The 1987 Topps All-Star Baseball set is one of the most iconic and valuable vintage sports card sets from the 1980s. Coinciding with the peak of the baseball card craze during that decade, the 1987 issue commemorated that year’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game played at Olympic Stadium in Montreal with an exciting checklist of stars from both the American and National Leagues. While the set contains no rookie cards of future Hall of Famers, itsnostalgicdesignandhistoricalsignificancehavemaintainedstrongcollectorinterestanddemandovertheyears,resultinginacardvaluethatrivalsorsurpassesmanysimilarvintageissues.
The base 1987 Topps All-Star Baseball set consists of 132 cards including player profiles, All-Star team cards for both leagues, manager/coach cards, and league leader/MVP statistics cards. The design is clean and straightforward with players photographed in action poses wearing their team uniforms on a plain white backdrop. Statistics and career highlights are printed on the back of each card. While not as graphicallyboldorcolorfulascontemporaryFleerandDonrusssets,thesimplisticToppslookhasstoodthetestoftimeandremainsheritage-inspireddecadeslater. Thisclassicretroaestheticcombinedwithitsmemorializationofabaseballlandmarkhaskeptthe1987setoneofth emissionpopularandactivelytradedvintageissuessincethe1980s.
At the high end, several hall of fame stars command four-figure prices even in lower graded conditions. Nolan Ryan’s card in PSA 8 condition recently sold for over $2,000. Ryne Sandberg, Wade Boggs, and Ozzie Smith routinely bring $500-1000 each in PSA 8 as well. Mickey Mantle, despite having no photo on his framed “Tribute” card, still attracts bids up to $500 ungraded due to his iconic status. Top rookie cards like Barry Larkin, Tom Glavine, and Mark McGwire in high grades have also cleared $1000 apiece. Away from the absolute elite, strong everyday players like Gary Carter, Dennis Eckersley, or Dave Stewart typically sell for $75-150 in PSA 8.
Perhaps themostsought-afterrookieinthesetisCecilFielder,whowouldgoontohit319careerhomers.HisPSA8cardrecentlysoldforanastonishing$1,700givenhisfameandimpactonearly1990steams. OtherlessercardslikeBretSaberhagen,RogerClemens,andJoseCansecoinhighgradesCommand3-figuresumsaswell.Eventhebaseset”fillers”commandrespectablepriceswhenhighlygraded.Statisticsleadercardsorlower-profileAll-Starrepshavebeknowntobring$50-100inmintcondition.Thisdemonstratesthestrong,wide-rangingdemandforthecomplete1987checklistno mattertheplayerprominence.
Conditionisnaturallyvitalwhendetermining1987ToppsAll-StarBaseballcardvalues.Whilethebasesetwasproductionsomassively,yearsofhandlingmeansfindinghigh-gradedcopiesofthelargerstarsorkeyrookiesremainsdifficult.PSA9isextremelyrareandcommandsa50%ormorepremiumoveraPSA8.EvenPSA8scanbescarcedependingontheplayer,withonlyasingle-digitnumberofcopyexistingforeliteHALloffamers.Thisscarcitydrivingpricesformintcopiesupinteo4-figureterritoryforiconslikeMantle,Ryan,Sandbergandothers.LowergradedmaterialsuchasPSA6sor7scanstillattain$50-200basedontherarityscalingoftheplayer.
Forcollectorsonabudget,findingaffordablealternativesisstillpossibleeventhoughpricesareskyrocketingonthebluer chipcards. LesserknownAll-Starsorroleplayersfromtheerasellfor$10-30inmid-highgrades.Backuppitchers,utilitymen,andplatoonhitterscardeasilybepickedupforunder$20eachinPSA8.Eventhecommon”1983Totals”and”1982LeaderStats”fillercardsroutinelysellfor$5-10ungradedjustforsetcompletionpurposes.Andwhiletheiconcardsremainstratosphericallypriced,solideverydayAll-Starsfromthelate1980slikeJoseOquendocanstillbepickedupfor$30-50graded.Sobudget-consciouscollectorscanbuildasetwhilefocusingonlessercards.
The1987ToppsAll-StarBaseballsetremainsoneofbaseballcards’mostrichlyhistory-ladenissues.Itsclassicdesign,unmatchedrosteroftalent,andnostalgicconnectiontothepeakofthe1980scrazehavemadeitaperennialfavoriteamongveteranandnewcollectorsalikeafter3+decades.Whilecompletionsetsnowcommandover$2,000ingradedcondition,therearestillaffordableentrypointsevenforcommoncardsatvariouspricepoints.Factorintherarity-drivenvaluetrendsbasedonplayerprominenceandgrading,andthe1987setremainsamongthesemostvaluableandexcitingvintageissuestoinvestinandcompletetothisday.Itsuntouchedstatureasadefiningartifactfrombaseball’spastensuresstrongdemandfordecadestocome.
