Baseball cards have been capturing the sport’s history since the late 1800s. Over the decades, certain cards have stood out as being truly iconic and capturing the greatness of the players depicted on them. Here are 300 of the greatest baseball cards of all time, in no particular order:
1909 T206 Honus Wagner – The rarest and most valuable baseball card ever printed. Only 50-200 are known to exist today. Wagner was one of the early stars of the game in the deadball era.
1952 Topps Mickey Mantle – One of the earliest post-war stars to be featured on a modern cardboard issue. Mantle was just entering his prime and would go on to have a Hall of Fame career with the Yankees.
1968 Topps Nolan Ryan – Ryan’s explosive fastball is evident even in this early card from his days with the Mets. It marked the start of his record-setting career as perhaps the greatest strikeout pitcher ever.
1975 Topps Reggie Jackson – “Mr. October” is depicted in his iconic Yankees pinstripes after helping lead New York to multiple World Series titles. He was one of the game’s biggest stars throughout the 1970s.
1988 Score Ken Griffey Jr. – Griffey’s sweet swing is captured perfectly in this iconic rookie card that marked the start of a surefire Hall of Fame career spent largely with the Mariners.
1969 Topps Tom Seaver – Seaver won his first Cy Young Award in 1969 while establishing himself as the ace of the “Amazin'” Mets staff. He threw a no-hitter that year and won over 20 games.
1952 Bowman Willie Mays – One of the earliest post-war issues to feature Mays, who was just beginning what would become a legendary 24-year career spent mostly with the Giants.
1975 Topps Mike Schmidt – Schmidt’s monster home run swing is captured perfectly in this card from the year he won his first of three MVP awards as one of the game’s most feared sluggers of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
1933 Goudey Babe Ruth – One of the earliest modern issues to feature “The Babe” in the midst of his record-setting career with the Yankees during which he slugged 60 home runs in a season.
1956 Topps Hank Aaron – Aaron is depicted in his Milwaukee Braves uniform, on the verge of surpassing Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record in the coming decades.
1967 Topps Sandy Koufax – Koufax’s legendary left arm is immortalized in this card from the year he won his third Cy Young Award and last World Series ring before an arthritic elbow forced his early retirement at age 30.
1952 Topps Jackie Robinson – Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier with the Dodgers in 1947 and was featured on cards just a few years later as one of the game’s biggest stars and role models.
1972 Topps Johnny Bench – Bench is depicted in the midst of his record-setting 1972 season, when he won his first MVP award while leading the Big Red Machine to the World Series title.
1975 Topps Carl Yastrzemski – One of the true five-tool players of his era, Yaz is pictured at the height of his career with the Red Sox, having won the AL Triple Crown in 1967.
1969 Topps Tom Seaver – Seaver won his first Cy Young Award in 1969 while establishing himself as the ace of the “Amazin'” Mets staff. He threw a no-hitter that year and won over 20 games.
1972 Topps Steve Carlton – Carlton’s distinctive over-the-top delivery is captured perfectly in this card from his dominant 1972 season when he won 27 games and his first Cy Young with the Phillies.
1981 Fleer Update Cal Ripken Jr. – One of Ripken’s earliest cards, issued before he became “The Iron Man” by breaking Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games played record in the 1990s as the longtime shortstop and third baseman of the Orioles.
1974 Topps Mike Schmidt – Schmidt slugged a career-high 48 home runs in 1974 while establishing himself as one of the game’s most feared sluggers early in his Hall of Fame Phillies career.
1975 Topps Joe Morgan – The “Little Genius” is depicted leading the Big Red Machine’s potent lineup in 1975 as he won the second of back-to-back MVP awards playing second base for Cincinnati.
1967 Topps Bob Gibson – Gibson’s pinpoint control and blazing fastball made him virtually unhittable during the 1968 season, when he posted a mind-boggling 1.12 ERA and won the NL Triple Crown.
1956 Topps Don Drysdale – One of the Dodgers’ “Koufax-Drysdale” 1-2 pitching punches of the 1960s is depicted in this early card from his days establishing himself as a frontline starter.
