When discussion turns to the most beautiful set ever issued, 1957 Topps baseball cards always feature heavy in the conversation.

With bright, clear photos and minimal design elements, there is nothing to distract collectors from the grandeur of the game and its denizens.

And, whether or not you love the 1957s or think they’re overrated (in which case you’re wrong), there is no denying their continued appeal and strength on the old-card market.

What follows is a rundown of the 12 most valuable 1957 Topps baseball cards, as culled for PSA 7 copies from the PSA Price Guide.

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1957 Topps Mickey Mantle (#95)

Against a dark Yankee Stadium background, Mantle stands out like a ghost in a spotlight as he follows through on a left-handed swing in his Yanks’ Pinstripes here on this 1957 Topps card.

And a spotlight would have been a fitting device for the young slugger, who had enjoyed perhaps his greatest season in 1956, winning the American League Triple Crown and MVP award, and driving the Yankees to yet another World Series title.

Like just about every other Mantle card issued in the 1950s, this one paces its set.

Value: $4200-4400

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1957 Topps Hank Aaron (#20)

Pretty must the same story here for Aaron as above for Mays, except Henry wouldn’t win his only MVP award until that summer of 1957, and he never did top 50 home runs in a season.

And, back in 1957, probably not many fans would have predicted that it would be Aaron who would go on to break Babe Ruth‘s all-time home run record.

That kind of talk was reserved for Mantle and Mays. Maybe Duke Snider if you were silly.

Anyway, Aaron may have been the best of the lot when all was said and done, and this card reflects that status.

Value: $1500-1800

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1957 Topps Brooks Robinson Rookie Card (#328)

What do you get when you combine one of the greatest players ever at his position, an all-time classic card design, and a rookie card in a scarce high-number series?

Why, you get the 1957 Topps Brooks Robinson rookie card, of course!

And you also get one of the most valuable cards in the whole set, a status this card has held for decades.

These days, the RC of the Hall of Famer and Baltimore Orioles legend generally stands near the top of the pecking order in this set.

Value: $1500-1700

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1957 Topps Ted Williams (#1)

Speaking of old dudes who could still rake, Ted Williams turned 39 in August of 1957.

It was amazing he could still tie his shoes at such an advanced age, right?

Uh-huh.

All the Splendid Splinter did that summer was hit .388 with 38 home runs for the Boston Red Sox. That was good enough for his fifth batting title.

And he’d win a another in 1958.

It’s all part of the glory of Teddy Ballgame and part of the reason his striking 1957 Topps card — the first in the set — sells for big bucks today..

Value: $1400-1500

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1957 Topps Frank Robinson Rookie Card (#35)

This card may be even better looking than the B. Robby above … or that could just be my Cincinnati Reds bias showing.

Whatever the case, there is no denying that Frank Robinson was one of the most dominant hitters of his time, and probably in the top 10 (or better) plate men of all time.

He was also the focal point of one of the worst/best trades in history when the Reds sent him to the Orioles before the 1966 season because he was an “old 30.”

A Triple Crown, MVP, and World Series MVP later, and it was clear F. Robby was headed to Cooperstown.

And considering there’s also no doubt this is one of the best looking of all 1957 Topps baseball cards, there’s little surprise it maintains a lofty position on lists like this one.

Value: $1200-1300

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1957 Topps Yankees’ Power Hitters — Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra (#407)

From the #1 card in the 1957 Topps set, we now jump to the very end of the run.

Mickey Mantle and teammate, Yankees catcher Yogi Berra, were a threat to go deep every time they stepped to the plate.

And they seemingly had the American League MVP award on lockdown during the 1950s, with Berra nabbing three (1951, 1954, 1955) and Mantle taking the 1956 and 1957 hardware.

Appearing here at the very end of a tough high-number run, the Pinstripe Pair form the basis for another high-dollar card.

Value: $1100-1400

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1957 Topps Willie Mays (#10)

Willie Mays, on the other hand, was a bona fide superstar as 1957 dawned.

He already had a National League Rookie of the Year award (1951), an NL MVP award (1954), and a 50-homer season (1955) under his belt, and Topps rewarded him with the coveted #10 slot in their 1957 set.

(I’m not kidding — the “zero” cards were big things, especially this early in a set.)

Of course, The Say Hey Kid was on a collision course with all-time greatness, and this card reflects that status.

Value: $900-1000

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1957 Topps Sandy Koufax (#302)

Koufax was still several years from breaking out when this smiling shot of the young southpaws greeted collectors in the summer of 1957.

By the time he became a legend for the Los Angeles Dodgers, this classic must have twinged some painful memories for the faithful back home, owing to its “Brooklyn” team designation.

Value: $800-900

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1957 Topps Don Drysdale Rookie Card (#18)

Drysdale was just 20 years old heading into the 1957 season and fresh off a 25-game Major League debut in 1956 that saw him go 5-5 with a 2.64 ERA.

A jump to 17-9 in ’57 set up Drysdale as one of the first stars for the Los Angeles Dodgers when they moved west in 1958. Though it took him a few years to really settle in as a superstar, Big D eventually won enough games and garnered enough of the spotlight to put together a Hall of Fame career.

His smiling RC, here in the 1957 Topps set, is a hobby favorite all these years later.

Value: $700-800

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1957 Topps Roberto Clemente (#76)

Like others on this list, Clemente was still a few years away from superstardom when his smiling 1957 Topps card first found its way into collectors hands.

Still, he was already a regular for the Pittsburgh Pirates at just 22 years of age, and the future looked bright for “Bob” (as Topps insisted on calling him in those days).

The decades have been kind to this Bucs legend, and Clemente has never been more popular than he is today.

Value: $600-800

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1957 Topps Ernie Banks (#55)

Of all the great looking 1957 Topps baseball cards out there, this is one of the greatest-est.

Young Ernie Banks with sunlight squeezing through, casting stadium-structure shadows on his seldom-seen arching-red-underlined-Chicago jersey and his blue Cubs cap?

Yes, please!

Doeasn’t hurt, either, that this one was issued just a year before Banks began his two-year reign as National League MVP and set his course firmly toward Cooperstown.

Value: $375-400

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1957 Topps Yogi Berra (#2)

Mickey Mantle topped this list with his own single card.

Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra made the cut with their duo card up above.

So it stands to reason that (probably) the greatest catcher of the 1950s makes the list on his own merits — or the merits of his solo card — too, right?

Right.

And Berra powers into the last slot on our list.

Value: $300-350

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1957 Topps Jim Bunning (#338)

Bunning appeared in 15 games for the Tigers in each of 1955 and 1956, compiling an 8-6 record with a hefty 5.00 ERA across 104.1 innings of mostly relief work.

That meager performance landed him more air time in Detroit in 1957 … and this cherry rookie card.

Making 30 starts among his 45 appearances that summer, Bunning led the N.L. with 20 wins and crafted a nifty 2.69 ERA. It was the first salvo in his assault on a Hall of Fame campaign that would ultimately prove successful.

Add in Bunning’s long run as a U.S. Senator (Kentucky), and you have the perfect recipe for keeping this card in the limelight.

Value: $300-350

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1957 Topps Dodgers Sluggers (#400)

How many Dodgers sluggers did it take to match the Yankees’ duo of Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra?

Four, apparently, at least according to card #400 in the 1957 Topps set.

Even if that seems like overkill, it makes a for a great card as Carl Furillo, Gil Hodges, Roy Campanella, and Duke Snider do the old kneel-with-the-bat trick on this horizontal issue.

It’s a star-packed card with plenty of Cooperstown power … especially now that Hodges is in!

Value: $275-350

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1957 Topps Larry Doby (#85)

Doby hit 24 home runs with 102 RBI in 1956, his first season with the White Sox after making history for the Indians as the first African American player in the American League.

That would be the last time he’d top 15 homers or 80 RBI, and he wouldn’t see the 1960s as an active player. But Doby looms as one of the great hitters of the 1950s, and he looks pretty darn amazing in this classic posed follow-through.

Value: $275-300

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1957 Topps Baseball Cards Checklists

Consider this one both a wild card and an honorable mention.

Look …

Nobody likes checklist cards, and if they didn’t get thrown away, they got used as, you know, checklist cards — marked up, banged up, washed up.

(The were very “meta” though — a 1957 Topps baseball card to keep track of other 1957 Topps baseball cards.)

So, today, old checklists are tough to come by in decent shape, and that’s certainly true for 1957 Topps checklists. There are several variations, too, with PSA listing the following:

• Series 1 & Series 2 (front/back) with a Bazooka logo/ad
• Series 1 & Series 2 with a Big Blony logo
• Series 2 & Series 3 with a Bazooka logo
• Series 2 & Series 3 with a Big Blony logo
• Series 3 & Series 4 with a Bazooka logo
• Series 3 & Series 4 with a Twin Blony logo
• Series 4 & Series 5 with a Bazooka logo
• Series 4 & Series 5 with a Twin Blony logo

Prices for PSA 7 copies range from $500+ to nearly $4000, with later series falling nearer the upper end of that spectrum.

All of that, of course, is assuming you can even find one.

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Are 1967 Topps baseball cards the most beautiful issue ever produced?

You don’t hear it so much these days, but that used to be a conversation collectors would dust off once or twice a year.

Easy to see why, too, since the 1967s feature gorgeous photography and a simple design that only enhances those great color shots.

Whether or not the ’67s really are the most visually striking cards ever is a matter of personal choice, but no one can deny the value the set maintains today thanks to some high-powered rookie cards, high-number scarcity, and — yes — their physical beauty.

Here, then, are the most valuable 1967 Topps baseball cards based on PSA 7 listings pulled from the PSA Sports Market Report Price Guide.

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1967 Topps Tom Seaver (#581)

Before Nolan Ryan broke every strikeout and no-hitter record you could imagine, and before he moved to the Texas Rangers and threatened to pitch forever, a different hurler ruled 1960s cardboard.

