It has full gloss and is slightly askew. Within it, there were also several different subsets, including: For those collectors on the lookout for great Hall of Famers of the era or just a large checklist to complete, this set has it all. 10. On the other hand, Ozzie's bat did nothing but improve and combined with the amazing glove he already had, he'd deliver Hall of Fame-caliber play for years in St. Louis. 25 Most Valuable 1981 Topps Baseball Cards - Old Sports Cards Local card shops, department stores and gas stations-- to say boxes of these cards were everywhere might be the understatement of the decade. 15 Baseball Cards Now Worth A Fortune And 15 That Are - TheSportster 1981 Topps Baseball 2nd Year Card Rickey Henderson. 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. Yastrzemski played two more seasons in Boston before retiring, making All-Star appearances at the age of 42 and 43 during the 1982 and 1983 seasons, respectively. Read our methodology . 19 Most Valuable 1981 Topps Baseball Cards In the World The legal system would clear the way for Donruss and Fleer to enter the market in 1981, sparking a ramp-up in competition that led to an overheated decade of baseball card production. Top 15 Most Expensive Nolan Ryan Cards - Thrillpack Cards 1981 Topps Enrique Romo Signed Pittsburgh Pirates, 15. Cards. 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 . Sports Cards: 10 Most Valuable Baseball Rookie Cards of the 1990s Owchinko played baseball for Eastern Michigan University. Getting hands on a card like this is pretty difficult. At the time, everyone thought the Padres were getting the better end of the deal as Templeton was a much better hitter. He also loves to write about the hobby and has written for Beckett, Topps, SABR and of course, this website. Previous Article. It has been certified authentic by Beckett Authentication (BAS) and comes encapsulated in their tamper-proof holder. Even more impressive, his 1982 Topps issue wasn't his last card as he also made it into the 1983 Topps set. Seaver would play one more year for the Reds in 1982 when he posted a 5-13 record before heading back to the New York Mets the following year. 5 Cal Ripken Jr. #183. Baseball; Sets; 1981; Overview; 1981 Topps. While eligible for induction, Murphy peaked at 23% of the vote in 2000, falling well short of the 75% needed for entry. The 1982 season saw Henderson set a single-season best for stolen bases as he swiped a ridiculous 130 bases in total. 1981 Topps. 723 Bruce Bochte. Need help buying or selling cards or have a general question about the hobby? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2022 by Old Sports Cards, LLC. The Five Most Expensive Houston Astros Baseball Cards Get my weekly newsletter with the latest hobby updates delivered straight to your inbox! This Baseball card is in very good condition, with sharp corners and slight wear on the lower right corner. His career was far from over at that point, but Schmidt's play showed the baseball world that they were already witnessing the greatest third baseman of all-time in the making. Tim Raines & Ramos Autographed 1981 Topps Rookie Card, 12. The Boston Celtics drafted Ainge in the 1981 NBA Draft and bought his contract from the Blue Jays and the rest was history. Read our methodology. 0% PSA 6. For the longest time it seemed like Smith would not quite garner enough votes to earn a trip to the Hall of Fame. In his seventh season in the Majors, Yount broke out in a big way in 1980 as he led the league in doubles (49) while scoring 121 runs, driving in 87 RBI, and hitting 23 home runs to earn his first trip to the All-Star Game. Prices are updated daily based upon 1981 Topps listings that sold on eBay and our marketplace. Hold on to it. Most Expensive [1981 Topps] Baseball Cards - SportsCardsPro Unlike George Brett's MVP card, Schmidt's featured an altogether different image than that of his base card. Ted Simmons St. Louis Cardinals 1981 Topps, 17. , Dodgers Future Star [Perconte, Scioscia, Valenzuela] #302, Expos Future Stars [T. Raines, R. Ramos, B. 1981 Topps Baseball Cards - 15 Most Valuable - Wax Pack Gods Inc. 1981 Topps Traded MLB Baseball Trading Cards Pick From List #727-#858. #7. But, hey, that's the kind of excitement that he brought to the game: you never knew if he were going to bury one over the fence or get sent right back to the dugout. Average ungraded base card value (excludes parallels) for 1981 Topps 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. He played in Major League Baseball between 1977 and 1982 for the Seattle Mariners and the Pittsburgh Pirates. 1981 Topps Baseball Checklist, Team Set Lists and Details On September 26, 1981, Houston Astros ace Nolan Ryan passed Sandy Koufax with a record fifth no-hitter on national television against Koufax's old team, the Los Angeles Dodgers. 1985 Fleer Kirby Puckett RC #286. 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. While this set may be slightly overlooked in the history of the hobby, it still delivers a great checklist. Click on any Donruss Set to see a full list of Cards and their current value. With the first card in the checklist, Topps paid tribute to both Lou Brock and Carl Yastrzemski crossing the 3,000 career hits mark that would put them in exclusive baseball company forever. He also loves to write about the hobby and has written for Beckett, Topps, SABR and of course, this website. Most Expensive of All-Time. 1981 Topps Baseball Set Checklist. Easily the most valuable gem mint in the set, this card from the Man of Steal garners between $600-900 on the secondary markets. But, this will always be the set that got their foot into the red-hot market of the 1980s. 10 Most Valuable 1980s Fleer Baseball Rookie Cards - Beckett News 30 Wicked Nolan Ryan Baseball Card Investments In 2023 - Gold Card Auctions They didn't call him "Steady Eddie" for nothing. Houston went just 28-29 in the first half but won the NL West's second half at 33-20. Back to the point at hand. 