He was the National League rookie of the Year 1968, a 2-time National League rookie, and World Series Most Valuable Player (1976). 1980s. Barry Bonds 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany #11T. Nice move by Donruss to recognize both on card #651 in the 1985 set. In case youre wondering, Hall of Famer Jack Morris comes in at 27.9. Things would take a turn for the better that summer, as the future Hall of Famer hit .300 and set new career highs in home runs (9), RBI (65), and stolen bases (17). So is it any shock that his second-year card makes it to our list of the of the most valuable from the 1980 Topps set? Mays could hit, throw, field and run with the best of them. Jim Palmer must have been pretty hard to take if you were almost any other Major League pitcher in the 1970s. He was part of the Major League Baseball All-time team and also the Major League Baseball Century team. Donnie Baseball is pictured wearing a Yankees cap, which is the team he would go on to spend his whole 13-year pro career at. He was a baseball pitcher inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990. 1987 Topps Baseball Cards - 25 Most Valuable - Pinterest Those two subpar (by his standards) showings undoubtedly contributed to the debacle that led to his Boston departure before the 1981 season, but Fisk still had some of his best seasons left in the tank, much to the delight of White Sox fans and collectors! Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress. Don Sutton was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. Other Recommended Reading From Our Baseball Card Series. It has to be said, this is one good-looking baseball card. 9 Ken Griffey Jr. 1989 Upper Deck #1: You kinda expected this one to be higher, right? The Most Expensive Baseball Cards of All Time, Pokmon TCG Card Rarity Explained Properly. Nicknamed Jim Ed, Jim Rice played his entire baseball career with the BostonRed Sox. He also holds the mark for runs scored at 2295 and slammed nearly 300 home runs among his more than 3000 hits. So, certainly one of the best, and among the best-loved, players of the era. Ricky Henderson is a Hall of Famer who won two World Series and played in 10 All-Star games during the stunning 3-decade long career that saw him play for some of the MLBs biggest franchises. As in most eras, baseball in the 80s was not without its share of controversy. In a similar way, the world of Major League Baseball has gone through some whirlwind changes since then. By 1980, Don Sutton was a grizzled veteran of 14 major league seasons, and a bridge to great Dodger hurlers of the past like Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax. Top 15 Most Valuable Baseball Cards from the 1960s - PSA COLLECTOR 5 Cal Ripken Jr. 1982 Topps Traded #98T: Everybody wants to make such a big fuss about a 2,632-game playing streak when the real awe lies with the steadiness of this cards value. Occasionally even with the bases loaded. The corners also struggle to remain in mint condition. A PSA 10 has a value of $13,877As you will see, one theme on this list is that many of the best rookies belong to players with careers tarnished by performance-enhancing drugs. This card shows very serious-looking Bonds staring intently at the camera. Description. Looks like our Canadian friends did not appreciate this beauty as much as they should have. 1992 Topps #551 Top Prospects. Good quality gem mint 10 card of Rod Carew. Winnies time in the Bronx was tumultuous, as life with George Steinbrenner tended to be, but Winfield continued to shine. Rices relatively meager 22 homers in 1980, then, registered as something of a disappointment, but the Boston faithful could hang their hopes on a rebound for the still-young 27-year-old. Oh, yeah Schmidt was the MVP of that Fall Classic, too. GEM-MT 10. If you want to hold hobby history in your hands, you could do worse than digging into a stack of 1980 Topps baseball cards. Ungraded copies crop up too and can be purchased for around $35. This 1980 Brock and Yaz PSA/DNA autographed card is very desirable. 5 Most Valuable Baseball Cards 1980s: Including Henderson And Ripken Jr. By Duane Beckett November 30, 2022 The hunt for the most valuable baseball cards. 1992 Topps #50 Ken Griffey Jr. 1992 Topps #4 Nolan Ryan Record Breaker. Nolan Ryan was a Major League Baseball pitcher with an outstanding 5714 strikeouts, when he was in his 40s being one of the oldest in the game, irrespective of his age, he maintained his powerful fastball and was still a top pitcher. The 1980s are seen as a transformative era in terms of baseball card collecting, with some excellent cards and innovation bringing the hobby to the forefront of the media and paving the way for the decades that followed. He is a Cincinnati Reds Hall of Famer. How would you like for your favorite team to feature the top two strikeout pitchers in the game at the top of their rotation? 10 Most Valuable 1980s Fleer Baseball Rookie Cards - Beckett Collectibles Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs did it in 1999. He is a 5-time All-Star and was elected into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame. In addition to his sparkling career, Mickey Mantle was a frequent guest at baseball card shows back in the 1980s . The card seems to suffer from centering issues, and its popularity means that its usually been handled quite a bit. Rickey Henderson burst onto the scene with 34 stolen bases in just 89 games for the Oakland As in 1979 and never really stopped running. PSA 8 George Foster card with perfect corners. But there was none with a greater buzz than Ken Griffey Jr. And of course, unlike the others, Griffey had a Hall-of-Famer career complete with 630 home runs, 13 All-Star appearances, and an incredible haul of 10 Golden Gloves. It features a headshot of a young. Hank Aaron and Willie Mays did it in 1970. Obviously, his career is now controversial. The site may earn a commission when affiliate link clicks result in a purchase. Well, considering that youre in the Dave Stieb section of this post, you can bet your sweet bippy the answer is Dave Stieb. 