The 1987 Leaf Baseball card set was a landmark release that featured some of the biggest stars and rookies of the late 1980s. Produced by the Leaf Trading Card Company, the 1987 Leaf set showcased players from all 26 Major League teams at the time. It marked Leaf’s first ever Major League Baseball license following years of producing niche sport sets without MLB approval.
The 1987 Leaf set consisted of 792 total cards and followed the standard format of early to mid 1980s baseball issues with player photos on a white background. Notable rookie cards in the set included future Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr., Curt Schilling, and Todd Helton. Griffey’s iconic upper deck rookie card from 1989 is one of the most valuable modern cards ever printed, but his true rookie was in the 1987 Leaf set as a 17-year old prospect in the Mariners system. Schilling’s rookie is also considered one of the top prospects for investment long term.
Some key stars and players featured in prominent photos on 1987 Leaf cards included Ozzie Smith, Don Mattingly, Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, Rickey Henderson, Mike Schmidt, and Nolan Ryan. The set also included manager or managerial debut cards for Whitey Herzog, Lou Piniella, and Davey Johnson. Rarity factors were still relatively low for the 1987 Leaf issues compared to modern cardboard. The condition of the paper stock and photo quality was superior to many other contemporary offerings.
What made the 1987 Leaf baseball release truly groundbreaking was the amount of photo and action variation cards it featured well before the base card design became commonplace. Some star players like Boggs, Schmidt, and Ryan had unique action shots in addition to their standard posed portraits. But variation subsets really popped with players like Eric Davis doing a bat flip, Juan Samuel head first dive, and Rick Manning wall catch cards. These insert-style additions were innovative for the time and added excitement to the collecting experience.
In addition to the main 792 card checklist, the 1987 Leaf baseball set included several specialty subsets. Among the most popular were 36 World Series Highlights cards recreating dramatic WS moments from years past. There were also 36 Tall Tales cards with illustrated accounts of unlikely baseball feats both real and imagined. A 36 card Great Expectations subset profiled top prospects in the minors that season. And 24 Turn Back the Clock cards paid homage to pre-WWII baseball legends. Combined with the photo variations, these subsets gave collectors plenty to hunt for to complete their sets.
While competition was plentiful among card manufacturers in the late 80s, Leaf carved out their MLB niche with innovative photo inserts and high print quality cardboard. The 1987 Leaf baseball issue in particular demonstrated they were no longer content to sit on the sidelines. By securing an official MLB license, Leaf cards became a must-have for completionists alongside offerings from Donruss, Topps, and Fleer. Supply wasn’t overly abundant either like some other products of the era, helping the 1987 Leaf cards retain relevance and collector interest over the decades.
Of course, the real draw and where most of the value resides for the 1987 Leaf set are its premier rookie cards headlined by Ken Griffey Jr. and Curt Schilling. In high grade with the stars neatly centered, these rookie gems can fetch hundreds or even thousands today. More broadly, the 1987 Leaf release was the coming out party that proved Leaf belonged among the elite baseball card brands. Their emphasis on variety through inserts established trends that still influence modern designs. For both historical significance and investment purposes, the 1987 Leaf baseball set endures as an iconic release from the golden age of the card collecting hobby.