1972 Topps Rod Carew – Carew won his first batting title in 1972 while leading the Twins with his trademark contact-oriented approach at the plate that would make him one of the game’s greatest hitters.
1965 Topps Sandy Koufax – Koufax’s legendary left arm is captured at its peak in 1965, when he went 26-8 with a minuscule 2.04 ERA and a league-leading 372 strikeouts to win the NL Triple Crown.
1989 Upper Deck Nolan Ryan – Ryan’s Hall of Fame career is captured perfectly in this iconic late-career issue from his final season with the Rangers, when he struck out 16 to become the all-time strikeout king.
1975 Topps Pete Rose – Rose is depicted leading the NL in hits during the peak of his playing career spent mostly with the Big Red Machine in Cincinnati, where he won the 1973 batting title.
1952 Topps Stan Musial – One of Musial’s earliest post-war issues depicts “Stan the Man” in the midst of his storied 22-year career spent entirely with the Cardinals, during which he won three MVPs and hit .331.
1974 Topps Johnny Bench – Bench is pictured in the midst of his record-setting 1972 season, when he won his second of two MVP awards while leading the Big Red Machine to another World Series title.
1956 Topps Ted Williams – Williams is depicted in the midst of his final MVP season of 1956, when he hit .388 at age 38 in his 17th season patrolling left field for the Red Sox.
1964 Topps Brooks Robinson – Robinson is captured at the height of his defensive wizardry at third base for the Orioles, having just won the 1964 AL MVP and Gold Glove awards.
1972 Topps Roberto Clemente – One of the game’s great five-tool players and role models is immortalized in this card from his final season before his tragic death in a plane crash at age 38.
1959 Topps Willie Mays – Mays is depicted launching one of his trademark tape-measure home runs for the Giants near the height of his storied 24-year career spent mostly in San Francisco.
1972 Topps Hank Aaron – Aaron is pictured after surpassing Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record in 1974 in the midst of his 25-year Hall of Fame career with the Braves and Brewers.
1974 Topps Mike Schmidt – Schmidt is captured in the midst of his monster 1974 season, when he slugged a career-high 48 home runs and finished third in MVP voting for the Phillies.
1972 Topps Johnny Bench – Bench is depicted in the midst of his record-setting 1972 season, when he won his first of two MVP awards while leading the Big Red Machine to a World Series title.
1956 Topps Don Drysdale – One of the Dodgers’ “Koufax-Drysdale” 1-2 pitching punches of the 1960s is depicted establishing himself as a frontline starter early in his career.
1952 Topps Duke Snider – One of the original “Boys of Summer” is depicted in this early post-war issue from his early days establishing himself as one of the game’s top sluggers with the Dodgers.
1975 Topps Joe Morgan – The “Little Genius” is captured at the height of his career in 1975, having just won his second straight NL MVP award leading the Big Red Machine’s potent lineup.
1984 Fleer Update Cal Ripken Jr. – Ripken’s iconic “Iron Man” consecutive games played streak is well underway by 1984, putting him on a path to break Lou Gehrig’s all-time record in the 1990s.
1975 Topps Carl Yastrzemski – One of the true five-tool players of the late 1960s/early 1970s is depicted at the height of his career with the Red Sox, where he won the 1967 Triple Crown.
1974 Topps Mike Schmidt – Schmidt is captured slugging a career-high 48 home runs in 1974 while establishing himself as one of the game’s most feared sluggers early in his Phillies career.
1972 Topps Steve Carlton – Carlton’s over-the-top delivery is captured perfectly in this card from his dominant 1972 season when he won 27 games and the first of his four career Cy Young Awards.
1956 Topps Mickey Mantle – Mantle is depicted in the midst of his record-setting 1956 season, when he hit .353 with 52 home runs and won the AL Triple Crown and MVP award at age 25.
1981 Donruss Tony Gwynn – One of Gwynn’s earliest cards depicts him
