, the design is exactly the same as the base card. With only 190 gem mint 10s in population, they are considered one of his rarest and most valuable rookie cards. Most Valuable Fleer Baseball Cards. These "Fleer Glossy" cards were printed on higher quality cardboard and contained a much glossier finish on them. GEM-MT 10. Description. Despite his complicated legacy,Pete Rose cardsalso remain some of the most desirable in the hobby. The first of two Donruss cards on this list, this one features a headshot of the 1985 American League MVP, Don Mattingly. And it did. It is, without a doubt, one of his more valuable baseball cards from the 1980s. Bo Jackson was one of the biggest superstars in all of sports during the late 1980s and early 1990s. And pricier. He stayed true to his word and did not sign with the team. The one shown here is the Platinum version which has a gray border. 1 overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1986 NFL Draft. Take Roger Maris cards, for example. Over 22 seasons in Major League Baseball, Harold Baines appeared in six All-Star games, hit 384 home runs, tallied 1,628 RBI, and scored another 1,299 runs. He was, then, the youngest player to ever play in an All-Star Game. Let that sink in for a moment. They were based in Passaic, New Jersey. But when Topps did get around to including Junior in its 89 Traded box set, they had produced one of The Kids best-looking early cards. With just 26 making the PSA 10 grade, they are scarce in said condition. The USA Baseball subset in 1985 Topps introduced the program to the masses, and brought this slugging first basemans first licensed trading card to the forefront of the collectibles industry. And there are plenty of people who want it. So they printed the cards with the words F**k Face. Furthermore, the back also has the O-Pee-Chee logo and a much brighter card stock than the regular issue Topps. And, by default, its O-Pee-Chee cousin is also an incredibly desirable baseball card though it is much more difficult to find in top condition. So, despite the common misconception, some cards from that infamous hobby era still have value. At the time this card was pulled from packs of 1988 Topps, Glavine was en route to a 17-loss season as a rookie. Read our. If you've made it down this far on the list, I want to thank you for taking the time to read through it. We love the '80s (and '90s) baseball cards: The top 15 sets of the era | Sporting News KAN MIN 1:10p -250 BAL DET 3:40p -127 CHC MIA 3:40p -120 PIT WAS 4:05p -124 SEA TOR 4:07p -108 ATL NYM 4:10p. Furthermore, he holds the record for most consecutive games played, 2,632, surpassing Lou Gehrigs streak of 2,130, which lasted for 56 years and that many deemed unbreakable. @Joe The price guide can be accessed here (subscription required): https://www.beckett.com/opg, Who do i contact someone about old baseball cards and i also have old football cards. Many consider this card not only to be the most iconic card of the 1980s but one of the most important in the hobby in general. Like anything in life, demand couldn't keep up with that increasing supply. Hendersons debut cardboard is unquestionably the key to the 1980 Topps edition, submitted for PSA evaluation over 17,000 times. Also, this seems to be available in fewer quantities than Topps and Donruss Clemens efforts in 1985. Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps #311 Psa 9. Great ballplayer for much of the decade. A Ripken Jr. Combine the low supply with the fact that this is an error card of one of Baseballs most legendary players, and you get the recipe for a highly collectible.