1981 Topps Baseball Collection Overview. But it was in the fall of 1981, on the heels of a full season of head-to-head competition that Topps finally took the plunge and issued a full-out, standalone boxed set featuring rookies and players who had been traded during the season (or too late in the 1980-81 offseason to be reflected in the base set). This 1981 Topps card is something of an early Junk Wax Era classic, showing Rose as he looked in helping lead the Philadelphia Phillies to the 1980 World Series title. Which card is the most valuable? The top trending card in 1981 Topps is currently Willie Stargell's 1981 Topps Base. We may never know the full truth, and its looking like Petes lifetime ban will never be lifted. I was hooked and have been collecting ever since that day. Pre-Owned. By the time he retired in 2003, Henderson had established himself as one of the all-time greats not just on the basepaths but at the dish, as well. When 1981 Topps baseball cards hit store shelves that spring, they were playing in a brave and scary new world. Will trade for 1978-1983 baseball, 2007 A&G Black Minis, 2007 Topps Heritage SPs and Bowman Heritage SPs. Numbering continues on from where the base Topps sets left off, starting at 727 and running trough 858. Click the links below to view the checklists. eBay. Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, The Last Johnny Bench Card Was a Real Champion. PriceIt Game | Unfortunately as a kid I would take the pack fresh cards and position the players out on the field in their proper positions and as they scooted along the ugly green carpet of those days the corners and entire cards even would crease and fold as I would scoot them along playing my imaginary ball game in my head. Did you know that baseball card sets in the Baseball Card Database which do Then there is a full color photo of each player in a close up or in action shot of the player. 207 Ozzie Smith Record Breaker - Padres. Here are the most valuable of the lot, starting at the bottom of the top 7 and moving up from there. After a mid-season call-up in 1979, Rickey Henderson turned in his first full season in the Major Leagues in 1980. 1988 Topps Tiffany Baseball Cards Complete Your Set You U Pick From List 1-200 1 Vince Coleman RB St. Louis Cardinals 2 Don Mattingly RB New York Yankees 3a Mark McGwire RB, ERR Oakland Athletics 3b Mark McGwire RB, COR Oakland Athletics 4a E. Sold as box sets, 1981 Topps Traded was available to some of the hobby's first dealers. No matter what, though, Bench is the guy who revolutionized offensive production from the catcher position and helped drive The Big Red Machine to all that 1970s glory. NOTE: Many features on the COMC.com web site require Javascript and cookies. One of the few rookies in the set is a curious one: Danny Ainge. . - Trivia Before Ainge helped the Boston Celtics gun for NBA titles on a perennial basis in the 1980s, he was a 15th-round draft pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1977. . BUYING!! Whatever the case, Cleveland turned out to be a pretty decent stop for Blylevens career, as he put several more Hall-of-Fame building blocks into place while toiling for some pretty bad teams. - Forum Was Mike Schmidt the greatest third baseman of all time? The most notable thing about 1981 Topps Baseball is its design. Few players were as loved and hated at the same time as Reggie Jackson was during the 1970s and early 1980s. $12.95. 853 Bob Walk. - Packaging Baseball Card Errors: Browse By: . 1981 Topps Baseball complete set with Tim Raines & Harold Baines rookie Nice! All Rights Reserved, 1 1980 Batting Leaders - George Brett / Bill Buckner, Dodgers Future Stars - Fernando Valenzuela RC, Mike Scioscia RC, Jack Perconte RC #302, Expos Future Stars - Tim Raines RC, Roberto Ramos RC, Bobby Pate RC #479. powerful image on his 1981 Topps card is enough to remind us if weve somehow let it fade of just how great he was. Slab Strong (Protective Slab Bumper Sleeves). Anyone who didnt see Roy Hobbs rounding the bases that evening just wasnt paying attention. Fans and collectors havent forgotten Benchs accomplishments, either, as