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. 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. The most valuable baseball card from the 1980s is Rickey Henderson's 1980 Topps rookie card. 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. Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $2,700. Its nice design and classic pose have helped make it one of the most recognizable cards in the hobby, not just from the 1980s. The current value of this baseball card is $199.99, it has the signature of Tim Raines. And, if you look back at his stats for his rookie campaign in the 1982 season, there really was no reason he shouldn't have made the All-Star team that year, too. Seaver was nothing short of incredible for the Reds that season but Los Angeles's Fernando Valenzuela was just a bit better and out-pointed Seaver in the Cy Young vote 70 to 67. 6. This card is worth $45 but could go higher. 1956 Topps Mickey Mantle #135. Click on any card to see more graded card prices, historic prices, and past sales. And, yes, it would've been nice to see rookie cards of Fernando Valenzuela, Harold Baines and Kirk Gibson as well. Although this one isn't worth as much as it might . Prices are updated daily based upon 1981 Topps listings that sold on eBay and our marketplace. Mookie came up big for the Mets again in Game 7, going 1 for 3 with a run scored to help the Mets beat the Red Sox 8-5 to win the title. While some of the game's big names struggled with the split-season, Schmidt held things together all year to lead the Majors in home runs (31), RBI (91), OBP (.435), slugging percentage (.644), OPS (1.080), OPS + (198), and total bases (228). Their scarcity is a result of several situations that can apply to baseball card collecting. The 1977 AL Rookie of the Year, Eddie Murray made his cardboard debut in the 1978 Topps set, making his rookie card one of the most iconic of the 1970s. While Brett would undoubtedly be on this list anyway, this is an example of where a special season for a player can make his card stand out even more than it may have otherwise. One year removed from his Rookie of the Year-winning season, this Ripken card is still a hobby favorite because it shows the Orioles third baseman's timeless swing and a close-up of his youthful mug all on one important card. 29 Most Valuable 1989 Topps Baseball Cards In the World In the teams first game back following the players strike, the 40-year-old recorded hit number 3,631, passing Stan Musial as the National Leagues all-time hits leader. $12.95. We don't know how big a role nostalgia plays with this one, but it still regularly sells north of $40. The 1981 season stands out for Eddie Murray in a unique way: somehow, it was the only season where he managed to lead the American League in home runs (22) and RBI (78). Schmidt was, arguably, the game's best player for the second-straight season. 1981, 1985, 1989), 11-time MLB strikeout leader (1972-74, 1976-79, 1987-90), two-time NL leader (1981, 1987), MLB All-Century Team. For his regular-season efforts, Rose earned the only Silver Slugger Award of his career, his 15th All-Star selection, and a tenth-place finish on the NL MVP ballot. Let's be clear:most of the cards from this set do not have any value these days. Somehow during all that success with college basketball, he also found the time to play for the Blue Jays from 1979 to 1981. 1981 Fleer Rickey Henderson #351, #574. The player who played the most games at first base in major league history was Eddie Murray, who amassed 2,413-lifetime games at the position along with nearly 600 more as a designated hitter. He is ranked 33rd on the all-time list of career leaders for batting average among Major League Baseball players with at least 1,000 appearances at-bat. The most expensive baseball card in history just sold for $12.6 million By Zoe Sottile, . Featured here is a rare rookie card from 1989 with an authenticated signature of Steve Avery. 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. 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. Jackson found a groove in the team's ALDS victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, hitting .300 with a .933 OPS, two home runs, and four RBI. And, like Clemens, that might cut into the value and prestige of his 1985 Fleer Rookie Card to a . Most Expensive, 725 Steve Rogers. 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. 390 during the 1980 season. But he is more famous for the accusations of gambling that led Major League Baseball to ban him from the sport in 1989. Baseball Cards - 1981 Topps Scratch-Offs | PSA CardFacts And while its value pales in comparison to other big-name vintage rookies like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Roberto Clemente, to name a few, its price soared dramatically during the recent sports card boom. He also paced the Majors in ERA+ (195) and hits per 9 innings (6.0).