Men are just little boys who are bigger and make more money. They will still play with toys and collect whatever it is they are in to. Take for example baseball cards here.
Cards can make a lot of money, and I mean a lot. Some are even so rare that they’re put up for display. Go through this list and see which of the 80’s cards are the most valuable. To start:
Rickey Henderson Topps Card – $180,100
Hendrickson was known as the “Man of Steal”, and is one of baseball’s greatest baserunners and leadoff hitters. He is ranked among the top 100 all-time home run hitters, while holding the Major League record for career stolen bases, runs, unintentional walks and leadoff home runs.
The man has been a baseball Hall of Famer since 2009.
Topps cards are extremely difficult to preserve, and Rickey Henderson’s were no exception. A perfect-condition Henderson Topps rookie card is super rare, with one selling for a whopping $180,100 in February 2021.
Mark McGwire Topps Tiffany – $27,800
Mark David McGwire was a force of nature, holding the all-time record for the lowest at-bats per home run ratio (10.61). The legendary Babe Ruth comes in at second (11.76).
McGwire was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 1984 June Amateur Draft, coming from the University of Southern California.
His 1985 rookie card by Topps, is a particularly popular collectors’ item. It made $27,800 in an April 2021 sale on eBay.com. It then earned $16,101 in another eBay auction of that same year, before selling for $11,685 at the Summer Premium Card and Memorabilia Auction at Goldin Auctions.
Ken Griffey Jr Upper Deck #1 Card – $23,100
Griffey Jr. was nicknamed “the Kid”, and he played as an outfielder for the Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds. He also spent some time with the Chicago White Sox.
Griffey Jr. was one of the most prolific home run hitters and a thirteen-time All-Star, paving the way for his Hall of Fame induction in 2016.
His baseball cards knock it out of the park. In March 2021, a 1989 Upper Deck rookie card made $23,100 all thanks to this figure’s renown. The card predates Griffey’s rise to fame, since he became one of baseball’s most beloved figures in the 90s.
Roger Clemens Topps Tiffany – $15,000
Roger Clemens was nicknamed ‘The Rocket’ for his superb fastball of 95 miles per hour. He was another baseball hero of the 80s, who was selected for All-Star 11 times.
The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year picked him five times, thanks to being a two-time World Series champion with the New York Yankees.
In 2007, Clemens was accused of using performance-enhancing drugs and was indicted on charges of lying to Congress in 2010. These recent revelations had no effect on his trading card value.
His Topps Tiffany card of 1985 sold for $13,878, $11,700 and even $15,000 in 2021 and 2022 sales.
Bo Jackson Tops Traded Tiffany – $12,300
Jackson was a unique talent, and the only professional in history to become an All-Star in baseball and football. He was chosen in 1982 by the New York Yankees in the second round of the Major League Baseball Draft, but he chose to go to Auburn University to fulfil a promise to his mother that he would be the first in their family to attend a major college.
Jackson excelled at both college baseball and football on a scholarship, later playing in Major League Baseball for the Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox and California Angels.
His career lasted until 1994. The 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany card was a simple portrait, enchanting collectors to this day. A PSA Grade 10 copy of the card sold for $12,300 in November 2021.
Barry Bonds Topps Traded Tiffany Card – $8,911
Barry Bonds was an all-around player with seven NL MVP awards and 14 All-Star selections. He would have been a Hall of Fame candidate, had it not been for the 2003 BALCO scandal.
He was a key figure in the doping trials concerning an undetectable drug known as “the Clear”. Bonds’ image has been tarnished to the eyes of baseball fans keeping the sought after accolade just out of his reach.
In August 2022, a Traded Tiffany Card reached $8,911 in an eBay auction. The card was in pristine condition with the PSA setting its price guide value at $10,000. The seller was based in Passaic, New Jersey.
Don Mattingly Topps Tiffany Card – $5,600
Donald Arthur “Don” Mattingly is the man who broke the single season record with six grand slams in 1987. He rose quickly through the ranks of the New York Yankees, spending his whole career with the team until 1995.
He then became manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2011, and today manages the Miami Marlins.
Mattingly’s 1984 Topps Tiffany card made $5,600 in prime condition, whereas a PSA Grade 7 has fetchd $230 on eBay. That just shows once more that the value drops quickly with damage such as frayed corners, scratched surfaces, and defects like off-centre printing.