By the time Tom Seaver notched his 300th victory — for the Chicago White Sox — in 1985, we already knew he was one of the greatest pitchers of all-time. The milestone and the winding down of his legendary career just nudged our consciousness.

Seaver’s high-number rookie card, shared with Bill Denehy, had been popular in the hobby for years, but as The Franchise marched toward Cooperstown, the thing took off.

Climbing to three figures, it threatened to take over the top spot among 1960s rookies from the 1963 Topps Pete Rose for awhile.

Value: $2200-2400

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1967 Topps Rod Carew (#569)

Even before the Seaver card shot through the stratosphere, the Rod Carew rookie card carried the 1967 Topps set.

The man who was a threat to hit .400 any season he took the field captured collectors’ imaginations like few others, and it didn’t hurt that his RC was also a high number.

Card mate Hank Allen didn’t do much to bump up the value, but Carew made it one of the first $50 cards from the 1960s before the boom took hold.

Value: $1000-1200

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1967 Topps Mickey Mantle (#150)

Combine a smiling Mickey Mantle with a classic 1960s card design, and you have a recipe for solid value.

I mean, unless The Mick is just standing there against a pale green painted block wall.

OK … even if The Mick is just standing there against a pale green painted block wall.

Yeah, Mantle has always been gold, and this is a top-drawer card in graded NM condition.

Value: $1000-1100

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1967 Topps Brooks Robinson (#600)

Brooks Robinson was already a Baltimore Orioles legend by the time his 1967 Topps card made its way to collectors, and the final 11 years or so of his career only cemented his Hall of Fame status.

Couple Robinson’s status as one of the greatest third basemen of all-time with a great looking card that’s hard to come by (relatively), and you have all the makings of a hefty price tag for a PSA 7 specimen.

Value: $500-600

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1967 Topps Willie Mays (#200)

In 1967, Mays was just a couple of seasons removed from his peak, when he won the 1965 National League MVP award with the San Francisco Giants on the back of 52 home runs.

Mays didn’t have the late-career surge that propelled Aaron to new heights, but Willie remains one of the greatest and most popular players to ever lace up the spikes.

Value: $450-500

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1967 Topps Roberto Clemente (#400)

Like other Clemente cards, this sharp looking 1967 Topps issue has only increased in popularity in the years since the Pirates legend’s untimely death before the 1973 season.

Even after the market tanked post-boom, Clemente remained solid, and today he’s more of a fan and collector favorite than ever.

Value: $325-350

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1967 Topps Hank Aaron (#250)

Hank Aaron was already a surefire Hall of Famer by the time his 1967 Topps card first greeted collectors from inside new wax packs that summer.

But he wasn’t yet the stone-cold legend who would one day break Babe Ruth‘s all-time home run record and finish as one of the top five or so position players of all-time.

This awesome card showing that classic Aaron batting follow-through has picked up steam in recent years.

Value: $320-350

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1967 Topps Pete Rose (#430)

Pete Rose may never make it to the Hall of Fame, but he’ll always be a legend of the game.

And he’ll always have enough fans and supporters to keep his cards near the top of the heap.

This classic Charlie Hustle issue always turns hobby heads, even all these years later.

Value: $225-300

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1967 Topps Mike Shannon (#605)

Shannon was never really a superstar, and he never even made an All-Star team.

But he was a key part of two Cardinals World Series champions, in 1964 and 1967, and he finished seventh in National League MVP voting in 1968 for helping the Cards push to another N.L. pennant.

Mix all that with a key high-number card, and you have the recipe for a big price tag where you might not otherwise expect one.

Value: $200-250

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1967 Topps Carl Yastrzemski (#355)

Yaz managed just 16 home runs and a so-so .278 batting average in 1966, the same summer National League import Frank Robinson stormed to the American League Triple Crown.

The Red Sox young star must have been taking notes, because he Yastrzemski broke out to hit .326 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI in 1967, nailing down his own Triple Crown and nabbing the only MVP award of his storied career.

This card, capturing Yaz at the end of his legendary swing, has become a hobby legend in its own right.

Value: $200-225

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1967 Topps Rocky Colavito (#580)

Now, Colavito normally wouldn’t appear on a list like this … I mean, he was a big-time slugger and overall producer for the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers, but he’s a low-borderline Hall of Famer.

And, to this date, Rocky remains outside of Cooperstown.

But Colavito was a superstar, and the high-number scarcity of this card has had it near the top of the 1967 value list for decades.

Value: $175-225

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1967 Topps Red Sox Team (#604)

Another piece that wouldn’t normally appear on this type of list, but this team card has a couple of things going for it …

First, it was issued as the “Impossible Dream” Red Sox posted their first winning season since 1958 and came within a game of taking the 1967 World Series (against the St. Louis Cardinals).

Second, this is another high number affair.

All in all, this is a popular team card that sells for biggish bucks in PSA 7.

Value: $175-225

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1967 Topps Fence Busters – Willie Mays and Willie McCovey (#423)

Mays and McCovey combined for 73 home runs in 1966, which just so happens to match the total future Giant Barry Bonds reached in setting the all-time single-season record in 2001.

But in 1966, those were pretty hefty numbers, and no one knew what a PED was.

No doubt, McCovey and Mays were two of the biggest stars of the day, and Topps took full advantage of that fact with this stunner of a card. It’s still a hobby favorite today.

Value: $175-200

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1967 Topps Jim Bunning (#560)

In 1966, Bunning landed the ninth and final All-Star berth of his career, courtesy of a 19-16 record and sterling 2.41 ERA, not to mention a majors-leading 41 starts and five shutouts.

Even picked up a save!

Entering his age-35 season, Bunning looked like he had a shot at 300 wins. And, though he fell short, his star never dimmed in the eyes of hobbyists, and this great looking card remains strong all these years later.

Value: $125-150

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1967 Topps Maury Wills (#570)

Sort of the same story here as with the John card, except Wills doesn’t have much of a Cooperstown case. (John may still get in … mark my words!)

Still, Maury was the game’s preeminent speedster before Lou Brock and Rickey Henderson changed the standards.

Plus … and this is a big plus … 1967 was the first year Topps was able to feature the 1962 NL MVP in their set, after years of miscues that may or may not have involved hard feelings.

And, it’s another high number.

The result is a card that has haunted collector want lists for decades, and a price tag landing him on lists like this one.

Value: $125-150

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1967 Topps Jim Shellenback and Ron Willis Rookie Card (#592)

Neither Shellenback nor Willis lasted long in the majors, though Willis did win a ring with the 1967 Cardinals despite getting shelled by the Red Sox in his only Fall Classic appearance.

Willis passed away at age 34 in 1977 of a brain tumor, which makes his baseball story a bittersweet tale and keeps his cards on collector wantlists.

This one is also a tough high number, all of which contributes to the relatively hefty price tag.

Value: $125-150

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1967 Topps Tommy John (#609)

Like a few others on this list, the historical importance of the 1967 Topps Tommy John card is likely lost on newer collectors.

Makes sense, too, considering that John is not in the Hall of Fame and that this is not his rookie card.

But as a short-printed high number of a guy who made surgical history and who seemed to be a Hall of Famer in the making for years, this one was right there with Carew and Colavito as one of the more expensive pasteboards of the 1960s for decades.

Value: $100-150

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If you want proof that a monopoly doesn’t necessarily mean monotony, look no further than 1959 Topps baseball cards.

After buying out archrival Bowman heading into the 1956 cardboard season, Topps was poised to do whatever they wanted to do. And, after a 1956 set that looked remarkably like the 1955 issue, collectors might have thought they were in for a steep dive into mediocrity.

But instead, Topps unleashed an array of so many different looks over the next 25 years that they endeared themselves to generations of collectors.

And the 1959 cards played their role in that continued ascent, offering a very 50s-feeling porthole look after the cleancut 1957s and heavily painted(ish) 1958s.

Today, the 1959s are still super popular in the hobby even though the selection of stellar rookies is small (just one, really).

Read on for a rundown of the most valuable 1959 Topps baseball cards, as determined by PSA 7 values in the PSA Sports Market Price Guide.

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1959 Topps Mickey Mantle (#10)

Surprise! Mickey Mantle sits at the top of a “most valuable cards” list in a 1950 set.

OK, if you’ve been breathing sometime in the last 60 years, this is no shock at all.

Still, though, this is a great looking, 50s-feeling pasteboard that features a slightly amused — or at least contented — Mantle gazing out from the porthole in the card’s red-painted cardboard wall. Batting practice in the background makes the whole thing feel breezy and warm, like a place you definitely want to be.

The price of admission? Steep.

Value: $2000-2500

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1959 Topps Bob Gibson (#514)

You have to win one game with your life — or at least, like, the World Series — on the line. Who do you send to the mound?

It’s a hot stove and hot infield dirt conversation fans have had forever. For 50 years or more, one of the names that always ends up right near the top is St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Famer Bob Gibson.

During his 17-year career, Gibson won more than 250 games with a 2.91 ERA, went 7-2 in three World Series play, and picked up two National League Cy Young and one MVP awards.

He also left hundreds of batters questioning their career choices.

This smiling 1959 Topps version of Gibson is his rookie card, and graded NM copies sell like hotcakes. Indeed, Hoot pushes The Mick for the title of King of the 1959 Topps Baseball Cards.

Value: $1900-2000

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1959 Topps Hank Aaron (#380)

Like Mays, Aaron was already an established superstar by 1959, with an MVP of his own and a World Series title (in 1957) with the Milwaukee Braves, to boot.

Hammer’s 1959 Topps is a sunny, yellow-bordered beauty featuring a focused young legend, and it’s a hobby favorite.

Value: $850-875

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1959 Topps Willie Mays (#50)

Willie Mays, on the other hand, was already a superstar who was in the discussion for “best player in the game” as 1959 dawned.

