The 1987 Topps baseball card set was released during one of the darkest times in Major League Baseball history. The 1987 players’ strike resulted in the cancellation of the postseason that year, including the World Series, leaving baseball fans disgruntled and hungry for any baseball content they could find.
Topps’ 1987 offering helped fill that void for collectors, featuring iconic players from that era on 700 total cards in the base set. The design featured a simple colorful border around each player photo with their team logo and position below the image. Fun stats and facts appeared on the back of each card.
Some of the biggest stars and most valuable cards from the 1987 Topps set included Ryne Sandberg’s card which has a PSA 10 Gem Mint sell value of over $500. Sandberg was enjoying an MVP caliber season for the Chicago Cubs in 1987 when the strike hit. Another stellar player and expensive ’87 rookie card was Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Bell, who won the AL MVP in 1987. Bell’s rookie card sells for over $150 in top condition.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Orel Hershiser had one of the best seasons of his career in 1987 and is immortalized on his Topps card from that year. Prior to the strike, Hershiser was having a record-setting season in which he set the MLB record for most consecutive scoreless innings pitched. His 59 consecutive shutout innings that season is still a Major League record. Hershiser’s ’87 card is one of the more iconic and collectible from the set.
The 1987 Topps set featured many other eventual Hall of Famers as well, including Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Tim Raines, Tony Gwynn, Rickey Henderson, and Nolan Ryan. Some of the future stars just beginning their careers that year included Randy Johnson, Mark McGwire, Ken Griffey Jr., and Barry Bonds. Their rookie cards from the 1987 set are highly sought after by collectors today.
Interestingly, the 1987 Topps Baseball Card set included an Oscar Gamble card even though he did not actually play in the Major Leagues that year. Gamble last played in the bigs in 1985 but was still included in Topps’ 1987 checklist at card number #111 despite being retired. This makes his 1987 card one of the more peculiar anomalies in the otherwise standard set.
The 1987 strike had lingering effects through the following 1988 season as well. Average attendance was down over 10% the year after the strike as fans were slow to return. Some players felt the loss of a 1987 postseason unfairly denied them individual achievements and team accomplishments. This leftover disappointment added to the mystique and collecting interest in anything related to the 1987 baseball season, including the Topps cards.
Even though over 30 years have passed, the 1987 Topps Baseball Card set remains a highly collectible vintage issue. The combination of future Hall of Famers, iconic single-season performances, rookie card draft picks, and the context of the players’ strike storyline all contribute to its nostalgic appeal for collectors and fans. With a standard issue size of 700 cards and widespread distribution during the ’80s, most of the set is obtainable even for casual collectors. High-grade copies of the biggest stars and most valuable cards can still command premium prices from dedicated collectors and investors. The legacy of the 1987 baseball season continues to engage fans and feed collector demand for the classic Topps cards released during that unusual and memorable year.
While the 1987 Major League Baseball season was cut short by the players’ strike, it provided the inspiration and content for one of the most iconic and enduring vintage baseball card sets ever produced by Topps. Featuring many future Hall of Famers and statistical achievements on the verge of being surpassed when the strike hit, the 1987 Topps cards deliver a snapshot from that unique period in MLB history that maintains a strong collecting community to this day. Both the on-field performances and contexts from that season accentuate the nostalgia and appeal these over 30-year-old cardboard relics still hold for baseball fans and sports memorabilia collectors.