Cal Ripken Jr Topps Traded Card – $4,726
Ripken Jr. was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007 with nearly 99% of the vote on the first ballot.
A PSA Grade 10 version of his 1982 rookie card with Topps fetched a whopping $4,726 at auction on eBay in August of 2022. It’s one of many popular Cal Ripken cards, which had 27 different sets over the decades.
John Littlefield Pitching Lefty Card – $2,198
Error cards do get plenty of attention among collectors. John Littlefield began his career at Brigham Young University, and found himself with the Milwaukee Brewers in the 37th round of the 1988 Amateur Draft.
The right-handed Littlefield looked to be left-handed on some of his playing cards, because the image was reversed.
A card sold for $2,198 in August 2021. But this also varies in price even at PSA 10 quality. Other examples have gone for $351, $250 and even $172 in recent years.
One auction saw many of 100 copies sell for $4,406 in 2009, meaning that each made a mere $44.
Billy Ripken ‘F*** Face’ Card – $600
He had a mediocre batting average of .247, so Billy Ripken’s only claim to fame was that his older brother was baseball Hall of Fame inductee Cal Ripken Jr. But two stray words on a baseball bat launched his card from the bottom to the top of the pile.
Billy’s cards was unusual for its not-so-hidden message. On the base were the words “F*** Face” written in bold black marker pen.
Publishers tried to obscure this message with a black box or erase it from the picture altogether. But highly desired ones shows the words repeated in red, in a classic example of an error card.
This version sold on eBay.com for $600.
Wade Boggs – $2,000
Boggs was a professional third baseman who enjoyed a Major League Baseball career of 18 seasons playing for the Boston Red Sox, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the New York Yankees.
He was with the Yankees when they won the 1996 World Series against the Atlanta Braves.
He remains popular to this day, appearing on at least 14 baseball cards over the course of his career. The 1983 Topps Base card is a classic, showing Boggs poised on the field.
The card earned as much as $2,000 at auction, according to Sports Card Investor.
Ryne Sandberg – $1,850
Sandberg is best known by the nickname Ryno. He hails from Spokane, Washington and is the son of a nurse and a mortician. Ryno was a football star in school with his school playing field later named after him.
In professional baseball, Sandberg was a second baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago Cubs, then later worked as manager and coach.
Topps honoured Sandberg with a rookie card in 1983. Mint-condition copies are very valuable today. In August 2022, a copy on eBay sold for a huge $1,850, thanks to its mint condition.
The seller is based in Fishers, Indiana, and noted that the item had a PSA rating of 10, writing in the item’s title, “Perfection!”
Pete Rose – $1,800
Peter Edward Rose Sr, also known as Charlie Hustle, amazed crowds from 1963 to 1986, playing with the Cincinnati Reds. In the mid- to late-80s, he became their manager.
Rose is the all-time MLB leader in hits and games played, though he later confessed to betting on games, bringing an onslaught of demands that his various honours be removed.
Topps manufactured a striking card in 1980, featuring an intense close-up shot of his face. An eBay auction in October 2022 had one copy sold for an incredible $1,800.
The seller, based in Passaic, New Jersey, was unusually experienced on the auction site, with 1056117 reviews under his belt.
Greg Maddux – $1,700
Gregory Alan Maddux was born in San Angelo, Texas in 1966 to a military family that moved to Madrid, Spain due to his father’s Air Force career. Maddux and his brother Mike both displayed talent for baseball, later becoming professionals.
Greg spent the majority of his career with the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago Cubs. He was with the Braves for their 1995 World Series victory.
His 1987 rookie card from Leaf has proven popular with a copy sold for $1,700 on eBay.com in September of 2022.
With an impressive 22351 reviews, the seller, with the username gm_nos_muscle, was based in the USA and even offered priority shipping to the UK for $53.68.
Tim Raines – $1,000
Tim Raines was known as ‘Rock’ and he was unstoppable. He played as a left fielder for six different teams over two-decades, although 13 of his most famous seasons were with the Montreal Expos. He is one of the greatest baserunners, earning his spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame back in 2017.
Topps produced a famed Expos Future Stars card in 1981 featuring two other stars with Tim Raines: catcher Roberto Ramos and outfielder Bobby Pate.
The card gathered plenty of attention in online sales. In September 2022, a seller from Statesville, North Carolina earned $1,000 from this item.