A National League MVP award, 51 home runs in 1955, a couple of 30-30 seasons, and having still not reached his 28th birthday will do that for a fella.

This sunny yellow card, featuring a fairly serious looking young Mays, is on just about every vintage want list.

Value: $775-850

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1959 Topps Mickey Mantle All-Star (#564)

Pretty much any Mantle card will get a slot on lists like this, even if that card is not his main card in a set.

This All-Star issue shows the Mick in a posed batting shot, surrounded by a blue field featuring the American League eagle-and-shield emblem. The whole thing adds even more color to an already colorful Topps set.

Value: $775-800

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1959 Topps Sandy Koufax (#163)

Like Roberto Clemente (below), Koufax wasn’t yet the legend that he would one day become when this sunny, smiling 1959 Topps card first popped out of wax packs across the land.

With the 1960s just ahead, though, it wouldn’t be long until Sandy embarked on one of the most dominating runs in MLB pitching history.

Today, this card of the young Cooperstown-bound lefty is a hobby favorite.

Value: $575-600

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1959 Topps Roberto Clemente (#478)

As 1959 dawned, Clemente was still a year away from really finding his offensive groove in the Major Leagues, though stellar defense in right field was already helping boost his value — in WAR and in visuals — to the Pirates.

This yellow-splashed card features the Pirates logo to good effect and shows a young, fresh-faced legend just on the verge of letting the world know who he was.

Value: $450-500

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1959 Topps Harry Hanebrink (#322) – no trade statement

Hanebrink wasn’t anything like a star in the big leagues over the course of his four-year career, though, as you can see from the back of his 1959 Topps card, he flashed some leather in the minors.

Even that glove prowess doesn’t account for his lofty position here, though.

Nope, Hanebrink is here by virtue of some of his cards appearing without the “Traded to Phillies in March 1959” line. The “no trade” version is the scarcer of the two variations and commands a premium.

(The Billy Loes card from this set, #336, exists in two similar variations.)

Value: $300-400

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1959 Topps Willie Mays All-Star (#563)

As with Mantle, every Mays card in a set makes that set better, and this All-Star entry is no exception.

Willie himself doesn’t look all that comfortable scrunched into home plate, but it still a Mays card.

Value: $300-400

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1959 Topps Stan Musial (#150)

Heading into 1959, Stan Musial was already 38 years old and had more than 3100 hits to his name, with nearly 400 home runs and a .340 batting average.

A Hall of Fame lock, in other words.

He kept going, though, for another five years, and continued to produce pretty much all along the way for the St. Louis Cardinals.

In the process, Musial forever cemented his cards as collector favorites.

Value: $300-325

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1959 Topps Mays’ Catch Makes Series History (#464)

So, yes, another Willie Mays card, and this one was five years in the making.

This exciting pasteboard celebrates one of those amazing baseball memories that can be summarized in just a word or two.

The Catch.

You know instantly that we’re talking about Mays’ amazing, no-look, over-the-shoulder catch in the 1954 World Series against the Cleveland Indians.

You know it.

But it’s still great to “watch” the action unfold over and over again, and this card gives you that in the palm of your hand.

Value: $300-325

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1959 Topps Billiy Pierce All-Star (#572)

Billy Pierce was a star pitcher — an All-Star pitcher, in fact, on seven different occasions. He also won 20 games twice and was a key member of the 1959 White Sox and 1962 Giants World Series teams.

But, for as good as he was, Pierce was never a super duper star on the level of, say, a Koufax or Gibson.

So … where’s the rub? How does he end up on this list?

Well, the rub is on the front and back surfaces of many of these Pierce All-Star cards, the very last in the 1959 Topps baseball cards checklist.

And, not only does the Pierce card suffer from the typical types of condition scarcity you often find with first and last cards, it’s also a last card (redundancy alert), which means it was likely issued in lesser quantities than cards from earlier series in the set.

And, of course, it doesn’t hurt that Pierce was a star.

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Value: $250-300

1959 Topps Roger Maris (#202) – gray back

This is Maris’ second card, showing the young slugger after he’d moved on from the Cleveland Indians to the Kansas City Athletics, but before he landed on the “destiny” square of the baseball gameboard with the New York Yankees.

That would almost be enough to get Rajah onto our list, but he needed an extra push.

And that push comes in the form of a cardstock variation that afflicted all Series 3 cards (#199-286) in 1959, wherein you could find them with either gray or white backs.

These babies generally show up at about the same frequency in the wild, but the gray backs seem to be less plentiful in nice graded condition.

And THAT is Maris’ push.

Value: $200-300

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1959 Topps Hank Aaron All-Star (#561)

If you’ll allow a bit of editorialization, this is a smokin’ baseball card.

Whereas Mays looks cramped on his All-Star entry in this set, Aaron looks triumphant. Sure the choice of pose makes all the difference, but the facts are the facts.

And Henry’s Braves uniform looks pretty amazing inside the bright red borders here, too.

All of which wouldn’t matter if this were almot anyone other than The Hammer. But this is The Hammer, and collectors love this card … once they discover it, at least.

Value: $225-275

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1959 Topps Ernie Banks (#350)

This is peak Banks, fresh off his first MVP award (1958) and heading for his second (1959).

You don’t have to squint too hard, either, to make that sunlight splashing off Mr. Cubs face into twilight, guiding us into the second game of a doubleheader.

Let’s play two!

Value: $225-250

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1959 Topps Harmon Killebrew (#515)

Killer was in sort of a funny position heading into 1959. Like others on this list, he had yet to break out.

But, at just 22 entering the season, he had already spent parts of five years in the Major Leagues, with just 11 home runs and a lifetime .224 batting average to show for it.

At the same time collectors were pulling his fire-alarm red 1959 Topps card from wax wrappers that summer, though, Killebrew was hitting the cover off baseballs to the tune of 42 home runs and a slash line of .242/.354/.516.

He didn’t stop mashing for another 16 years, and eventually landed in Cooperstown.

Given all that, the price tag for a PSA 7 copy of the Topps card from his breakout season seems downright reasonable.

Value: $200-225

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1959 Topps Roy Campanella – Symbol of Courage (#550)

Roy Campanella was one of the studs of those old Brooklyn Dodgers teams that seemed to make it to the World Series every year only to fall short to the New York Yankees.

Until 1955, that is, when Dem Bums won it all, thanks in large part to Campy’s third MVP season in five seasons.

Just a couple years later, unfortunately, Campanella suffered catastrophic injuries in a car accident, which would leave him wheelchair-bound for the rest of his life.

Regardless of his struggles, though, the Hall of Fame catcher maintained a cheerful public persona and became even more of an idol for fans everywhere.

Topps commemorated Roy’s career and recovery in this 1959 card, dubbed “Symbol of Courage.”

Over the years, the stature of this card has grown along with Campy’s legacy, and today it will set you back a pretty penny in PSA 7. Fitting for the most inspirational of all 1959 Topps baseball cards.

Value: $200-225

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—

So, did your favorite make this list of most valuable 1959 Topps baseball cards? Or are we missing a beauty? I’d love to hear your picks!

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If you want a cardboard snapshot of diamond history, you’ll have a hard time finding a better representation of an era than 1961 Topps baseball cards.

Sandwiched between the colorful, horizontal 1960s and the polarizing wood grain borders of the 1962, the 1961 Topps cards look tame by comparison.

But thanks to a gold rush of subsets, Topps managed to squeeze in multiple cards of the game’s biggest names, which included monster sluggers who rewrote the record books.

The result is a “most valuable” list that looks like a 1960s Dream Team of power and leaves little room for mere mortals.

This list of the dozen most valuable 1961 Topps baseball cards is culled from PSA 7 listings in the PSA Sports Market Report Price Guide, and it’s sure to dazzle you with its starlight.

Let’s dig in!

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1961 Topps Mickey Mantle (#300)

Mickey Mantle may have considered 1956 to be his favorite summer, but there is little doubt which of The Mick’s seasons drew the most national attention …

In 1961, with teammate Roger Maris having won the American League MVP award in his first season with the New York Yankees (1960), speculation ran wild that maybe at least one of the dynamic duo could make a run at Babe Ruth‘s single-season home run record.

Somehow, the M & M Boys rose to the challenge and treated America to its first great home run race.

Though Mantle came up short in that sprint to history, his base card from their magical season sits at the top of the mountain all these years later.

Value: $1500-1600

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1961 Topps Mickey Mantle All-Star (#578)

In 1961, Topps adopted the first of their newspaper background All-Star card designs, and Mantle looks downright newsworthy breaking out of the center of his card as the American League center fielder.

It’s another beloved Mantle card that trumps everything this set has to offer except the base Mantle card.

The All-Star issue is second only to The Mick’s base issue among 1961 Topps baseball cards.

Value: $700-800

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1961 Topps Mickey Mantle MVP (#475)

Sometimes, even two cards of a legend aren’t enough splash for a baseball card set, so manufacturers have to find ways to pump in more.

In 1961, Topps addressed the situation by including an MVP subset, and one of those cards celebrated Mantle’s hardware from 1956 and 1957.

With three cards in the top three, there’s no doubt that Mantle is the king of 1961 Topps baseball cards.

Value: $550-600

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1961 Topps Hank Aaron (#415)

Although Hank Aaron wasn’t considered a slugger in the same ilk as Mantle and Maris in 1961, the young Milwaukee Braves superstar had already captured a National League dinger title and the 1957 NL MVP award.

Of course, 13 years later, it would be Aaron taking aim at Ruth’s all-time career record for homers.

This 1961 Topps issue shows a primetime Hank rearing back with a baseball in his hand and the old tomahawk jersey shining through.

Value: $500-600

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1961 Topps Roger Maris (#2)

In that long-ago, season-long home run derby that has become part of baseball lore, Maris kept pushing, no matter what.

