Canadian baseball cards printed in the French language are uncommon, which shows on this baseball card as it is bi-lingual. One thing I always found a bit strange about Yount's career was that he was a two-time MVP but appeared in just three All-Star games, the lowest amount of any Hall of Famer since the game's inception. Raw: $20 PSA 9: $100 PSA 10: $900 One of the most popular players of his era, Vladimir Guerrero was the No. At 41 years of age, it seemed time had finally caught up to Boston Red Sox designated hitter/first baseman Carl Yastrzemski in 1981. Like the 1981 Fleer and Topps sets, large print runs saturated the market with these cards, driving down their values. Featured here is a 1981 Topps Coca Cola baseball card signed by Aurelio Lopez. But, this will always be the set that got their foot into the red-hot market of the 1980s. The 2-time MVP, 19-time All-Star and record holder for most consecutive games played easily goes down in history as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, shortstops to play the game. On May 29th against the San Francisco Giants, Bench slid into second base, attempting to break up a double play but fractured his left ankle in the process. However, once he was in San Diego, Templeton's hitting declined drastically and he'd never bat over .300 again. Today only a graded high-condition example gets that kind of money. Jackson's time in New York wasn't exactly smooth as he occasionally clashed with teammates, manager Billy Martin and owner George Steinbrenner, contributing to an environment that earned the team the nickname "The Bronx Zoo.". Its $300 PSA 10 price tag is no mistake. It has been certified authentic by Beckett Authentication (BAS) and comes encapsulated in their tamper-proof holder. . Price: $299.75 Grade: PSA 10. There are no scratches, bends, or folds. Ungraded & graded values for all '81 Topps Baseball Cards. In Game 4 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he'd return with New York holding a 2-1 advantage to try and help the team across the finish line. Murray appeared in his second All-Star Game that season and finished things off with a fifth-place finish in the MVP vote, one of six times he finished in the top five in his storied career. . 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson RC #482. $29. Like Roger Clemens, Kirby Puckett has a 1984 Fleer Update XRC. By the time these Hall of Famers retired, Brett had three batting titles and Carew had an eye-popping seven. Click on a Card detail page to see historic prices and values for all different grades. During his first year with the Angels, Jackson proved he still had plenty left in the tank and led the Majors with 39 home runs and finished sixth in the MVP vote. Card Number: #418. Easily the most valuable gem mint in the set, this card from the Man of Steal garners between $600-900 on the secondary markets. He earned four varsity letters, two for college and two for the major leagues. To be fair, though, his innings pitched totals in Houston weren't as steep as those during his time in California, and his 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings in 1987 was the highest mark of his career. PSA Price Guide for 1982 Donruss Baseball Card Values - Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) & PSA/DNA Authentication Services Services No More Secrets Puzzle Game, Ungraded In 196 plate appearances (178 at-bats), he slashed .309/.369/.489 with eight home runs and 25 RBI. It was a fitting punctuation mark for one of Ryan's best seasons on the mound. 5 Most Valuable Baseball Cards 1980s - Nerdable.com Get my weekly newsletter with the latest hobby updates delivered straight to your inbox! An Enrique Romo Signed Baseball card that has been authenticated by a grading service is pretty hard to find. Rose hit .300 (6-for-20) with two RBI and a run scored in the losing effort. 5 Underrated 1981 Donruss Baseball Cards. The reverse of this card is just one of the many quirks found inside Donruss's debut set. On his 1982 Topps card, Ripken is sandwiched between Bob Bonner and Jeff Schneider as part of the "Future Stars" subset with the Baltimore Orioles. The defending AL champions were a mess early, though. The 1981 Topps baseball card set consist of 726 standard size cards that measure 2" by 3". And, over the next twenty-two years, he would develop into one of the greatest players of his era with twelve All-Star selections, seven Gold Gloves and six Silver Sluggers to his name. When graded gem mint 10 by PSA, the value has gone as high as $180,000. Most valuable baseball cards of the 1980s For example, his .693 OPS was the worst of his career by nearly 40 points (.721, 1961), and it was almost 150 points less than his career mark of .841. His .758 OPS marked the first time he'd dropped under .817 since 1968. In 2004 he was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame; in 2005 he was enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Even more impressive, his 1982 Topps issue wasn't his last card as he also made it into the 1983 Topps set. Philadelphia fell in five games to the Montreal Expos in an entertaining National League Division Series. Only