Daryll Strawberry – $900
Daryll Strawberry was a high school baseball star, playing with Chris Brown at Crenshaw High in California. His big brother Michael entered professional baseball as well.
Strawberry was a spectacular ‘slugger’ at 6 feet 6 inches. He picked up three World Series Championships with the New York Mets and the New York Yankees with a career stained by three suspensions because of substance abuse.
A 1984 Topps Tiffany card honoured Darryl Strawberry, with a photograph of him in full swing. It sold for $900 on eBay, offered up by a seller from Rockwall, Texas.
This card was a shade under mint condition and was listed as ‘used’ on eBay, receiving a grading of 9.5 from Beckett Grading Services.
Eric Davis – $750
Eric Davis became a part of the Cincinnati Reds from 1984 till 1991, where he earned the nickname Eric the Red. He made an impressive comeback in 1996 with the same team, while suffering from colon cancer.
He retired with many injuries in 2001.
In 1985, the Topps Tiffany brand released a new Eric Davis card, showing the athlete gazing into the distance, in front of baseball field netting. This item has proved popular over the decades. One seller in Indio, California listed this card on eBay.com and made $750 for it in August 2022.
Jose Canseco – $700
Jose Canseco Capas Jr played as an outfielder and designed hitter, breaking records in 1988 by hitting 40 home runs and stealing 40 bases all in a single season. His lengthy home runs got him the nickname ‘Parkway Jose’, but he was more famously known as El Cañonero Cubano (the Cuban Cannon), since he hailed from Havana.
1792 reviews in their pockets had the eBay seller purnotioncards from Riverside, Illinois earning $700 for a Jose Canseco card in August 2022.
Considering its used condition, this 1983 rookie card from the manufacturer Frisch had a PSA rating of 10. That meant it was in immaculate condition after decades of careful preservation.
John Smoltz – $650
John ‘Smoltzie’ Smoltz had 22 seasons with Major League Baseball in the 80s, 90s and 00s. He spent the majority of his entire career with the Atlanta Braves, earning the All-Star title on eight occasions.
With his many records and accomplishments, Smoltz was the franchise record holder for career saves for a decade.
In 1989, Upper Deck released a John Smoltz Rookie card that fans loved. An autographed offering was listed on eBay, selling for $650 in August 2022. The seller was based in Largo, Florida.
Gary Sheffield – $595
Gary Sheffield played for many teams including the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Detroit Tigers.
“I can’t imagine there has ever been a scarier hitter to face,” Joe Posnanski wrote of this talented and formidable athlete.
But Sheffield’s career was not without scandal. He was implicated in the 2004 BALCO scandal, which had many players accused of using performance-enhancing drugs.
Gary Sheffield remains popular among baseball fans and card collectors. In July 2022, an eBay user from Wisconsin Rapids was offering a 1989 Upper Deck card, with a PSA grade of 10.
Thanks to the autograph and mint condition, the seller made $595.
Tony Gwynn – $479
The left-handed Tony Gwynn secured eight batting titles, becoming a 15-time All-Star in the process. Both his first and last Major League Baseball appearances with the San Diego Padres got him the nickname ‘Mr Padre’.
His batting average was .338 while completing 135 home runs in his career.
The 1984 Donruss Base card is of particular interest to collectors. According to the website Sports Card Investor, this card can fetch as high as $479.99, but also range down to $29.95.
This variety is due to differences in quality, since the cards can be found with different PSA gradings.
Barry Larkin – $400
Barry Larkin was born in 1964 in Cincinnati. He attended Archbishop Moeller High School, earning a football scholarship to the University of Michigan, but soon realised that baseball was the sport for him.
He had careers in minor and major league baseball, playing shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds in under two decades.
A PSA 10-graded example of a classic Barry Larkin card sold for $400 on eBay.com back in July of 2022. Shipping cost $38.13, with International Priority Shipping to the UK.
The seller was from Buffalo Grove, Illinois. It is beautifully autographed, and this card was Larkin’s Rookie, dating back to 1987.
Ozzie Smith – $330
Ozzie Smith’s quick reflexes were apparent early in his childhood years. He first joined Major League Baseball in 1978 as a fielder, celebrating with spectacular backflips mid-match.
Smith eventually joined the St Louis Cardinals to win the 1982 World Series.