evidenced by the value of his baseball cards and regular appearances on lists like this. Shame but as a 3y old I had no clue. Thanks to Roses run at Ty Cobbs all-time hits record in 1985, right as the cardboard frenzy was skyrocketing, Charlie Hustle became the second living player ignite a constant and escalating demand for his cards. Instead, 1981 Topps Traded has the first solo cards for many players, including Tim Raines and Fernando Valenzuela. Change Log | Rookie cards, autographs and more. - Errors / Variations His three-year run in the majors ended the same year 1981 his rookie cards debuted, as he wisely decided to return to the hardwood. Gallery | PLEASE KEEP THE CREDIT CARD YOU USE TO BID ON FILE! 0% When Rose tumbled in 1989, his cards slid back a bit, and then the explosion of the 1990s and 2000s sorta soured everyone on most everything. Even though there are some Hall of Fame rookies and plenty of stars, this set still seems to fly under the radar in terms of popularity among hobbyists. 202 Steve Carlton Record Breaker - Phillies. Your input, assistance, suggestions, and / or corrections are sincerely 1975 Topps Baseball Card Sets, Topps Football Trading Card Sets, Topps 1960s Grade 8 Professional Sports PSA Baseball Cards, Topps Soccer Trading Cards 2016 Topps Kick Set Sports; Additional site navigation. My introduction to the hobby was in 1981 at the age of 8 when my mother bought me a rack pack of 1981 Topps baseball from a local "dime" store during my childhood living in Upper Michigan (it's no longer in business). User Agreement. A quartet of the decade's biggest fan favorites have rookie cards in 1981 Topps Baseball. AutoCheck vehicle history reports deliver information on reported accidents, odometer rollback, lemon vehicles, branded titles and much more. 1981 82 Topps Baseball Card Complete Set Lot x(2) Ripken Gibson Valenzuela Rcs, 1981 Topps Baseball Pick Complete Your Set #251-500 RC Stars, 1981 Topps Baseball Cards Complete Set - NM Average - Set #4, 1981 Topps Traded Baseball Cards Complete Your Set You U Pick From List 727-858, 1981 TOPPS BASEBALL COMPLETE 792 CARD SET RAINES (RC) Henderson,RYAN w/BINDER NM, 1981 Topps Baseball Pick Complete Your Set #1-250 RC Stars, 1982 TOPPS COMPLETE SET. When Fernandomania swept the nation in 1981, the hobby fell right in line. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. And, boy did Fernando Valenzuela deliver! As things turned out, Seaver had to settle for leading the majors for the last time in wins, with 14, while sporting a stingy 2.54 ERA. WE CANNOT SHIP YOUR ITEMS UNLESS SHIPPING IS PAID FOR. Though it was slow to catch on, 1981 Topps Traded has become a hobby standard over the years. Or most anything else that I like. - Hall of Famers Top Rated Plus. 5 1980 Victory Leaders - Steve Stone / Steve Carlton. The prices shown are the lowest prices available for Ron Jaworski the last time we updated. Share your knowledge of Mike Scioscia is also on the Valenzuela rookie. Ungraded & graded values for all '82 Topps Baseball Cards. Shortcuts: Numbering continues on from where 1981 Topps Baseball finished off. - Comments Copyright 1999- Susbcribe to PREMIUM! Population figures are broken into exclusive lines: Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) & PSA/DNA are divisions of Collectors Universe, Inc. Get free collecting news from leading hobby professionals, in-depth articles, breaking news, insightful videos & more! And, though, the Pine Tar man cooled off considerably during that strike-torn summer, he still made another All-Star appearance and helped K.C. Summary Vehicle History Report below provided by AutoCheck. His Hall of Fame election has come under a ton of scrutiney, but , with close to 3000 hits and 400 homers, theres no doubt Baines was a star during his career. No More Secrets Puzzle Game, Orioles Future Stars [Bonner, Ripken, Schneider] #21, Pascual Perez [No Position on Front] #383, Stolen Base Leaders [T. Raines, R. Henderson] #164. Trivia | While many collectors remember these players fondly, they don't command huge sums on the secondary market. Yes, that Danny Ainge who would go on to play 15 NBA seasons before moving up to the front offices. Hot on the heels of Joe Charboneaus slugging rookie season and not far removed from the excitement of The Bird Mark Fidrych in 1976, we were ready for our next phenom. 