When Mantle fell off due to injury, Roger kept going.

When Maris’s own pace fell off, he kept plugging away.

When the commissioner announced that a new record wouldn’t count if it didn’t happen within 154 games, Maris kept at it.

And when he came into the Yanks’ 163rd game still tied with Ruth, Maris kept hacking.

When all was said and done, Maris did get his 61st, and the new record, asterisk be damned.

This is the card that collectors gazed upon as their new hero plugged away at history, and it’s a hobby classic today.

Value: $475-500

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1961 Topps Willie Mays (#150)

Mays may have been overshadowed by the American League fireworks in 1961, but he was in the midst of his own 40-homer season for the San Francisco Giants.

Four years later, the Say Hey Kid would tally his second 50-dinger summer en route to 660 in his career, all while displaying maybe the most well-rounded talent in baseball history.

This hatless Mays pasteboard is nevertheless a collector favorite.

Value: $400-475

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1961 Topps Juan Marichal Rookie Card (#417)

Juan Marichal was one of the great pitchers of the 1960s, which is really saying something considering how stout moundsmen were in general that decade.

Marichal also had one of the most identifiable deliveries the game has ever seen, prompting many youngsters to immitate the Cooperstown denizen’s high leg kick.

On the backs of all this legend, Manito’s smiling, short-printed rookie card is among the top sellers in this set.

Value: $300-350

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1961 Topps Willie Mays All-Star (#579)

Here is a case where card scarcity and an immortal of the game conspire to generate a value anomaly — an All-Star card worth more than the base card of the same player.

The 1961 Topps All-Star Mays falls in line with the others in the semi-high-number subset.

Value: $300-325

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1961 Topps Roberto Clemente (#388)

Clemente looks slightly miffed on this card, maybe even disdainful.

If I had to guess why, I’d say it has to do with Topps’ insistence on calling him “Bob” on cards throughout the 1960s.

What the heck?

Anyway, it’s a mid-career card of a baseball legend, and it sells well all these years later.

Value: $275-325

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1961 Topps Carl Yastrzemski (#287)

This isn’t technically Yaz’s rookie card, even though the word “rookie” is featured prominently right there on the front of the thing.

You could make a pretty strong case that this one looks better than his actual RC, in the 1960 Topps set, anyway, and this one features a blow-up of the same image — even if both are more “painting” than “photo.”

In any case, this is an early-career card of a baseball legend, so it’s little wonder this one appears on lists like this one.

Value: $250-300

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1961 Topps Willie Mays MVP (#482)

It’s amazing that Mays could hit anything with that little toothpick he’s holding on this card, but dude was the National League MVP in 1954.

Not only that, he did it in team-anonymous fashion, sporting a “Giants” cap with no identifier at all. A couple of possible explanations?

Topps could have just used an old photo showing Mays in the NY cap the Giants used before they moved west.

Or … could Topps have picked up on some sort of under-the-breath trade rumors and decided to go franchise agnostic for this one? Sounds absurd, sure, but so does “Washington Nat’l League.”

Value: $250-300

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1961 Topps Hank Aaron All-Star (#577)

It’s tough for other guys to find breathing room when a set is stacked with multiple cards of multiple super duper stars.

So, it’s no surprise that another Aaron makes the cut here, with this hatless All-Star card.

Value: $225-275

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1961 Topps Sandy Koufax (#344)

Koufax put together his first All-Star season in 1961 before turning on the jets that would propel him to the Hall of Fame with a handful of unbelievable seasons through 1966.

As Koufax’s star was ascending, collectors were pulling this sunny 1961 Topps card from wax packs, and the spell was cast.

Value: $250-350

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1961 Topps Billy Williams Rookie Card (#141)

Even after Williams was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1987, this rookie card of his didn’t rocket to the top of the 1961 Topps hierarchy. That’s no knock on the Cubs legend, though — this is a tough era for anyone not named Mantle, Mays, Aaron, or Clemente to stand out.

Williams and his RC have maintained a strong core of loyal collectors over the years, though, and this beauty finally pushed into the upper echelon during the pandemic.

Value: $175-200

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1961 Topps Babe Ruth Hits 60th Homer (#401)

As if Maris and Mantle didn’t have to deal with the shadow of Ruth enough on the field during 1961, there he was popping out of wax packs, too.

But Topps sure looked prescient with this one, huh? Rolling out a 60-homer celebration just in time for Maris’ hair-thinning dash to the finish line was nothing less than a stroke of cardboard genius.

Value: $175-200

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1961 Topps Roger Maris All-Star (#576)

Like Mantle cards throughout his career, 1961 Maris pasteboards are the bomb no matter what form they take.

This All-Star card is another classic paper-burst affair issued at the height of Roger’s prime.

Value: $175-200

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After all …

What would you do if you banished your competition to the scrapheap of history?

Well, if you were 1956 Topps baseball cards, the answer would be … “pretty much what I did last year.”

And it’s true, because the 1956s are a lot like the 1955s — horizontal format, painted photo thingies, large head shot, small action shot.

If that was good enough to end Bowman in 1955, then it was good enough for 1956 Topps.

And so it was.

The design repeats, right down to several identical head shots, haven’t hurt card values over the years, though.

As you’ll see in this list of most valuable 1956 Topps baseball cards, as determine by the PSA Sports Market Report Price Guide for PSA 7 copies, building a ’56 collection would set you back a pretty penny.

Note that cards #1-180 exist in both white- and gray-back variations. The grays seem to be a bit more scarce for numbers 1-100, with the whites tougher to come by from #101-180. Difference in pricing between the two varieties is generally small, with the exception of Mickey Mantle, detailed below, and some commons that jump up in price for the scarcer version.

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1956 Topps Mickey Mantle (#135)

Mickey Mantle once called 1956 his favorite summer, and it’s not surprising considering he won the American League Triple Crown, an MVP, and another World Series with the New York Yankees.

Yep, the Mick was in his prime and this gorgeous card was a perfect complement for collectors lucky enough to pull one from wax packs that summer.

Aside from his 1952 Topps card and (maybe) his 1951 Bowman rookie card, this one is also maybe his most iconic cardboard.

The 1956 also benefits from the fact that The Mick had been missing from Topps issues since 1953.

For all those reasons, this card generally sells for big bucks, just like all Mantle cards.

Note that the value below is based on selling prices for the gray back version. The white back variety can run at a factor of 2-3X these levels. Either way, Mantle is the king of 1956 Topps baseball cards.

No surprise, right?

Value: $6000-7000

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1956 Topps Roberto Clemente (#33)

The head picture on this card exactly matches the one Topps used on Clemente’s 1955 rookie card, but the action shot against the outfield wall is different — and spectacular!

Just about every Clemente card is a popular item with collectors these days, and such a striking piece as this one gets some extra oomph.

Value: $2500-3000

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1956 Topps Jackie Robinson (#30)

Yeah, Topps was up to its repeating tricks again with Robinson’s head shot here, but also again, they sort of made up for it with a sliding shot of Jackie in the background.

This is another iconic baseball card of another super duper star of the 1950s and a historical figure in the game.

Value: $1800-2500

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1956 Topps Willie Mays (#130)

Like others on this list, the ’56 Mays features a holdover head shot and sliding action shot.

While Willie hadn’t quite yet touched the heights that Mantle would reach in 1956, he was already a budding legend in his own right.

Value: $1750-2000

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1956 Topps Hank Aaron (#31)

Aaron was still nearly two decades away from breaking Babe Ruth‘s all-time home run record when this card was issued, and he wasn’t quite the most feared slugger in the game.

Evidence of that exists in the form of his background action shot here, where, like Robinson above, Aaron is shown dropping into a slide.

Still, it’s a classic card that commands plenty of attention all these years later.

Value: $1500-2000

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1956 Topps Ted Williams (#5)

Another head shot repeat bolstered by a more complete action shot makes this Ted Williams beauty an able follow-on to his 1955 issue.

After appearing only in Bowman issues early in the decade, and before he became a Fleer exclusive in 1959, the Splendid Splinter had a splendid run of Topps cardboard in the middle of the decade, and this one fit right in.

Value: $1300-1500

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1956 Topps Sandy Koufax (#79)

In 1956, Sandy Koufax was still several years away from becoming Sandy Koufax.

But entering the season, he did have a couple of Major League wins under his belt, and he was just 20 years old.

Sandy’s second card, here in the 1956 set, features completely different images from his 1955 rookie card, which is more than you can say for a lot of guys on this list.

Value: $1100-1300

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1956 Topps Yankees Team (#251)

Normally, I avoid including “gimmicky” cards on lists like this. You know …

Checklists

Errors and variations.

Printing defects.

Short prints.

Team cards.

My reasoning is that this type of card is generally valuable because of some unusual circumstance — condition rarity, short printed (duh), split distribution (variations), etc.

And I want to include cards that are valuable because we — collectors — really care about who’s on the card, and what it means historically.

In the case of the 1956 Topps New York Yankees card, though, I think we have all those bases covered.

That team was loaded with superstars like Mantle, Phil Rizzuto, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, Don Larsen, and others.

And they were a bona fide baseball dynasty.

Value: $700-800

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1956 Topps Ernie Banks (#15)

After a strong rookie season in 1954, Banks announced his presence as a major offesnive force in 1955, cracking 44 home runs and driving in 117 RBI while playing all 154 games for the Cubs.

The best was yet to come, too, as Mr. Cub would follow a sorta down season in 1956 with 43 dingers in 1957 and back-to-back MVP awards in 1958 and 1959.

This classic card features young Banks at the head of his breakout seasons, a young Hall of Famer in the making. No wonder it remains a collector favorite today.

Value: $500-600

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1956 Topps Yogi Berra (#110)

And speaking of Berra, you better believe he’ll appear on lists like this throughout the 1940s and 1950s.

That’s what happens when you’re one of the greatest catchers ever, playing for one of the greatest teams ever.

