Of the 4,020 cards submitted to PSA, 35 were found in gem mint 10 conditions. The 1980s was a decade of big change for baseball cards. The fans roared their approval and Winfield shook his hand with a knowing glance. Top 1980s Baseball Rookie Cards 10. Will it be as one of his eras most prolific sluggers, whose name was never linked to performance enhancing drugs? 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. With just 29 of the 1,000 Gwynn rookies submitted graded gem mint 10, finding one for auction will be complicated. Production seemed to multiply from 1984 numbers, and who could blame Donruss for not wanting to leave money on the table? Either way, they are pretty rare and valuable. Furthermore, he is the only pitcher in major league history to record over 350 wins and strike out over 4,500 batters. The only difference between the two is the color of the word Highlights, located in the lower left-hand corner of the card. 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. And, you guessed it, the Tiffany version is even more valuable in PSA 10 condition. Bo Jackson was one of the biggest superstars in all of sports during the late 1980s and early 1990s. 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. Rather, its a card released during Juniors rookie season. 1980-1989 Baseball Cards Checklists, Set Info, Reviews, Guide MT 9. Baltimore News Babe Ruth Pre Rookie Card with yellow background. As an interesting side note, and perhaps a sad one for Wade Boggs fans, only Gwynn and Sandberg appeared in the smaller O-Pee-Chee checklist, so Boggs doesn't have an O-Pee-Chee rookie, unfortunately. The second easiest is the black scribble, which has just over 600 submitted. Still one of the greatest newspaper headlines ever featured a picture of Strawberry getting some extra fly ball work as dusk began to creep in one spring training day. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network and Amazon. And 5 to 10 of each in blank back proof. I didn't know it at the time, but these errors only turned up in factory sets and all my Donruss Opening Day cards had been pulled from packs. Lee Smith was primarily a relief pitcher during his 18-year career in the Major Leagues. Which gives them a much more elegant look. Got thousands baseball football basketball ,and hockey . If you were unaware, the holy grail of Mark McGwires rookie card is his 1985 Topps Tiffany Team USA #410 card. And, fortunately for the collecting world, Topps gave him a standalone rookie card when they included him in their 1982 Topps Traded set. Few were released because the error was fixed shortly after it was discovered. And then there was Kirk Gibson's walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series against the Oakland A's. 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. This can be attributed to several things. For example, as of this writing, there are just under 700 examples of Gwynn's Topps rookie card that achieved PSA 10 grade status, while there are over 13,000 examples of Ken Griffey Jr.'s 1989 Topps Traded rookie graded in PSA 10 holders. Period. Three years ahead of Ccores famous 1990 Bo Jackson baseball/football shot, this card was part of classic Games introduction of a box set game with baseball card content. When it comes to rookie season debuts, the Dodgers have developed a reputation for some of the finest on record. 1980 Topps Baseball Cards 30 Most Valuable. In 1962, Topps had opted not to sign Wills to a trading card deal, apparently believing he was not major league material. His cards populate the majority of the rest, with about 100 submitted. The third key Hall of Fame rookie card in the iconic 1983 Topps set belongs to Chicago Cubs legend, Ryne Sandberg. There are no shortage of buyers for this card. The most valuable 1980s baseball cards hit that defnition "valuable" on multiple fronts. Eric Davis was the choice of many collectors hoarding cards in the age of the era of stash-and-sell. 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? Topps introduced the Bowman line (remember, Topps purchased the Bowman name in the mid-1950s) with this oversized set in 1989. And pricier. 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%). 1989 Topps Traded #41T Ken Griffey Jr. 1989 Topps #647 Randy Johnson Rookie Card. For those on a budget, a PSA 9 example will only throw you back about $200. Only Lou Gehrig, at 37, was younger. Wills was slow to forget the slight, not signing a deal with Topps until 1967. In his eight baseball seasons, Jackson had a career batting average of .250, hit 141 home runs, and had 415 RBIs, with a slugging average of .474. Description. 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. Lets take a look a the population report. One of the more difficult Mattingly rookie-year releases to find in Mint condition is this Nestle card, found on one of six different uncut sheets. The Cubs drafted him in 1982, but he left to play for eight different teams throughout his career. And, like Tony Gwynn, Sandberg also appeared in the 1983 O-Pee-Chee set. Cal Ripken Jr. played for the Orioles for the entire 21 years of his career. Displaying Henderson trademark crouched batting stance, it'd be a nice card even if it wasn't extremely valuable. After Docs record-breaking 1984 season, Topps opted for a non-pitching shot of the dominating righthander. Hendersons debut cardboard is unquestionably the key to the 1980 Topps edition, submitted for PSA evaluation over 17,000 times. An RC of one of the games greatest, this one isnt winning any beauty contests. From 1984 to 1991, Topps released a limited number of premium, higher-end versions of their base sets that they branded as the Topps Tiffany line. 