1981 topps baseball cards most valuable 1981 topps baseball cards most valuable

1982 Topps #30 Tom Seaver. This on-card autograph card is much rarer than the typically signed cards of this all-time great as it has been likely inscribed with an 81 HRC inscription commemorating this player being tied as the 1981 American League home run champion! Considered by many to be the best defensive shortstop of all time, Smith won an incredible thirteen Gold Gloves over nineteen seasons in Major League Baseball. While eligible for induction, Murphy peaked at 23% of the vote in 2000, falling well short of the 75% needed for entry. Unlike George Brett's MVP card, Schmidt's featured an altogether different image than that of his base card. 1952 Topps #1 Andy Pafko. So, for the cards on this list to be worth much, they'll have to be graded by PSA to be in perfect, gem mint condition. That means the card needs to be flawless. Its nice design and classic pose have helped make it one of the most recognizable cards in the hobby, not just from the 1980s. 1981 Topps Coke Team Sets Aurelio Lopez Autographed, 9. Like Roger Clemens, Kirby Puckett has a 1984 Fleer Update XRC. 1981 Reggie Jackson Topps Project 70 Card, 10. After the 1986 season, Dawson left Montreal as a free agent for the Chicago Cubs, where he would become their everyday right fielder on a much more knee-friendly grass field. Tom Seaver came within a handful of votes of winning his fourth Cy Young on the 1981 season with an incredible pitching display that saw him lead the Majors in wins (14) and winning percentage (.875). Shortcuts: Most Expensive, Cheapest, List by Card # And while his offensive numbers dropped in 1981, Brett's star was still quite bright. He was nicknamed Mex because his name suggested that he was of Mexican descent. Ross is the founder of Old Sports Cards and has been collecting sports cards for over 30 years. Click on any card to see more graded card prices, historic prices, and past sales. On our list is an ungraded card featuring the 1981 Boston Red Sox, it was probably signed by the manager for the team, it is currently worth $72. This Nolan Ryan card is another fantastic example of Topps capturing the style and vibe of the 1980s. 1956 Topps Mickey Mantle #135. Rating: 7.5 (174 votes) Click here to Rate. For its 1980-81 basketball set, Topps mixed things up by releasing an entire set in which each card had three panels, each . However, his production was never quite the same from 1988 until he finished his career with the Colorado Rockies in 1993. 1981 Topps Traded Tim Raines Rookie Baseball Card #816 NM-MT FREE SHIPPING. The 1981 O-Pee-Chee features the Canadian version of the 1981 Topps set, where it is uncommon to see French on an MLB card. Most Expensive 1981 Topps card list & price guide. Ross is the founder of Old Sports Cards and has been collecting sports cards for over 30 years. Yet, Bench's lousy injury luck was the real story. . Or, feel free to call/text me at 305-684-6680! Immediately afterward, the price of his 1982 Topps rookie card in PSA 10 condition shot through the roof. He spent eleven seasons with four teams in Major League Baseball the majority of it spent with the Detroit Tigers. He was even the first player to collect 100 hits from both sides of the plate. 1981 Pete Rose Baseball Card. . The card features famous baseball player Reggie Jackson and is worth $75. Instead, he was more of a craftsman on the mound and outsmarted hitters to allow a career-low 6.5 hits per nine innings. At 41 years of age, it seemed time had finally caught up to Boston Red Sox designated hitter/first baseman Carl Yastrzemski in 1981. I absolutely love this card as it captures Rickey about to do what he did best: steal a base. That season was the first time batted .300 or better, crossed the 30 home run mark, scored 100 runs or more and drove in 100 or more RBI. There are only 7 examples of this card in circulation at the time of this writing that have achieved that gradeso they're very scarce. Unfortunately, his production fizzled out in the 1990s, so he didn't quite finish off a career worthy of Cooperstown. The following season, Seaver was as sharp as ever as he finished with an incredible .875 winning percentage after going 14-2 on the mound. Boggs reached 3,000 hits during his career and became the 23rd player to do so. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2022 by Old Sports Cards, LLC. The Reds finished a half-game behind the Dodgers in the NL West in the first half. Today only a graded high-condition example gets that kind of money. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 726 Rick Monday. The card has been authenticated by the famous Beckett grading service. 1981 Topps Baseball 2nd Year Card Rickey Henderson, 3. I remember several years ago you could find this card in a PSA 9 holder quite easily for $400 or so, which made it undervalued even back then. 1981 Topps Bob Owchinko Baseball Card, 11. Contact him at [emailprotected]. The 10 Most Valuable Basketball Cards from the 1980s. Though it may be light on key rookie cards, this set is certainly not light on stars and Hall of Famers. 1983 Donruss. 