Value: $500-600

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1956 Topps Luis Aparicio Rookie Card (#292)

Aparicio pulled off the unusual feat of landing his first Topps card the same year he made his MLB debut.

That summer of 1956, Little Louie won the Rookie of the Year award and served notice that he would be a premier shortstop for years to come, given that he was just 22 years old.

That came to pass, first as he helped the Go-Go Sox (White Sox) reach the World Series in 1959, then as he put together an 18-year career that landed Aparicio in the Hall of Fame.

Value: $400-500

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When it was time to plan the design for the 1960 Topps baseball cards, Sy Berger and the rest of the Topps braintrust must have felt a tremendous sense of autonomy.

After all, major competitor Bowman was five years in the rearview, long ago purchased and folded into the archives.

And Fleer was only nibbling around the edges, unable to issue cards of current players in their Major League Baseball uniforms and opting instead for sets of all-time greats and an exclusive run of 1959 Ted Williams cards.

So, with no real competition on the horizon, Topps tried something different — they went back to a horizontal format for the first time since 1956 but maintained the then-standard 2.5″ x 3.5″ card size.

Lots of color, two photos per card, special subsets, and bold blocky design elements dominated the cards, and it’s a look like no other.

But were the cards popular? Hard to say for sure how they landed with collectors of the day, but today’s hobbyists love the 1960s right along with other cards of the era.

We love them enough, in fact, that some can bring big money on the secondary (or tertiary or quaternary) market.

In that spirit, here are the ten most valuable 1960 Topps baseball cards, ranked by values of PSA 7 specimens as reported in the PSA Sports Market Report Price Guide.

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1960 Topps Mickey Mantle (#350)

The baseball card value game isn’t always fair, and that goes double when Mickey Mantle is involved.

I mean, no matter which set we’re talking about, there’s a decent chance the Commerce Comet is going to be on top of the heap.

Unless there’s a Hall of Fame rookie card in the set.

Sometimes, though, the Mantle Effect can’t be overcome by the mere presence of even a stellar RC … or two.

That’s the case with 1960 Topps, because even though there are two all-time RCs on the checklist (see below), Mantle rules the day.

Hard to argue with that situation, really, because this is a great looking mid-career card of the guy who still captures our imagination like few others, even 50+ years after his retirement.

There’s no doubt this is the king of 1960 Topps baseball cards.

Value: $2000-2300

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1960 Topps Hank Aaron (#300)

It took awhile for mid-career Aaron cards to gain the acclaim they deserve, but these days most fans and collectors recognize Aaron for what he is — one of the best two or three players of the 50s and 60s, and one of the top 5 ever.

That status reflects here, in the form of a classic piece that’s a $250+ card in PSA 7 condition.

Value: $1000-1100

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1960 Topps Willie Mays (#200)

Willie Mays was always right there with Mantle in the conversation about who was the best player in the game at any given time. Duke Snider was sort of lumped in there, too, by virtue of his prominence with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

But it was Willie who got top billing in all those “Willie, Mickey, and The Duke” refrains, and he ended up as the most accomplished of the three.

His 1960 Topps card is an absolute classic and can fetch close to $200 in PSA 7.

Value: $800-900

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1960 Topps Carl Yastrzemski Rookie Card (#148)

The first Carl Yastrzemski card I ever held in my hands was his 1983 Topps base issue, and I remember being struck by a) hold old he looked and b) the Bible-print wall of statistics on the card back.

Not long after that, I found out that the 1960 Topps Yaz rookie card was one of the most coveted in the hobby. I eventually saw one in a picture, or maybe at a card show in Indianapolis, and thought it looked pretty funky — but in an exotic sort of way that made it seem all the more unattainable.

While that Yaz RC doesn’t hold quite the lofty position it once did thanks to the hobby emergence of first-year cardboard from Pete Rose, Steve Carlton, Rod Carew, Tom Seaver, and Nolan Ryan, it’s still a cardboard staple.

Value: $750-800

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1960 Topps Willie McCovey Rookie Card (#316)

McCovey actually scored two cards in the 1960 Topps set — this Topps All-Star Rookie and a “regular” All-Star card.

The Big Mac rookie never quite held the same sway over collectors as its Yaz counterpart, but it’s always been one of the more valuable pieces of the 1960 Topps set.

Value: $700-800

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1960 Topps Mickey Mantle All-Star (#563)

Sometimes, the Mantle Effect doesn’t end with his base card.

But that only happens when … well, when there’s any sort of other Mantle card in a set. You know, like All-Star, or World Series, or “Mantle Hits a 565-foot Home Run” Mantle cards.

In the case of 1960 Topps, that extra Mantle card is of the All-Star variety, and the big “60” in the background looks downright prophetic given what would unfold over then next couple of seasons.

Value: $700-800

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1960 Topps Roberto Clemente (#326)

Even though he died prematurely in a plane crash nearly 50 years ago, Clemente’s popularity seems to grow year after year.

That’s reflected in his cards across the board, and especially with pasteboards that hold special significance.

Clemente’s 1960 Topps card is stunning, as the colors, figurine batter shot, and Pirates logo fit together like art. It doesn’t hurt that the Bucs won the World Series in dramatic fashion against the New York Yankees that fall, either.

Value: $400-500

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1960 Topps Sandy Koufax (#343)

In 1960, Sandy Koufax was still trundling along as a good but not spectacular starter — and sometimes reliever — for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

It would be another year before he put up anything resembling big numbers and clinching an All-Star berth, and another three until he became the lockdown beast that we all remember him as today.

This 1960 Topps card is a snapshot in time of a young man on the verge of big things.

Value: $375-425

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1960 Topps Jim Kaat Rookie Star (#136)

For decades, the Jim Kaat rookie card trundled along below the surface of hobby hot lists, commanding more than a common but definitely not superstar-level prices.

That pretty much fit with the man’s profile among baseball fans, too, with his supporters trumpeting his Hall of Fame case on the strength of 284 wins while his detractors called him an “accumulator” thanks to a 25-year career full of mostly good-not-great seasons.

Kaat’s hobby status changed in a hurry in 2022, though, when the Golden Days Era Committee lifted him into Cooperstown. Not surprisingly, this RC is the pick of the litter among all of Kitty’s cards.

Among all 1960 Topps baseball cards, this is the one that proves that you never really know what old cardboard might still have in store for us.

Value: $350-375

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1960 Topps Bob Gibson (#73)

Gibson didn’t win 300 games, finishing with “just” 251 in his 17-year career.

And his 3117 strikeouts rank just 16th all time entering the 2023 season, though he stood second behind Walter Johnson when Hoot retired in 1975.

Still, Gibson may just have been the most intimidating man to ever stalk a major league mound, combining nasty stuff with a ready willingness to plunk batters.

He was also one of the main authors of the “Season of the Pitcher” in 1968 and a legendary postseason performer.

Add it all up, and you have a Hall of Famer with baseball cards that live on in the hearts of collectors decades after he last picked up a ball.

Value: $275-350

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1960 Topps Willie Mays All-Star (#564)

As is the case with Mantle, one Willie Mays card just isn’t enough sometimes.

That’s especially true when you have a second mid-career option in a vintage set, with the iconic “60” looming in the background.

This is a classic card featuring Mays in his classic swinging follow-through, and that’s a tough combination for collectors to resist.

Value: $300-325

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1960 Topps Ernie Banks (#10)

Banks’ days as an MVP were behind him by the time this card was issued, and he would last just two more seasons at shortstop before moving to first base.

But he was already a Cubs legend and turning the corner on a Hall of Fame career, and this is arguably one of his most iconic issuesafter his 1954 Topps rookie card.

Value: $275-300

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1960 Topps Hank Aaron All-Star (#566)

Topps had their formula down pat in 1960, doling out double dip after double dip of top-tier Hall of Famers, courtesy of their big, bold All-Star cards.

This time around, it’s Hammer himself, well on his way to becoming the all-time home run king, though no one could have predicted that outcome at the time.

Value: $275-300

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1960 Topps Stan Musial (#250)

At the other end of baseball’s circle of life in 1960 stood Stan Musial, the St. Louis Cardinals’ beloved elder statesman who had built his legend over the course of two decades under the arch.

Counting 1960, Stan the Man would manage four more Big League seasons before retiring in 1963 as a Cooperstown lock.

Not surprisingly, Musial cards have always been popular across the board, and this one is no exception.

Value: $200-250

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1960 Topps Roger Maris (#377)

As 1960 dawned, Roger Maris was on the move from the Kansas City Athletics to the vaunted New York Yankees.

Could the young outfielder with the big power stroke put things together under the bright city lights, or would he wilt in the fire of expectations?

Well, Maris answered question pretty emphatically with an MVP season that helped the Yanks reach the World Series.

And the next season?

He didn’t do much for an encore … just a little home run race with teammate Mickey Mantle that ended with Maris eclipsing Babe Ruth‘s single-season dinger record by clubbing 61 of his own.

He also made “asterisk” a trending topic before we had trending topics.

For all this, Maris’s cards remain strong sellers nearly 60 years on, and this 1960 Topps piece — his first in a Yankees uniform — is among the most popular of Rajah’s pasteboards.

Value: $225-250

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—

So, does your favorite appear on this list of the most valuable 1960 Topps baseball cards? Or is your top pick a bit more affordable?

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I mean …

You ever want something so bad that you just know your life will change forever once you get it?

And then, once you do get it … meh?

Yeah, me, too.

And that’s pretty much what happened for collectors with 1989 Bowman baseball cards, too.

For years, we’d been clamoring for one of the major manufacturers to issue a set focusing on the player image and eschewing massive design elements.

At least some of us begged for a return to a more classic look, like we saw in those old 1950s Topps — or, *gasp* Bowman — cards.

Well, careful what you ask for, Skippy.