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. Much like the Bowman and Topps Tiffany releases, Fleer also produced a premium version of their cards that year to go along with their 1989 Fleer base set. The weather looked great in Winter Haven, and young Roger Clemens was smiling. Because this error card has a lot of humor, collectors naturally want it in their collection. Read our methodology . Top 25 Most Valuable Baseball Cards from the 1980's - Update with giveaway! The rare variations are the scribbled out in white, and the whited out. Because of its rarity, this version is one of the most valuable baseball cards from the 1980s. They were based in Passaic, New Jersey. 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. This number is mind-blowing when you think about all the time, energy, and money that goes into the grading process for 1 card, let alone 29,032. 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. 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. Rounding out the top 10 is the 1983 O-Pee-Chee Tony Gwynn rookie card, in PSA 10 gem mint condition. With just over 1,500 graded by PSA and only 35 declared gem mint 10, they are scarce in near conditions. Regardless of its market value at any given point in time, the significance of this rookie card cannot be overstated as, again, the 1980 Topps set signaled the end of the vintage era. Card values tanked and many collectors now refer to that part of the hobby as the "junk era.". This was the card, more so than any other in the first half of the 1980s, that promoted perceived scarcity and status. 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. High-grade versions of the future Hall of Famer and Oakland Athletic great's 1980 Topps card cost . Not only does the Tiffany distinction make it tough to find in high grade but another contributing factor to that difficulty was its position on the printing sheet. Nobody seriously, nobody could have seen 305 wins and the Hall of Fame in his future. Nobody knew it at the time, but the presses ran day and night for 87 Topps Baseball. Fleer used a great image for this Rookie Card, opting for a dialed-in Clemens, which seems appropriate. 8 Great 1980 Topps Baseball Cards Beyond Rickey Henderson. This card should be an excellent investment as long as the population stays low. And, like Clemens, that might cut into the value and prestige of his 1985 Fleer Rookie Card to a . Allowing for one of the most valuable Don Mattingly rookie cards to stand out from the rest. 25 Most Valuable 1989 Topps Baseball Cards. . One of Ken Griffey Jr.s most sought-after rookie cards is his 1989 Bowman Tiffany card #220. Pucketts quick emergence brought this RC a lot of attention from the first day 85 packs began surfacing. The Most Valuable 80s Baseball Cards - eightieskids.com Fleer was ahead of the curve for this one, as well as card #10 on this very list. At the time this card was pulled from packs of 1988 Topps, Glavine was en route to a 17-loss season as a rookie. 1980 Rickey Henderson Topps RC #482 (buy on eBay) The most popular rookie card of one of the greatest ever baseball players. Despite his complicated legacy,Pete Rose cardsalso remain some of the most desirable in the hobby. Which is a minimal amount. So far, PSA has graded roughly 1,550 of the Pete Rose #180 cards. The hottest baseball card in the Summer of 83 wasnt Sandberg, Gwynn or Boggs. With 76 in population, the Frank Thomas card owns 37% of the report for the entire set. If you do not receive the verification code within 60 Seconds, we will send you the activation link again. Like McGwire, Clemens' legacy will forever hang under a cloud of controversy due to his involvement in the PED scandal. This set was printed by McDag Productions and features popular players at the time, including Bo Jackson and Frank Thomas. 1989 Topps #530 Nolan Ryan. Great ballplayer for much of the decade. . 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. I think we can all agree Topps could have found a more flattering photo for Gwynns Rookie Card. Apparently there were some concerns over Hatchers defensive abilities. For the true Bo Jackson collector, this card is a must-have for your collection. If one does surface for auction, expect prices over $2,300. Since most collectors in this hobby tend to draw the line on the "vintage era" at 1980, many consider theRickey Henderson rookie card to be the last big-name vintage rookie. A whopping 12,188 of these Ripken rookies have been submitted to PSA. Both Donruss and Fleer produced Canseco Rookie Cards for their mainstream sets, but the choice of the masses was Donruss. Don't get me wrong, it's still an expensive card and you'll find them bouncing between $1,700 and $2,000 these days. Top 25 Most Valuable Baseball Cards from the 1980's - YouTube Or will McGriff just be collateral damage from the misdoings around him? If found in GEM-MT 10 condition, Henderson's 1980 #482 Topps card will be worth $27,500 right now. Bonus points for this one as it also features former Dodgers World Series champion and longtime Angels manager Mike Scioscia. For that reason, his card is easily the most desirable in the set and is worth around $250 or so in a PSA 10 holder. One of the most important cards of the post-WWII era, ushering in a new, premium brand into the baseball card aisles and leading off that ground-breaking set with the Rookie Card of arguably the most impactful player of his era. 5 Surging Panini Prizm Basketball Cards 1980 Dodgers TCMA 1959 Checklist and Details, Turning Back the Clock: 1989 Topps Baseball Cards Commercial, 1983 O-Pee-Chee Baseball Checklist, Team Set Lists and Details, 1981 Topps Baseball Checklist, Team Set Lists and Details, Sports Cards Release Dates, Calendar and Whats New, 2023 Baseball Cards Release Dates, Checklists and Set Information, 2022-23 Panini Obsidian Basketball Details, Beckett Sports Card Hot / Cold April 29, 2023, 10 Career-Defining Sammy Sosa Baseball Cards Instant PC, 2022 Topps Renaissance MLS Checklist and Details, 2023 Panini Stars & Stripes USA Baseball Checklist and Details, 2023 Topps Baseball Team Sets Checklists and Details, 2023 Rittenhouse Doctor Who Series 1-4 Checklist and Details, 2023 Upper Deck Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Checklist, Trading Cards Details, 2022-23 Leaf Optichrome Basketball hecklist and Details.