Tony Gwynn had come closer to batting .400 or better since Ted Williams last did it in 1941 when Gwynn batted .394 in 110 games during the strike-shortened 1994 season. It didn't matter, though, as the Reds missed out on the playoffs and a rejuvenated Tom Seaver was denied one last hurrah in October. List by Card #, You own: 0 / 865 items It is also (by a slight margin) the most valuable card in the 1984 Topps Football set. Carew's career batting average ended up at .328, while his best single-season average was .388 in 1977. Things weren't all rosy for Smith, however, as his relationship with Padres owner Ray Kroc and his wife Joan became publicly sour. Like his base card, his All-Star card is just as tough to find in PSA 10 condition and also carries a large price tag. Its nice design and classic pose have helped make it one of the most recognizable cards in the hobby, not just from the 1980s. If not for Fernando Valenzuela's incredible rookie performance and "Fernandomania" taking the sport by storm, Raines would've easily won the 1981 NL Rookie of the Year Award. 50 Most Valuable Baseball Cards of All Time | Stadium Talk The 1981 season was the St. Louis Cardinals 100th season in St. Louis, Missouri, and their 90th year in the National League (NL). One of the most interesting things about Dave Winfield, and a sign of his incredible athletic ability, was that four professional teams across three different sports drafted him. Interestingly, Ryan's highest single-season strikeout total in nine years with the Houston Astros was only 270 in 1987, a year in which he also led the NL with a 2.76 ERA. 1981 Topps Kellen Winslow Rookie Card (#150) Winslow took the big-bodied, good-hands tight end model that Newsome brought to the fore and ran with it (after the catch!). The cards featured in this list represent the most coveted and desired of all 1981 Topps Baseball cards. When collectors think back to the junk wax era, one of the first sets to jump into minds is 1987 Topps Baseball. While the 1982 Topps baseball card set may not ever be known as the company's best-looking in terms of design, it did pack a lot of star power and two Hall of Fame rookie cards. Local card shops, department stores and gas stations-- to say boxes of these cards were everywhere might be the understatement of the decade. Average ungraded base card value (excludes parallels) for 1981 Topps 10 Most Valuable Basketball Cards from the 1980s - Gold Card Auctions , Dodgers Future Star [Perconte, Scioscia, Valenzuela] #302, Expos Future Stars [T. Raines, R. Ramos, B. Brock crossed the mark with a single on August 13, 1979 while Yaz hit a single of his own on September 12, 1979 to join the club. Ozzie was always one of my favorite players to watch as a kid as his acrobatic defensive play left fans in awe time after time as he went on to collect 13 Gold Glove awards. 1956 Topps Mickey Mantle #135. Estimated PSA 9 Mint Value: $120. The Five Most Expensive Houston Astros Baseball Cards Value: $300-325. 21 Most Valuable 1981 Donruss Baseball Cards 1981 Topps Traded 816 Tim Raines Montreal Expos Rookie Card. Clocking in at 605 cards in total, this set made history when it first debuted. Wilson hit a weak grounder towards Boston's Bill Buckner at first base, and the ball squeaked by him, allowing Wilson to reach first base safely while Ray Knight scored the winning run. After nearly a decade-and-a-half as the standard for MLB catchers, Cincinnati Reds Hall-of-Famer Johnny Bench changed positions for the 1981 season. Click on any Donruss Set to see a full list of Cards and their current value. 1981 Topps Traded Tim Raines Rookie Baseball Card #816 NM-MT FREE SHIPPING. No. Oakland swept three straight from the Kansas City Royals in the ALDS but, the tables turned in the ALCS when the Yankees eliminated them in three. The course of Seaver's career would take a significant turn at the trading deadline in 1977, though, when he was involved in "the Midnight Massacre" that sent him to the Reds. Read our methodology . Seaver was nothing short of incredible for the Reds that season but Los Angeles's Fernando Valenzuela was just a bit better and out-pointed Seaver in the Cy Young vote 70 to 67. In his seventh season in the Majors, Yount broke out in a big way in 1980 as he led the league in doubles (49) while scoring 121 runs, driving in 87 RBI, and hitting 23 home runs to earn his first trip to the All-Star Game. 19 Most Valuable 1981 Topps Baseball Cards Price List. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993. The season was noted for the change in playoff format, which created the first-ever Divisional Series with a qualification variant that existed only for that season; and the players strike, which truncated the regular season. 1981 Topps Expos Future Card Tim Haines Auto, 6. PSA 6. Many thought his career was slowly but surely coming to an end. 1981 Fleer Rickey Henderson #351, #574. 1 Rickey Henderson #119. The problem was that the 33-year-old Bench simply wasn't healthy. Cards like this tend to have more value than regular ones. Things screeched to a halt, though, when Jackson injured his calf running the bases in Game 2 of the ALCS against Oakland.