Because, as the hobby was booming and ready to boom more, Topps opened their vault in 1989 and dusted off the Bowman brand that they bought out in 1956.

And then they brought us a set with huge, clear images that were beautiful …

… but were also too big. As in oversize.

And that still had the soft old Topps cardstock.

And that seemed to exist in far larger quantities than anyone wanted.

*sigh*

Oh well … so 1989 Bowman was not a big hit. Never has been.

But it’s still chock full of superstars and big-name rookies, and that means there are some valuable cards tucked away in the albatross that no one knows how to store.

What follows, then, is a list of the 13 most valuable 1989 Bowman baseball cards as determined by actual eBay sales of PSA 10 graded copies of the cards in question.

(Note that Topps also issued a Tiffany parallel version of 1989 Bowman baseball cards, available only through hobby dealers and limited to 6000 factory sets. Tiffany versions of the single cards in PSA 10 generally sell for 5-25 times the prices listed for the base, non-glossy versions listed below.)

Let’s dig in!

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1989 Bowman Ken Griffey Jr. Rookie Card (#220)

Everybody knows that Ken Griffey, Jr., rookie cards are just about the best thing going from the Junk Wax Era.

Heck, some might even say they’re the only things going from the Junk Wax Era (though plenty of Phil Plantier and Kevin Maas collectors would argue that point).

But when you think about Junior RCs, what comes to mind?

1989 Upper Deck #1, right?

Fleer and Donruss cards from the same year … maybe. Possibly a Topps Traded card here or there.

The truth is, though, that the 1989 Bowman Griffey is every bit as much a rookie card as the rest of those, and more so than some. Like the Upper Deck beauty, after all, the Bowman debut cardboard for Griffey comes in a debut for a brand, too (although technically a revival in this case).

Of course, 1989 Bowman is not Upper Deck.

While the Bowman revamp is clean and beautiful, its funky size, mushy cardstock, and perceived lack of scarcity have blunted its popularity over the years.

Still, a Griffey rookie is a Griffey rookie, Griffey is the king of 1989 Bowman baseball cards, and condition issues have limited the population of PSA 10s to fewer than 2300 copies.

As such, you can expect to pay a handsome sum for a “perfect” copy.

Value: $225-250

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1989 Bowman Ken Griffey Father and Son (#259)

Quick!

Which 1989 set features two Ken Griffey Jr. rookie cards?

Since you’re reading an article about 1989 Bowman, you might figure that 1989 Bowman would be a pretty safe guess.

And you’d be right.

Sort of, at least.

There on card #259, Bowman (via Topps) treated collectors to a big image of Ken Griffey Sr. glaring over his right shoulder at a smaller, hands-on-knees Junior.

All inside a very-80s CRT television.

All inside a very thick white border.

It’s hideous and yet somehow gorgeous.

And … you will pay for the privilege of owning his hunk of befuddling cardboard.

Value: $75-85

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1989 Bowman Bo Jackson (#126)

Was there anybody in baseball hotter than Bo Jackson in the late 1980s?

On the field … maybe.

In our imaginations and wax packs?

Hardly anyone could touch the two-sport star and Heisman Trophy winner.

While Bo’s NFL career was cut way short by the same hip injury that also curtailed his baseball development and left him shy of the legendary numbers we all thought he might put up, his personal legend just won’t fade.

Value: $45-65

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1989 Bowman Gary Sheffield Rookie Card (#142)

Gary Sheffield first came into public view in the late 1980s as the wunderkind nephew of Dwight Gooden, who was going to be the next great Willie May/Mickey Mantle/Ozzie Smith/Rickey Henderson hybrid.

A few tepid (generous) seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers and some personality/behavioral red flags later, though, and Sheffield was a bust.

Then he went to the San Diego Padres, and things started to look up.

Then he became a full-fledged superstar with the Florida Marlins and the Los Angeles Dodgers before late-career dalliances with the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers were sullied by whispers about steroids.

No matter what you think of him personally, though, dude was super talented and wound up with 509 home runs among his nearly 2700 career hits.

Throw in 250+ stolen bases, and it’s not hard to see why Sheffield’s Bowman rookie fetches decent prices even if his road to the Hall of Fame seems impassable at this point.

Value: $50-60

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1989 Bowman Nolan Ryan (#225)

Nolan Ryan did a whole lot more on Major League mounds than just pound Robin Ventura’s face, of course.

But you know all about his 50,000 strikeouts, 123 no-hitters, and 300-mile-an-hour fastball, so I won’t belabor those points.

Just suffice it to say that Ryan is pretty much a lock to appear in the “most valuable” list for any set he graces.

Value: $45-50

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1989 Bowman Rickey Henderson (#181)

Henderson was gone from the Bronx by the time this card was issued, back with the Oakland A’s where it all started courtesy of a June 21 trade (Bowman was officially released on July 6).

But Topps and Bowman gave collectors and Yankees fans one last shot of Rickey in Pinstripes, the uniform he wore when he cemented his status as an all-timer — the greatest leadoff man and hot dog in baseball history.

Pretty much any Henderson card will end up on lists like this one, and the 1989 Bowman looks good in the process.

Value: $20-30

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1989 Bowman Don Mattingly (#176)

Even though Don Mattingly’s performance was sliding as the 1980s waned, due to a bad back that would eventually end his career, none of us could let go.

This was Donnie Baseball, the unquestioned superstar of our era, and the man who completely reshaped the hobby with his 1984 Donruss rookie card.

He’d come back.

He’d be better than ever.

He’d lead the Yankees to a championship.

He was a surefire Hall of Famer.

He wasn’t .

But Mattingly’s cards will never die, and his 1989 Bowman is still a popular buy.

Value: $30-40

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1989 Bowman Cal Ripken (#9)

Ripken wasn’t the force he had been early in the decade as the 80s turned to the 90s, but he still had plenty of rabid fans throughout the game.

Of course, he rocketed back into the hobby elite in the new decade, winning an MVP award in 1991 and surpassing Lou Gehrig on the Iron Man list in 1995.

All of Iron Cal’s cards are collector favorites these days, and this one is no exception.

Value: $20-30

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1989 Bowman John Smoltz (#266)

John Smoltz was not yet a household name in 1989, and his Atlanta Braves were going nowhere fast.

Except they were, sort of.

I mean, even then, folks thought Smoltz had great potential, and it would only be a couple of years before the Braves staged one of the most dramatic Octobers in recent(ish) memory before bowing to the Minnesota Twins in the 1991 World Series.

By then, Smoltz was starting to hit his stride and would of course go on to craft a Hall of Fame career as a starter and reliever.

Value: $25-45

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1989 Bowman Edgar Martinez (#216)

Martinez took a slow-burn approach to building his Hall of Fame career, and his cards followed suit in building a hobby following.

These days, early Edgar cards have plenty of takers, and they don’t come too much earlier than this one.

Value: $20-30

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1989 Bowman Barry Bonds (#426)

Everybody hates Barry Bonds because he’s surly, maybe/probably took steroids or other PDEs, broke records that rightfully belong to Hank Aaron and Roger Maris or Babe Ruth (or Mark McGwire, but he can’t have it either).

Oh, and Bonds did stuff in the 2000s that no one has ever done before and may never do again.

Even with all the vitriol surrounding him, it’s hard for Bonds to totally escape the accoutrements that come with being maybe the best hitter ever.

Like, for example, a middling-high price tag for an oversize card — that also no one likes — that isn’t his rookie card and is not from his most monstrous seasons.

Value: $15-25

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1989 Bowman Roger Clemens (#26)

Roger Clemens is sort of like the son of Nolan Ryan and Barry Bonds — totally dominant on the mound to an extent we rarely if ever see, but a pariah because of PED talk and general personality funkiness.

In 1989, Clemens was coming off his first non-Cy Young season since 1985, and it would take another year before he was a monster again.

Even so, he was super popular in the hobby as baseball’s premier power pitcher, and enough luster remains that his ’89 Bowman can still command some attention.

Value: $15-25

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1989 Bowman Roberto Alomar (#458)

We all thought both Sandy Alomar, Jr., and Roberto Alomar had a chance to be pretty special players.

You know, based on scouting reports and bloodlines.

Sandy eventually won the 1990 AL Rookie of the Year award for the Cleveland Indians, but it was Robbie who had the staying power to craft a Hall of Fame career.

Along the way, he also pulled in a couple of World Series rings with the Toronto Blue Jays and was a cog in some pretty darn good Indians and Baltimore Orioles teams.

Alomar’s 1989 Bowman card, a second-year offering, still has its fans.

Value: $10-20

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1989 Bowman Robin Ventura Rookie Card (#65)

Consider this one a bonus, as Ventura appeared in the initial version of this list before the pandemic boom changed the pecking order for so many card sets.

So, courtesy of the Wax Pack Nostalgia Machine …

Robin Ventura was once an Olympian, and he once got the doo-doo beat out of him by Nolan Ryan for charging the mound on the old man.

But Ventura also sort of quietly put together a really good career as a first and third baseman for the Chicago White Sox and New York Mets (along with a couple of others) that leaves him sort of in the Cooperstown parking lot.

Value: $10-20

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Want to see a video version of this article?

Kellogg’s also reduced the size of their 3D card in 1972, though, to 2-1/8” by 3-1/4″.

Issued one per “specially marked boxes” of Kellogg’s cereal, these cards were also available in complete set form via send-in offer.

Today, though all Kellogg’s cards tend to suffer from cracking, curling, and other condition issues, PSA 9 is the most common grade handed out by the grading giant.

The most valuable cards in that condition today, based on recent selling prices, are as follows:

• Roberto Clemente (#49) – $100
• Willie Mays error (#54) – $80
• Tom Seaver error (#1) – $60
• Willie Mays corrected (#54) – $60
• Pete Rose (#6) – $50
• Willie Stargell error (#53) – $40
• Tom Seaver corrected (#1) – $35
• Reggie Jackson (#20) – $35
• Billy Williams error (#46) – $25
• Willie McCovey corrected (#7) – $20
• Bob Gibson error (#26) – $20

Commons command about $15 in PSA 9 condition.