1992 Topps #1 Nolan Ryan. Baseball trading cards today are graded by the Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) on a scale of one to 10, indicating how well they've been preserved over the years. All Mr. October did that summer was pace the American League with 41 home runs, lead the Yankees to another AL East title, and finish second in MVP voting. He was nicknamed Lefty and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994. No wonder his rookie card has led the way for the 1980 Topps set in terms of value for more than 30 years. During this time, he played in 10 All-Star games and won 2 World Series, being named the ALCS MVP in the 1999 victory. 9 of the Most Valuable Baseball Cards in History | HISTORY The corners also struggle to remain in mint condition. Along the way, Simmons would star for his new team and eventually face his *old* team as they squared off in the 1982 World Series. (Yeah, read that stat again.) Starting off the list of most valuable baseball cards from the 1980s is the 1980 Topps George Brett base set card. While youll see a more valuable Mickey Mantle baseball card further down the list, this Mickey Mantle rookie card from 1951 sold for $750,000 as a PSA 9 graded card back in 2018. A couple years later, Rice began a three-year run of power dominance that produced 39, 46, and 39 home runs, the 1978 AL MVP award, and a rare 400-total-base performance that same summer. So, even though the pictures look pretty similar, the difference is striking in person. Rich Gossage was a 9-time All-Star and a World Series champion. By entering your email address you agree to receive email versions of the Baseball Card Market Report. Griffey Jr.s MLB career with the Seattle Mariners and beyond would only add to the legend of the card. 25. 1 Rickey Henderson 1980 Topps #482: Not only the most valuable card of the 1980s, this beautiful piece of cardboard capturing the Man of Steals famed batting stance has proven to be one of the most important cards ever. By 1980, Goose Gossage had already been one of the most dominant closers in the game for nearly a decade. His MLB professional career began in 1972 for the Chicago White Sox. 1983 O-Pee-Chee #143 Tony Gwynn Rookie Card. The trajectory of "Big Mac's" career makes the Mark McGwire 1985 Topps #401 card all the more alluring. Pucketts career ended abruptly in 1996 after being forced to retire because of a loss of vision in one of his eyes. 25 Most Valuable 1980s Baseball Cards - Old Sports Cards 25 Most Valuable 1980s Baseball Cards More. And you have a great shot of the still agile and limber young Gwynn doing his thing on the basepaths. Rickey redefined the leadoff role and was a first ballot Hall of Famer and an all-time hot dog. Which, sell for around $90 on average. If you want a hobby time machine to take you back to the 1980s hobby boom, look no further than the most valuable 1987 Topps baseball cards. Mar 27, 2020 - If you want a hobby time machine to take you back to the 1980s hobby boom, look no further than the most valuable 1987 Topps baseball cards. We all know Ken Griffey Jr. the guys a legend and if truth be told, there are a tonne of his rookie cards from a variety of sets available so on the whole, theyre not that valuable. He is an inductee of the Minnesota Hall of Fame, Angels Hall of Fame and he was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991. In the span of a 20 year career, he played for nine teams in Major League Baseball, he still holds the record for the most stolen bases in one season. His 1983 Fleer rookie card is also a gem for collectors but its the Topps card from 1983 that holds the higher value. At just 24 years old entering the 1980 season, Eddie Murray had established himself as a solid run producer with 20-plus-homer power and seemed poised for even bigger things ahead. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network. Price: $925,000 . A PSA gem mint 10 Topps card with good edges. Anyway, the power-hitting first baseman was one of the most promising rookies of the mid-1980s and put together a Hall-of-Fame-worthy career, tarnished by the suspected use of performance-enhancing drugs. Therefore, this has become the holy grail of Barry Bonds rookie cards. A huge word of warning is needed as these cards have already become a favorite for counterfeiters due to their elevated value and simplicity, so always be sure to check whether the person selling is reliable and genuine. 1987 Topps Baseball Cards - 25 Most Valuable - Wax Pack Gods. He was an outfielder in the MLB, he played for the San Francisco Giants, New York Mets and Chicago White Sox. A sharp photo quality PSA mint 9 card with good centering. All the cards can be found at eBay website. If you are a baseball fan or collectables collector or simply like nice cards, you might be interested in those listed above. PSA says that just 6% of the 3,000 submitted to them have been in mint 10 conditions with a further 43% being graded 9. 