1981 Topps #347 Harold Baines Rookie Card. Donovan Mitchell was one of the standouts in a loaded 2017-18 NBA rookie class. Set Links - Overview - Checklist - Teams - Errors / Variations - Hall of Famers - Rookies . But, I'm a big fan of this set regardless. Ungraded & graded values for all '81 Topps Who doesnt enjoy looking through their packs of cards whenever they find themselves in a fabled card shop. For one more year, at least, Topps was the only game in town in 1980. I know the game is played differently these days but even if it weren't, I'd be stunned if anyone in the future ever meets or bests his 130 stolen bases in a season. buy stuff after clicking links on our site We don't know how big a role nostalgia plays with this one, but it still regularly sells north of $40. The current worth of this card is $195. The current value of this baseball card is $199.99, it has the signature of Tim Raines. Baseball; Sets; 1981; Overview; 1981 Topps. That just shows you what kind of effect being a Hall of Famer can have on baseball card prices. The most expensive baseball card in history just sold for $12.6 million By Zoe Sottile, . 204 Ron LeFlore / Rodney Scott Record Breaker - Expos. All told, Bench played in just 52 of Cincinnati's 108 games. 1955 Topps #164 Roberto Clemente RC. Even though the image is kind of ghostly (see his right shoulder) on this card, it's my favorite of his three cards in this set given its an action shot. Regardless of its market value at any given point in time, the significance of this rookie card cannot be overstated as it's one of the most expensive cards from the 1980s. However, on December 9, 2018 he and Harold Baines were voted in by the Today's Game Era Committe. There are no scratches, bends, or folds. In the second half, they finished 1.5 games behind the Astros to miss the playoffs entirely. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2022 by Old Sports Cards, LLC. 10 Bo Jackson #600. 8. In 1980, Kansas City Royals third baseman George Brett graduated from All-Star to crossover superstar. This card is super tough to find in high grade, hence the huge price tag that might shock you. The 1981 season was the seventh and final time. 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. Greatest Topps Baseball Cards of All-Time. SEE THE CARD HERE! Oakland swept three straight from the Kansas City Royals in the ALDS but, the tables turned in the ALCS when the Yankees eliminated them in three. In 1981, the Boston Red Sox played 108 games during the regular season and won 59 of those games, losing 49. And he didn't lose any steam in the postseason, either, as he would end up leading the Phillies to the World Series title while batting .381, belting two home runs, driving in seven RBI, and scoring six runs. The greatest catcher of all time, Johnny Bench played in seventeen seasons with the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983, and in 2011 the team erected a statue in his honor at Great American Ballpark. He was a member of the Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, and Detroit Tigers. During his first year with the Angels, Jackson proved he still had plenty left in the tank and led the Majors with 39 home runs and finished sixth in the MVP vote. Many thought his career was slowly but surely coming to an end. On his 1982 Topps card, Ripken is sandwiched between Bob Bonner and Jeff Schneider as part of the "Future Stars" subset with the Baltimore Orioles. You can almost feel the tension in this card as he's poised and just waiting for the perfect moment to break for second. From there you can also add a Card to your collection or wishlist. During the 1977 season, Andre Dawson batted .282 with 19 home runs and 65 RBI, which earned him NL Rookie of the Year honors. He was named Rolaids Relief Man of the Year four times and led the major leagues in saves three times. 6) 1981 Topps Traded Rollie Fingers (#761) This may be the most iconic 1981 baseball card of all, thanks to 1) Fingers signature mustache, 2) the old-school kneeling pose, 3) the Cy Young-MVP twofer Rollie pulled off in 1981, and the 1982 Topps Kmart set that immortalized the entire card in miniature. To make things even stranger, you could even say that Rose appeared on fourcards in this set because this one comes in two variations. PSA Price Guide for 1982 Donruss Baseball Card Values - Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) & PSA/DNA Authentication Services Services Local card shops, department stores and gas stations-- to say boxes of these cards were everywhere might be the understatement of the decade. Ryan's stellar age-34 campaign earned him his sixth All-Star selection, a fourth-place finish in the National League's Cy Young race, and a 16th-place finish in the NL's MVP balloting. In 390 plate appearances (338 at-bats), Yastrzemski posted a .246/.338/.355 slash line with a career-low seven home runs and 53 RBI. Contents hide. Pate] #479. Grade. As a result, Topps created this monster 792-card checklist and loaded it with subsets to try and keep collector interestand collector eyeballsaway from Donruss and Fleer. And, over the years, it's started to grow on collectors more and more after nostalgia for that era has increased and many collectors have a newfound appreciation for hobby history. That means the card needs to be flawless. Price. Somehow during all that success with college basketball, he also found the time to play for the Blue Jays from 1979 to 1981. While it may not be one of the most popular sets of the era, the 1982 Topps baseball card set packed plenty of star power and two key Hall of Fame rookie cards. 