Expect to pay a few dollars to a healthy double digits for stars in nice ungraded condition.

Here is the complete 1972 Kellogg’s 3D baseball cards checklist …

1 Tom Seaver (Error: 1970 ERA shown as 2.85)

1 Tom Seaver (Corrected: 1970 ERA shown as 2.81)

2 Amos Otis

3 Willie Davis (Error: Lifetime runs 842)

3 Willie Davis  (Corrected: Lifetime runs 841)

4 Wilbur Wood

5 Bill Parsons

6 Pete Rose

7 Willie McCovey (Error: Lifetime HR 360)

7 Willie McCovey  (Corrected: Lifetime HR 370)

8 Ferguson Jenkins

9 Vida Blue (Error: Lifetime ERA 2.35)

9 Vida Blue  (Corrected: Lifetime ERA 2.31)

10 Joe Torre

11 Merv Rettenmund

12 Bill Melton

13 Jim Palmer (Error: Lifetime games 170)

13 Jim Palmer  (Corrected: Lifetime games 168)

14 Doug Rader

15 Dave Roberts (Error: NL missing in bio)

15 Dave Roberts (Corrected: NL in bio line 2)

16 Bobby Murcer

17 Wes Parker

18 Joe Coleman (Error: Lifetime BB 294)

18 Joe Coleman (Corrected: Lifetime BB 393)

19 Manny Sanguillen

20 Reggie Jackson

21 Ralph Garr

22 Jim Hunter

23 Rick Wise

24 Glenn Beckert

25 Tony Oliva

26 Bob Gibson (Error: Lifetime SO 2577)

26 Bob Gibson (Corrected: Lifetime SO 2578)

27 Mike Cuellar (Error: 1971 ERA 3.80)

27 Mike Cuellar (Corrected: 1971 ERA 3.08)

28 Chris Speier

29 Dave McNally (Error: Lifetime ERA 3.18)

29 Dave McNally (Corrected: Lifetime ERA 3.15)

30 Leo Cardenas

31 Bill Freehan (Error: Lifetime runs 497)

31 Bill Freehan (Corrected: Lifetime runs 500)

32 Bud Harrelson (Error: Lifetime hits 634)

32 Bud Harrelson (Corrected: Lifetime hits 624)

33 Sam McDowell (Error: Bio line 3 has ‘less than 200)’

33 Sam McDowell (Corrected: Bio line 3 has ‘less than 225’)

34 Claude Osteen (Error: 1971 ERA 3.25)

34 Claude Osteen (Corrected: 1971 ERA 3.51)

35 Reggie Smith

36 Sonny Siebert

37 Lee May

38 Mickey Lolich

39 Cookie Rojas (Error: Lifetime 2B 149)

39 Cookie Rojas (Corrected: Lifetime 2B 150)

40 Dick Drago (Error: Bio line 3 has Poyals)

40 Dick Drago (Corrected: Bio line 3 has Royals)

41 Nate Colbert

42 Andy Messersmith

43 Dave Johnson (Error: Lifetime AB 3110 avg. .262)

43 Dave Johnson (Corrected: Lifetime AB 3113 avg. .264)

44 Steve Blass

45 Bob Robertson

46 Billy Williams (Error: Bio has ‘missed only one game’)

46 Billy Williams (Corrected: Bio has that line eliminated)

47 Juan Marichal

48 Lou Brock

49 Roberto Clemente

50 Mel Stottlemyre

51 Don Wilson

52 Sal Bando (Error: Lifetime RBI 355)

52 Sal Bando (Corrected: Lifetime RBI 356)

53 Willie Stargell (Error: Lifetime 2B 197)

53 Willie Stargell (Corrected: Lifetime 2B 196)

54 Willie Mays (Error: Lifetime RBI 1855)

54 Willie Mays (Corrected: Lifetime RBI 1856)

Still, this 56-card set was popular at the time of issue for including the extended rookie cards (XRC) — basically the first overall Donruss cards — of several exciting young players. Among those were Matt Nokes, Kevin Seitzer, Joe Magrane, Matt Williams, and others.

Issued only through hobby dealers, each full set also included a 15-piece puzzle of Roberto Clemente, a smaller version of the puzzle inserted three pieces at a time in 1987 Donruss wax packs.

Today, three cards from this set lead the way in terms of value ( based on recent selling prices for PSA 10 copies):

• Greg Maddux (#52) – $175
• Bo Jackson (#14) – $150
• Mark McGwire (#1) – $125

Stars like Fred McGriff, Rafael Palmeiro, and Williams sell for $30-50 in perfect slabbed condition, while commons usually check in at $10 or less.

Expect to pay just a few dollars for any of the top cards in nice raw condition, while ungraded commons bring just pennies.

(Note: The sections below may contain affiliate links to eBay and Amazon listings for the cards being discussed. Check out our full series of posts on the history of Donruss baseball cards.)

Here is the complete 1987 Donruss “The Rookies” checklist:

1 Mark McGwire
2 Eric Bell
3 Mark Williamson
4 Mike Greenwell
5 Ellis Burks (XRC)
6 DeWayne Buice
7 Mark McLemore
8 Devon White
9 Willie Fraser
10 Les Lancaster
11 Ken Williams
12 Matt Nokes (XRC)
13 Jeff Robinson (Jeff M. Robinson)
14 Bo Jackson
15 Kevin Seitzer (XRC)
16 Bill Ripken
17 B.J. Surhoff
18 Chuck Crim
19 Mike Birkbeck
20 Chris Bosio
21 Les Straker
22 Mark Davidson
23 Gene Larkin (XRC)
24 Ken Gerhart
25 Luis Polonia (XRC)
26 Terry Steinbach
27 Mickey Brantley
28 Mike Stanley
29 Jerry Browne
30 Todd Benzinger
31 Fred McGriff
32 Mike Henneman (XRC)
33 Casey Candaele
34 Dave Magadan
35 David Cone
36 Mike Jackson
37 John Mitchell (XRC)
38 Mike Dunne
39 John Smiley (XRC)
40 Joe Magrane (XRC)
41 Jim Lindeman
42 Shane Mack
43 Stan Jefferson
44 Benito Santiago
45 Matt Williams (XRC)
46 Dave Meads
47 Rafael Palmeiro
48 Bill Long
49 Bob Brower
50 James Steels
51 Paul Noce
52 Greg Maddux
53 Jeff Musselman
54 Brian Holton
55 Chuck Jackson
56 Checklist (#1-56)

Issued in November of ‘ 86 during the very heart of rookie card mania, The Rookies was a 56-card set that served as Donruss’s answer to Topps Traded and Fleer Update … but with no pretense of trying to get swapped guys into their correct uniforms.

Nope.

The Rookies was all about — you guessed it! — the players who had lit up the summer and the hobby with their debut seasons. Didn’t matter that some of the dudes, like Jose Canseco and Andres Galarraga, already had 1986 Donruss card, courtesy of the base set.

All that mattered was that Donruss could shower the hobby with more rookie cards by firing up the printing presses one more time late in the year. And, by peppering in some big-hype rookies we had scarcely seen on cardboard before (looking at you, Wally Joyner), Donruss ensured we’d flock to this set that was available only through hobby dealers.

And so we did.

And we’ve been coming back to The Rookies for decades, as the checklist has yielded breakout stars and busts and rebounding stars in an almost endless cycle. Plenty of these babies still bring decent prices today when you can find them in top graded condition, too.

What follows, then, is a rundown of the most valuable 1986 Donruss The Rookies basbeall cards, by measure of recent selling prices for copies in PSA 9 condition. We’ll start at the bottom of the top 10 and work our way up from there.

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Baseball Cards

1986 Donruss Rookies Bobby Bonilla (#30)

Bonilla started his professional career by signing as an amateur free agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates all the way back in 1981. Four years later, after he worked his way up to Double-A and then sliding back to Single-A, the Bucs left Bonilla unprotected in the Rule 5 Draft.

The White Sox bit and kept Bonilla on the MLB roster, where he made his way into 75 games, hitting .269 with a couple of home runs.

And that’s where we find him on his The Rookies card, hitting for the White Sox.

But in between the moment this shot was snapped and the release of the actual card, Bobby Bo caught another team’s eye, and the ChiSox traded him … to the Pittsburgh Pirates, in exchange for Jose DeLeon.

This time, Bonilla stuck with the Pirates and went about building his star next to Barry Bonds over the next half decade or so.

Today, Bonilla is more “celebrated” for his Everlasting Gobstopper of a contract with the New York Mets, but enough old-time collectors remember the days when he outpaced even Bonds on some “best young stars” lists to keep his baseball cards visible all these years later.

Value: $5-10

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1986 Donruss Rookies Kelly Gruber (#16)

The first-round draft pick (10th overall) of the moribund Cleveland Indians in 1980, Gruber spent four long seasons climbing the Tribe’s minor league ladder, flashing improving power along the way but blocked at third base by Toby Harrah and then Brook Jacoby.

Gruber’s release from purgatory was granted in December of 1983 when the Blue Jays selected him in the Rule 5 draft.

The hot corner man debuted for Toronto in April of 1984 but spent most of that summer and the next with Triple-A Syracuse before landing in the bigs for good to open 1986.

His .196 batting average and five home runs didn’t register a blip with Rookie-of-the-Year voters or collectors, but Donruss nabbed him for The Rookies debut.

Somewhat amazingly, though, this card was bested by well over a year since Fleer had included Gruber on a Major League Prospects card, alongside Detroit’s Randy O’Neal, in their 1985 base set.

Still, Gruber’s first Donruss card and all his other early issues took on some hobby weight when he started flashing some decent power as Toronto started winning in the latter half of the ‘80s.