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. 1980 Topps George Brett Card 4. Most Expensive Cards Baseball Rookie Cards From the 1980s He has an impressive record winning the National League Gold Glove Award for third baseman 10 times. He also made his first All-Star Game and snagged his first Gold Glove, to boot. Because of the elder Clemens dominance, this Tiffany (Topps glossier, short-printed alter ego) gets more than $12,000. So, the Tiffany edition of the 1989 Bowman baseball card set release was a shorter print version of a niche product. His outstanding performance earned him the National League Most Valuable Player, NLCS Most Valuable Player, World Series Most Valuable Player and he is the only player to have won these all in one season (1979). He is said to be one of the most talented players to ever play the game. Every serious collector out there would want one of these. 25 Most Valuable Joe Montana Cards Worth Thousands, 29 Most Valuable 1989 Topps Baseball Cards In the World, 19 Most Valuable 1976 Topps Baseball Cards In The World, Top 29 Most Valuable 1980 Topps Baseball Cards In the World: Price List, 1. The former demands steeper prices on the secondary market because of the scarcity that comes along with the Tiffany branding. Thats what were here to find out, with the help of the PSA Auction Prices Realized (APR) tool. It features a slightly odd choice of picture, with Puckett kneeling on the turf, bat in hand trying to look casual in his Minnesota Twins uniform. Shop. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. And, like Clemens, that might cut into the value and prestige of his 1985 Fleer Rookie Card to a . The speedy Kansas City Royals outfielder also accumulated 1,639 hits, 451 stolen bases and two All-Star Game appearances during the decade. The ultra-simplistic design is reminiscent of the time with the majority taken up by the picture of Clemens, with simple blue and white borders and writing. Correspondingly, there are only 156 PSA 10s in circulation. 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson Rookie Card, 29. Baseball cards have been around since the 1860s, following the games launch in league play. Well, not only was Sutton *around* long enough to welcome the likes of Rick Sutcliffe, Steve Howe, and Fernando Valenzuela, he found a new gear in his mid-30s. The card is probably Ripken Jr.s second most popular after the 1982 Topps card but still remains very sought after. While the Cobra ran into some tough years early in the next decade, his 1980 Topps card is a classic reflection of his best seasons with Pittsburgh and enjoyed a renaissance in popularity when the slugger reestablished his superstar status with the Reds. The first of two Donruss cards on this list, this one features a headshot of the 1985 American League MVP, Don Mattingly. There were some notable sides that did stand out, however. Combine this with a professional mint grading and youre looking at a pretty valuable card. The 25 Most Valuable Baseball Cards from the 1980s Estimated PSA 9 Mint Value: $500,000 Dimensions: 2-1/16 x 3-1/8 The Say Hey Kid was arguably the greatest all-around player to step on the field. By the time this card found its way into collectors hands, Ryan was gearing up for his run with the Houston Astros, thanks to a landmark contract. This ones a bit of a curveball in the list, to be honest, and its value hasnt got a great deal to do with the exploits of Dwight Gooden. Hardly ever, right? In mint 9 conditions they are a lot more common and that is reflected in the valuation of around $900. The 1984 American League batting championship race came down to the final game of the season, with Don Mattingly edging teammate Dave Winfield to win the title. And there are no other notable rookie cards of this legend. Impressive quality PSA/DNA Auto card. This PSA graded mint 9 Rickey Henderson rookie card is definitely one the most valuable baseball cards in the world. But, while Murrays peak performance pretty much got stuck at those levels from there on out, his amazing longevity and consistency set him apart from the All-Star/superstar pack. Valuable Baseball Cards 1980's - BaseballLoveClub.com He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999. But Barry Bonds is the most offensively potent player in baseball history. So its not rare at all, as 12 of the 32 players to reach 3000 hits had to share their milestone to some degree. This lack of parity means that they crop up far more often and as such the value is slightly less, but still a staggering $3,000. While they are easily available at most stores, some of them are worth a lot of money. A smiling Big Mac donned in red, white and blue? Griffey Jr.s MLB career with the Seattle Mariners and beyond would only add to the legend of the card, with the outfielder going on to play in 13 All-Star games, win 10 Gold Glove awards, 7 Silver Slugger awards, and be named the 1997 MLB MVP. This is arguably one of the most sought-after cards from the 1980s and its not an easy feat to find one well preserved which fuels its value. 1503 career games in left field earned him the seventh spot in AL history. The way Kirk pumped his fists while rounding the bases made him a Los Angeles icon and guaranteed a long-term market for his cards. And the better quality of the Tiffany card really brings out that sparkling smile from the young Mr. Jackson. 