1981 Topps Traded Baseball isn't the first update series Topps did, but its format and distribution launched a revolution. We use cookies to improve your experience. All signs point to yes, and this card points to Schmitty right in the midst of his absolute prime. Copyright 2023 Trading Card Database LLC Valenzuela never quite lived up to his hype after that amazing rookie season but still turned in a long, productive career. Contributors | - Videos In the end, Baines was a six-time all-star who fell off the Cooperstown ballot after five tries but then made the Veterans Committee cut in 2019. This first standalone Topps Fernando card is as iconic as any pasteboard issued by any company that year, and it remains a strong seller. Records for all cards, tickets, packs, coins and pins graded by PSA. And this card was there at the very beginning. 1981 Topps Baseball. Buy and sell 1981 Topps Baseball Cards at gfg.com, your No. Oh, and coincidentally, he also turned in his first 100-stolen base season and served notice that the recently retired Lou Brock might have reason to sweat. The top trending card in 1981 Topps is currently Willie Stargell's . 203 Bill Gullickson Record Breaker - Expos. 1981 topps Baseball Card Checklists. Collection Summary. Read our methodology. buy stuff after clicking links on our site Find out for yourself with our FREE checklist to guide you step-by-step. And, though the Reds put up the best record in the majors, Cincy missed out on the playoffs thanks to the funky split-season format, leaving this classic card as perhaps our best reminder of a glorious if truncated summer. Home Sports Card Sets Baseball Card Sets 1980-1989 Baseball Cards 1981 Topps Traded Baseball Cards. You could make a pretty strong case that this card is the entire reason the 1981 Topps Traded set and standalone traded/update sets in general exist at all. (Note: The following sections contains affiliate links to listings for the cards being discussed.). There is a white border around the card, and then a color border inside of the white border. Final numbers included 3055 hits, 297 home runs, 1115 RBI, 2295 runs, 2190 walks, and 1406 stolen bases. Though hes been out of the limelight for a long time now, Lefty remains one of the greatest to ever trod the mound, and his cards sort of simmer along in the upper reaches of each set without making a lot of noise. The 1981 Topps baseball card set consist of 726 standard size cards that measure 2" by 3". Unlike Fernando Valenzuela, it took Kirk Gibson awhile to get rolling in the Big Leagues after the Detroit Tigers made him their first-round pick in the 1978 draft out of Michigan State. As mentioned, the most prominent feature of the card front is the ball cap that's at the bottom of the card. Pitchers with 300 Wins and Their Baseball Cards. favorite? In case you dont remember, that was the night Gibson basically crawled out of the dugout to hit a game-winning home run into the Los Angeles darkness. The design of 1981 Topps Traded Baseball mimics that of the regular 1981 Topps Baseball set, which is notable for its baseball cap icon on the front. 205 Pete Rose Record Breaker - Phillies. Over 22 years, he collected 2866 hits and 384 home runs for five different franchises, all in the American League. The set consisted of 726 baseball cards and each card from the 1981 Topps baseball card set is listed below. Be Vewy Vewy Quiet Im Hunting Shooty Babitt, 1957 Topps Baseball Cards 15 Most Valuable, 1967 Topps Baseball Cards 17 Most Valuable, 1959 Topps Baseball Cards 17 Most Valuable, 1961 Topps Baseball Cards 16 Most Valuable, 1986 ProCards Pittsfield Cubs Rafael Palmeiro Left Room for Interpretation Wax Pack Gods, 1998 Upper Deck Final Tribute Captured Eddie Murray in His Second Home Wax Pack Gods, Players with 3000 Hits and 500 Home Runs Wax Pack Gods, Card Traders Near Me: Where to Find Them!