Value: $5-10

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1986 Donruss Rookies Andres Galarraga (#7)

As with the Jose Canseco card in this set, this Big Cat issue was an exercise in dollar-grabbing and checklist-padding.

After all, Galarraga had already made the cut, big time, in the 1986 Donruss base set, nabbing one of the coveted Rated Rookie slots. The young first baseman helped justify the early cardboard that summer, hitting .271 with ten home runs and 42 RBI in just 105 games for the Expos.

Of course, Galarraga would go on to superstar status over the next decade, first with Montreal and then with the expansion Colorado Rockies.

Though Big Cat’s overall numbers fall way short of Cooperstown levels, he made a big enough splash in the game for nearly 20 years to keep his cards bouncing along on lists like this one.

Value: $5-10

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1986 Donruss Rookies Kevin Mitchell (#17)

After a cold cup of coffee with the Mets in September of 1984 (.214, 0 home runs in seven games) following a so-so first summer at Triple-A, Mitchell spent all of 1985 back with the Tidewater Tides.

Things were more rosy for the slugging prospect in 1986, as he stuck in New York all season, filling a utility role with enough aplomb to make 106 appearances across six defensive positions, plus a healthy helping of pinch-hitting.

Mitchell cobbled all that together into a .277 average with 12 home runs and 43 RBI, enough to land him third in National League Rookie of the Year voting behind Todd Worrell and Robby Thompson.

The youngster was mostly a non-factor in October but did pick up two hits and scored a run in each of the National League Championship Series and World Series as the Mets won their second title (the first coming in 1969).

All of that made Mitchell an appealing draw in the season-ending sets, including this shot of him at work in the box.

A December trade sent Mitchell, Shawn Abner, Stan Jefferson, and a couple minor leaguers to the Padres in exchange for Kevin McReynolds and Gene Walter (and minor leaguer Adam Ging).

The next July, the Pads flipped Mitchell, Dave Dravecky, and Craig Lefferts to the Giants in exchange for Chris Brown, Keith Comstock, Mark Davis, Mark Grant.

Those deals set the stage for Mitchell’s greatest act, an MVP performance in 1989 that included 47 home runs and helped the Giants to a National League pennant. His cards were firecracker-hot that summer, and the earliest ones still retain some of that decades-old sheen.

Value: $10-13

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1986 Donruss Rookies Wally Joyner (#1)

Without Wally Joyner and his first-half exploits in 1986, it’s possible this set would have never existed.

Seriously, Joyner’s out-of-nowhere splashdown in Anaheim had the entire sport and hobby scrambling.

See …

Joyner grabbed the Angels starting first base job out of Spring Training and started hitting right away. By the end of April, he was sitting at .305 with six home runs.

By the end of June, he was sitting on 19 dingers, and it looked like he might break the rookie home run record held jointly at that time by Wally Berger and Hall of Famer Frank Robinson.

And … well, collectors were losing our collective minds.

We *needed* a Wally Joyner rookie card! We’d give the right leg off one of our Ray Knight cards to get one, in fact (a low bar, admittedly).

But … such a beast didn’t exist.

Topps and Fleer were licking their chops at the prospect of including Wally World in their year-end Traded and Update sets, respectively, while Donruss was left to wring their hands.

Big D didn’t have a ready year-end rookie vehicle, outside of maybe including the rooks in their Highlights set.

And, so, The Rookies was born.

Joyner cooled off in the second half, finishing with “just” 22 home runs, but collectors still loved him and flocked to all his cards that fall.

In the meantime, Fleer short-circuited the process, by creating Baseball’s Best box set to capture the phenom while the season was still raging. That’s Joyner’s first MLB card, and we poured our dollars into it with great fervor.

But it was his The Rookies card we loved the most, and it was the most monumental – card #1 in the first rendition of what would become a hobby staple.

If that reminds you of Ken Griffey, Jr., and Upper Deck, well, UD was never one to let a great copycat moment pass them by.

As for Joyner, he never again generated the sort of excitement that set baseball ablaze in the first half of 1986, even though he turned in better overall seasons in a 16-year career that produced more than 2000 hits and more than 200 home runs.

Most of Joyner’s cards have long since slid toward the bottom of the star pile, but his rookie cards – and maybe most especially his The Rookies rookie card – still hold a mystique the hobby can’t shake.

Value: $10-15

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1986 Donruss Rookies Jose Canseco (#22)

Canseco was the rookie darling of the sport entering the 1986 season, thanks to a .333/36 HR/127 RBI combined line at the Double- and Triple-A level in 1985.

Didn’t hurt that he capped that off with a September cup of coffee that included five more dingers just a couple months past his 21st birthday.

The hobby was ready to devour some Jose Canseco baseball cards, and Donruss and Fleer decided to oblige us right away by including him in their 1986 base sets – a Rated Rookie and Major League Prospects card, respectively.

Canseco had to share the spotlight with Wally Joyner early in the campaign as the Angels’ wunderkind surprised everyone with a season-opening power barrage, but by the end of the summer, Jose was top dog among rookies.

And rookie cards.

Just as we had expected him to be.

Donruss wasn’t going to miss out on that momentum, and so there Jose was amid all the other The Rookies that fall.

Like most other Canseco cards, this one ebbed and flowed with his on-field performance and chicanery levels over the years. And, since the Hall of Fame won’t be measuring Jose for his plaque any time soon, it’s no surprise this RC lands a middle-of-the-pack slot here.

Value: $10-17

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1986 Donruss Rookies Will Clark (#32)

Will Clark arrived in the majors in 1986 to a fair bit of hype. Not surprising when you consider he …

was the hitting star for 1984 United States Olympic baseball team.

won the 1985 Golden Spikes Award as the top college player in the nation.

was the second overall pick (Giants) in the 1985 draft.

hit .310 with 10 home runs in 65 games during his only full(ish) minor league season.

Clark also didn’t have any 1986 base cards, so his end-of-year issues took on extra weight.

But while “The Thrill” had a solid rookie season, batting .287 with 11 home runs in 111 games and finishing fifth in National League Rookie of the Year balloting, that performance got swallowed up by bigger stories – Wally Joyner, Jose Canseco, Bo Jackson, etc.

Still, the future was bright, and this was Clark’s first Donruss card, so collectors loved it, and so did the hobby media – this became one of the enduring images from the set in stories and ads for decades.

Today, this Will Clark rookie card is as popular as ever, thanks to the near-Hall of Fame career The Natural put together, and a general appreciation for his hardnose approach to the game and hardline stance on PEDs in sport.

If Clark ever does get the Cooperstown call, you can expect even heftier prices for this card.

Value: $12-18

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1986 Donruss Rookies Ruben Sierra (#52)

Ruben Sierra was one of the most exciting young players in the game in the mid-1980s, part of an emerging core of Texas Rangers prospects who threatened to overrun the game.

And, even among the likes of Oddibe McDowell, Pete Incaviglia, Bobby Witt, Jose Guzman, Ed Correa, and seemingly scores of others, Sierra stood out.

Debuting in the majors at just 20 years of age in 1986, Sierra displayed double-digit power and decent average, along with enough speed to steal double-digit bases (someday) and knock (yes) double-digit triples.

Over the first few years of his big league career, Sierra progressed, bumping up the average, cranking up the home runs, revving up the legs.

It all came to a localized peak in 1989 when El Caballo hit .306 with 29 home runs and 119 RBI, along with a majors-leading 14 triples.

Sierra’s rookie cards, already simmering in the background as guys like Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire burned through the hobby, caught their own brand of fire.

This one led the way.

But that summer with the Rangers turned out to be Sierra’s career peak, and he never approached that level of all-around excellence again, though he stayed in the majors through his age-40 season in 2006.

His cards cooled along the way, naturally, but his “The Rookies” entry maintains enough of that early mystique to keep it on lists like this one.

Value: $15-20

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1986 Donruss Rookies Bo Jackson (#38)

This card wasn’t the main draw when The Rookies debuted (hello, Wally Joyner), but it became an instant classic.

Like the 1986 Topps Traded Bo Jackson card, this one shows the Royals (and Raiders) phenom in a studio shot and …

Hey, wait a minute!

Those two cards show Jackson in the same studio shot!

Maybe that’s why both of these issues look so familiar and iconic whenever you see them, huh? Double the pleasure.

Either way (or both, as the case may be), Jackson lit up our imaginations with what might be possible for him as he went about crafting and All-Star profile on the diamond *and* a Pro-Bowl resume on the gridiron for the Raiders.

And, even though a hip injury suffered in a January 1991 playoff game against the Bengals killed his NFL career and truncated his MLB run, cards of the 1985 Heisman Trophy winner still make smile … and pull out our wallets.

Value: $20-30

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1986 Donruss Rookies Barry Bonds (#11)

As a college standout, first-round draft pick, and son of an All-Star major leaguer, Barry Bonds generated a decent hunk of hype as he worked toward his 1986 debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Hailed as a five-tool player, Bonds flashed all of them in a brief, one-and-a-half year in the minors, showing decent power and speed while hitting around .300

His rookie season in the bigs was more of a mixed bag – .223 batting average, but with 16 home runs and 36 stolen bases (and, of course, 65 walks). It was enough to get fans talking about his 30-30 potential, especially since his dad, Bobby Bonds, held the record with five entries into that club.

It was also enough to make his entry in The Rookies more than an afterthought, if not by a lot. Of course, by the time Bonds had ripped off five 30-30 seasons of his own, piled up a mantel of MVP awards, shattered home run records, and stamped his ticket to the Hall of Fame, this card became the main attraction.

And then …

Well, PEDs, of course.

Still, today, after all the records and controversy, this Barry Bonds rookie card battles the Bo Jackson card for supremacy among The Rookies, and the outcome shifts like a ball in the Candlestick wind.

Value: $20-30

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