1954 Topps #128 Hank Aaron RC. Year-by-year ranking of the most valuable Topps Baseball Rookie Cards from 1952 to 2020. 1982 Donruss. Getting hands on a card like this is pretty difficult. Not only is it fun, but its good quality material for a future family reunion. One of the most beloved New York Mets in franchise history, Mookie Wilson finished seventh in the 1981 NL Rookie of the Year race and went on to a very successful career until he retired in 1991. He played parts of four seasons in the MLB between 1979 and 1986, with the Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, and Montreal Expos. After all, Rickey Henderson is the greatest lead-off hitter of all time, whose records for runs scored (2,295) and stolen bases (1,406) may very well never be broken. He also finished fourth in the NL with a .316 batting average, narrowly missing out on a Triple Crown. And he was still very much a respectable pitcher during his time in Cincinnati from 1977 to 1982 as he'd win around 15 games regularly, made two All-Star teams and even finished second in the Cy Young vote for the 1981 season. Smith continued his outstanding defensive work in 1981 by leading the National League in assists for the third straight year to pick up his second straight Gold Glove. Things screeched to a halt, though, when Jackson injured his calf running the bases in Game 2 of the ALCS against Oakland. In a similar theme, Larry Bird is featured in a card from the 1981 Topps set. Kansas City went 20-30 in the season's first half and started the second half slowly, with Manager Jim Frey taking the heat. He earned four varsity letters, two for college and two for the major leagues. Aurelio Alejandro Lpez Rios was a Mexican professional baseball player. $15.00. Because of his career accomplishments and his overpowering style, Ryan remains one of the game's most popular players to ever play and you'll see his name in just about every set's log of key cards. Bench is somewhat of an anomaly on this list, showing up with only one 1981 Fleer card, and all. Rose hit .300 (6-for-20) with two RBI and a run scored in the losing effort. Get my weekly newsletter with the latest hobby updates delivered straight to your inbox! However, due to market conditions, values fluctuate. Seaver was great in Cincinnati, but he just wasn'tas greatas he was with the Mets up to that point. Having earned the right to produce baseball cards in a court case with Topps, the 1981 Donruss set became the company's first baseball offering. After fifteen-straight All-Star appearances from 1965-79, Yastrzemski was left out of the Midsummer Classic for the second year in a row in 1981. So for our purpose, the most expensive Nolan Ryan rookie card is the 1969 Topps RC which is valued at $20,000, give or take a thousand. 1985 Fleer Kirby Puckett RC #286. Brock crossed the mark with a single on August 13, 1979 while Yaz hit a single of his own on September 12, 1979 to join the club. There's a shot of the player in Celtics training gear, staring off-camera with his hands hidden behind the green border. Star power: Robinson, a Hall of Famer, broke the MLB color barrier in 1947, becoming a social justice icon in the process. Ken Griffey Jr. 1981 Topps Baseball 2nd Year Card Rickey Henderson, 1981 Topps Expos Future Card Tim Haines Auto, 1981 Topps Project 70 Card Wade Boggs by Efdot FOIL, 1981 Topps Coke Team Sets Aurelio Lopez Autographed, 1981 Reggie Jackson Topps Project 70 Card, Tim Raines & Ramos Autographed 1981 Topps Rookie Card, George Riley Autographed 1981 Topps Rookie Card, 1981 Topps Enrique Romo Signed Pittsburgh Pirates, Ted Simmons St. Louis Cardinals 1981 Topps, Rod Carew Autographed 1981 Topps Squirt Card, 29 Most Valuable 1989 Donruss Baseball Cards In The World, 25 Most Valuable Joe Montana Cards Worth Thousands, 29 Most Valuable 1980 Topps Baseball Cards In the World, 19 Most Valuable 1981 Topps Baseball Cards Price List, 1. Things weren't always rocky during Jackson's time in New York, though, as they did win back-to-back World Series titles in 1977 and 1978. 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson RC #482. Despite the poor production, Jackson still earned a spot on the All-Star team for the eleventh time in his career. After rookie Fernando Valenzuela pitched a shutout on opening day, starting the craze that came to be known as Fernandomania, the 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers finished the season with a flourish. In 493 plate appearances (423 at-bats), Henderson posted a robust .319/.408/.437 slash line with nine home runs and 53 RBI while winning his first of three Silver Sluggers. 