The 1987 Donruss Baseball card #53 features legendary pitcher Nolan Ryan mid-windup during his playing days with the Houston Astros. By 1987, Ryan was in his 20th season in Major League Baseball and at the age of 40, was still dealing heat as the ace of the Astros pitching staff.
Some key details and stats about Nolan Ryan and his 1987 Donruss baseball card #53:
Born in 1947 in Refugio, Texas, Ryan broke into the majors in 1966 with the New York Mets and would go on to play until 1993, pitching for a total of 5 different franchises – Mets, Angels, Astros, Rangers, and Blue Jays.
By 1987, Ryan had already established himself as one of the best power pitchers of all-time, known for throwing exceptionally hard fastballs that routinely topped 100 MPH on the radar gun. He held the single season strikeout record at the time with 383 Ks in 1973.
In 1986 with the Astros, Ryan had another dominant season, going 18-10 with a 2.76 ERA and 270 strikeouts in 265.1 innings pitched. He finished 3rd in Cy Young Award voting and helped lead Houston to the NL West division title.
On the 1987 Donruss card, some of Ryan’s career stats to that point included 222 wins, 124 losses for a .642 winning percentage, a 3.15 ERA, 4,955 strikeouts (2nd all-time behind Steve Carlton), and 6 no-hitters – all of which were MLB records for a pitcher at the time the card was produced.
Card #53 in the 1987 Donruss set featured Ryan in his classic high leg kick windup wearing the classic Astros rainbow jersey colors of orange and blue. The photo was taken by famed baseball photographer Tony Tomsic.
Estimated to have a print run of somewhere between 150-200 million, the 1987 Donruss set is among the highest printed baseball card sets ever. This means Ryan’s card #53 is fairly common in circulated, unmcentered condition.
High grade examples of the Ryan ’87 Donruss in pristine mint or gem mint condition graded by authentication services like PSA or BGS hold considerable value today. Graded PSA 10 examples have sold for over $1,000 due to the combination of star player, critical point in career, and limited supply of true mint copies.
Beyond his individual stats and accomplishments, Ryan also played a role in some historic MLB moments. On June 11, 1974 with the California Angels at Kansas City, Ryan threw the then-fastest pitch ever clocked at 100.9 MPH. And on August 22, 1991 at age 44 with the Rangers, he threw his record 7th career no-hitter.
By the end of his career, Ryan’s totals included 324 wins (12th all-time), 5,386 strikeouts (career leader), seven no-hitters (tied with Nichols,Hooks for most ever) and a 4.28 ERA. He was the all-time leader in strikeouts, walks, hits allowed and wild pitches upon his retirement in 1993.
For his career accomplishments, most notably his unmatched career strikeout record and longevity performing at an elite level well into his 40s, Ryan was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 with an overwhelming 98.79% of the votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
While the 1987 Donruss design was fairly basic and unremarkable compared to flashy, modern cards – featuring just a white border, player name/position and team name – Ryan’s imposing figure, classic windup and hall of fame stats make the card an interesting and important piece of baseball memorabilia from that era.
Today, the 1987 Donruss Nolan Ryan #53 remains one of the most notable and desirable vintage Ryan cards for collectors, documenting “The Ryan Express” at an absolutely peak point in his legendary career as one of the most intimidating power pitchers in MLB history approaching historic career milestones.
The 1987 Donruss Baseball Card #53 provides collectors a glimpse of the greatest strikeout artist in baseball history – Nolan Ryan – at an iconic juncture in his playing days. Despite the massive print run, examples in top condition retain value for historians and fans appreciating Ryan’s place as one of the most dominate pitchers to ever take the mound. The card memorializes a living baseball legend at the top of his game.