7 Tony Gwynn 1983 Topps #482: This San Diego Padres icon batted a ridiculous .415 off Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux during his career. Most Valuable 80s Baseball Cards - In the 1980s He has an exceptionally rare card from 1991 which is the first to make our list. At age 34, Reggie Jackson entered the 1980 season as one of the most celebrated postseason performers of all time, but also three years removed from his last 30-homer season and five years out from his most recent dinger title. In low graded or ungraded, The 1984 Donruss set is a big favorite amongst fans, and Mattinglys rookie card has always been highly sought after, The second Topps card on this list belongs to the Legendary, and ever-popular, The card itself seems to have held up much better than Rickey Henderson Topps RC, with PSA so far grading over 350 as gem mint 10, The second of the infamous 1984 Fleer Update set to make the top 7 is this, youngest man in history to be elected to the Hall of Fame in 2001 at the age of just 41, All the caveats of this particular set are the exact same as the Roger Clemens set, with a very high volume produced but centering and packaging issues meaning they are rare to find in gem mint condition, This card features a headshot of a very fresh-faced Ripken Jr. with a, The 1980s are now long in the memory of fans, pundits, and media alike. PSA report that Mattinglys retirement without a World Series win saw demand for the card drop slightly but his relatively recent venture into coaching will undoubtedly boost the value once again. PSA 10s of this card. That is particularly fun for those of us who remember the stout Tony of later years, rounding first base. This PSA graded mint 9 Rickey Henderson rookie card is definitely one the most valuable baseball cards in the world. The 25 Most Valuable Baseball Cards from the 1980s - YouTube Learn more here. But when you find a well-centered version, it really pops. Ozzie Smith, nicknamed The Wizard of Oz , played shortstop for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals in Major League Baseball. Keep reading for a memory-sparking look at the past whose future keeps getting brighter with every deal. During his career, Dale Murphy played as an outfielder, catcher and first baseman. Best 3 Julio Rodriguez Rookie Cards, Value, Checklist, 10 Must-Have 1980s Baseball Card Investments, 5 Most Valuable Football Cards 1990s (UPDATED), Mickey Mantle Rookie Card Best Cards, Value, and Investment Outlook, The 10 Most Expensive Hockey Rookie Cards of 2023, 2023 Topps Series 2 Baseball Card Checklist, Key Cards, & Parallels, 2023 Panini Prizm UFC MMA Cards Checklist & 10 Key Cards, Anthony Davis Rookie Card Guide and Checklist, Gold Card Auctions | Sports Card Investing. After four seasons away, McCovey made a triumphant return to the Giants in 1977, smashing 28 long balls and then crushing his way into the 500 Home Run club in 78. There is an urban myth that 1980s cards are worthless. Mint 9 graded cards are valued around $300 whilst low grade or ungraded cards can sell for $50 to $100. Tony Gwynn (1983 Topps RC #482) The New York Times. Please read our, Most Expensive Cards Baseball Rookie Cards From the 1980s, Most Valuable 1980s Baseball Cards Investment Outlook, Perhaps its because the players with rookie cards went on to play most of their careers in the big-hitting era of the 90s or because fans appreciate that the 80s was possibly the last, This gives them a perfect niche, the bridge between modern and classi, Without a doubt one of the most iconic cards of all time and one that would help to change the face of baseball card collecting forever. Pitchers with 300 Wins and Their Baseball Cards. It all helped solidify Dawsons cards as hobby favorites, and this 1980 Topps is among his more popular early issues. That is for losers. The earlier part of the decade is a hangover from the 1970s and belongs in the vintage category (just barely). 1980's Most Valuable Baseball Cards - BaseballLoveClub.com This post contains affiliate links. We strive to provide simple, straightforward advice that is objective, independent, and honest, helping you get the most for your money in the sports card investment world. During his baseball career he played predominantly as a member of the Cincinnati Reds. Wax Pack Gods. The 1980 Topps set was absolutely loaded with great catcher cards, and most of them showed the tools of ignorance to great effect. He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. Star. Can you guess which pitcher recorded the most Wins Above Replacement (WAR) in the 1980s? MT 9. His star only got brighter once he landed with the New York Yankees in 1978, and he steamrolled right on through the 1980s and into the 1990s as a fearsome competitor and fan favorite. Just 24 have been graded by PSA in gem mint 10 conditions, which means that their value is a massive $45,000, with a card selling recently at auction for $60,000. And, speaking of classics, this 1980 Topps Schmidt qualifies, forever tied to the start of a dominant decade that left no doubt he was among the all-time greats. He ranks fourth in team history in both games played and hits. Of course, the Roger Clemens 1985 Topps Tiffany #181 card is helped by the lower population counts of the Tiffany releases. Rice was a superstar in the majors almost from the moment he set foot on the Fenway grass, finishing second in voting for American League Rookie of the Year Award and third in MVP balloting in 1975 (losing out to teammate Fred Lynn for both). Value Of Baseball Cards From 1980's - BaseballLoveClub.com