721 Toby Harrah. In the team's NLDS loss to the Expos, Schmidt hit .250 (4-for-16) with one home run, two RBI, and four walks. Price: $299.75 Grade: PSA 10. During this era, the Montreal Expos had yet to move south to become . $260. The first standalone Topps Traded set may belong to 1981, but the first card to really make the series a hobby burner belongs to 1982 and to Cal Ripken, Jr. . He also paced the Majors in ERA+ (195) and hits per 9 innings (6.0). Heres a rare rainbow foil card in mint condition by Risk Foil. #10. On the field, Jackson had his worst offensive season since his sophomore campaign as he slashed a modest .237/.330/.428 with 15 home runs and 54 RBI. #5. Tim Haines finished second in Rookie of the Year voting, 19th in MVP, and earned his first All-Star selection. PSA/DNA Certified. He was named Player of the Decade by The Sporting News at the end of his career. 1981 Topps Kellen Winslow Rookie Card (#150) Winslow took the big-bodied, good-hands tight end model that Newsome brought to the fore and ran with it (after the catch!). It's no wonder why, considering how Henderson's a beloved figure in the sport whose '81 campaign included a .319 batting average, a league-leading 56 stolen bases and a second-place MVP . 1981 Topps Traded 816 Tim Raines Montreal Expos Rookie Card. Mattingly's Donruss rookie was produced in smaller quantities than his Topps rookie, so it's worth more. 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I used to collect baseball cards as a kid and loved pulling out a pack of 1981 Topps Coca Cola cardstheir design was so much better than the regular issue and their limited print run made them seem much more valuable. Even more impressive, his 1982 Topps issue wasn't his last card as he also made it into the 1983 Topps set. At Eastern Michigan he had a 29-9 career win-loss record with a 2.15 ERA. The 1980 season would be Winfield's last with the Padres as the Yankees signed him to a ten-year, $23 million contract making him the game's highest-paid player at the time. The move worked as the Royals responded by winning 20 of their last 33 to make the playoffs. Cincinnati finished second in both halves of the 1981 split-season but ended the year with the best overall record in the National League. 50. You are looking at a 1981 Topps Rookie Card hand-signed by George Riley. In those 108 games, they played at Fenway Park where they had a record of 56-52. Sandwiched in between the "normal", if limp 1979 issue, and that 1981 set is another oddity. In other years, Seaver used his overpowering stuff to outduel hitters but in 1981, he wasn't quite the fireballer as he struck out only 4.7 batters per nine innings, the second-lowest rate of his career. He played most of his career with the St Louis Cardinals and New York Mets. Canadian baseball cards printed in the French language are uncommon, which shows on this baseball card as it is bi-lingual. You can't help but think Topps was trying to produce as many cards as possible to keep collectors interested and to try and keep Donruss and Fleer, who had joined the scene in 1981, at bay. The reverse of the card mentions that over the last nine seasons dating back to 1972, Brett (2) and Carew (6) had combined to win eight batting titles. 20 Most Valuable Topps Baseball Rookie Cards Of The 1970s. The course of Seaver's career would take a significant turn at the trading deadline in 1977, though, when he was involved in "the Midnight Massacre" that sent him to the Reds. Donruss wasted no time breaking into the hobby as they spent huge marketing dollars, targeted key dealers across the nation, and filled their checklist with some of the game's biggest names to grab collector attention. Incredibly consistent and productive during his 21 years in the Big Leagues, Murray ended his Hall of Fame career with 3,255 hits, 504 home runs, 1,917 RBI and set the all-time record for sacrifice flies with 128. . However, once they got there, the Oakland Athletics promptly swept them in the ALDS as Brett went just 2-for-12 (.167) in the three games. 1981 Topps card list & price guide. Tags 1981 Topps Baseball. The continued adoption of Sabermetrics no doubt helped push him across the finish line and into Cooperstown. 19 Most Valuable 1981 Topps Baseball Cards Price List. 1981 Topps Expos Future Card Tim Haines Auto, 6. By the time these Hall of Famers retired, Brett had three batting titles and Carew had an eye-popping seven. Let's be clear:most of the cards from this set do not have any value these days. Henderson posted a brilliant 1.144 OPS against New York, but the rest of the Oakland lineup went dead silent. | Compare vs. Raines showed the world that Rickey Henderson wasn't the only guy who could light up the basepaths as he led the Majors with 71 stolen bases while slashing .304/.391.438. But rather than hanging them up after the season, Yastrzemski got to work. 390 during the 1980 season. The record-breaking card is from his rookie season and was produced by trading card giant Topps. Reginald Martinez Jackson is a former American right fielder who spent the majority of his 21-year professional baseball career with the Kansas City and Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees, and ended his career with a two-year stint for the California Angels.