A 1983 Topps card shows the star in a twisted position. A copy sold for $330 in August 2022. With a perfect PSA grade of 10, this item was actually in a used condition.
The card came from a seller from Paso Robles, California, with the eBay username gretzkyfan.
Craig Biggio – $296
With a career spanning 19 years, Craig Biggio remained loyal to the Houston Astros. He is a seven-time National League All-Star who formed a trio known as the Killer Bs with his fellow Houston players Jeff Bagwell and Lance Berkman.
After retiring in 2007, Biggio was honoured with the Roberto Clemente Award for his sportsmanship and community service.
A lucky seller in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania made $296 for a 1988 Craig Biggio card. The card had a flamboyant autograph, selling in September 2022 with the best offer accepted.
This one came from the sports card manufacturer Score, which was first distributed by Major League Marketing in the same year as this card’s release.
Randy Johnson – $76
Johnson was born in 1963 and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, and was picked by the Atlanta Braves in the 1982 MLB draft, just after finishing high school. He rejected the offer, going for a baseball scholarship at the University of Southern California.
He joined the MLB in 1988, playing for six different teams. His height of 6 feet 10 inches got him the nickname ‘The Big Unit’.
Johnson played for a surprisingly long era as a pitcher, playing even into his 40s.
A mint-condition 1989 Randy Johnson card from Topps sold for $72 after it attracted 28 bids on eBay in August 2022. The seller from Passaic, New Jersey added little details to the offer page, but the item was encased in a PSA-assured protective plastic container.
Dale Murphy – $616
Dale Murphy was a prodigy of sorts. He did finish his career with almost 400 home runs. Murphy was MVP in 1982 and again in 1983, being one of only four other outfielders to be chosen for consecutive years.
He was also the youngest ever to have accomplished the feat. Murphy hit 308 home runs in a decade, second only to Mike Schmidt’s total of 313.
A grade nine 1989 Upper Deck Reverse Negative card sold in June of 2022 for $130, but grade 10 cards are known to go as high as $616. The deck this card came from is full of design mistakes, and that led to a higher demand on the resale market.
Dwight Gooden – $338
Dwight Gooden was a promising player who exploded onto the pro baseball scene in 1984. He was a fresh-faced 19-year-old, the youngest ever professional player to appear in an All-Stars game.
He debuted with the New York Mets, gaining a reputation for his 98 miles per hour fastball and sweeping curveball. That earned him the nickname Lord Charles. Unfortunately, his career was stained by tales of alcohol and substance abuse.
A grade 10 1984 Topps Traded card was known to sell for $338 in recent years, with the value dropping off for any grade below that. A mint-condition grade nine will set you back $58, while a normal grade nine will cost $34.
Kirby Puckett – $1,165
It’s pretty common for players to hop teams over the course of their career, but Kirby Puckett built an impressive legacy without switching allegiances.
He started in 1984 with the Minnesota Twins, becoming their all-time leader in hits, runs, and total bases, before retiring with the highest batting average of any right-handed American League player since Joe DiMaggio.
A 1984 Fleer Update Kirby Puckett card drops off steeply in value between a grade 10 and the next best thing. A grade 10 card can sell for as high as $1,165, but a grade nine will only sell for around $200.
In 2022, one sold for as low as $74.
Will Clark – $128
Clark, also known as Will the Thrill or just The Thrill, played for the San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals.
He made history by hitting a homerun off the first-ever swing during his first-ever professional match. He then set the San Francisco record for the most games played consecutively, with 320 between September 1987 and August 1989.
The 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany Will Clark card isn’t that valuable, with grade 9.5 examples selling for around $128 on the resale market. Cards in less perfect condition sell for as low as $9, and are usually bundled into sets to reach a resale value reaching double-digits.
Graig Nettles Error Card – $449
The players on this list enjoyed their most successful years in the mid-80s. But Graig Nettles, or Puff, was already established by the time the others came around.
Nettles began his professional career back in 1967 as a defensive third baseman. He retired as one of the best in the world, with an American League record for career home runs playing that position.
Most cards are valuable because of the year in which they were released or the players featured, but the 1981 Fleer Graig Nettles Error card can get $449 on the resale market thanks to the glaring mistake it contains.
A limited run misspelled Graig as Craig on the back, a quirk that has enthusiasts adding these to their collection.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
