The 1986 Topps baseball card set was the 65th year Topps produced baseball cards and holds an iconic place in the history of the hobby. The 1986 set marked several notable firsts and featured some of the biggest stars and rookie cards of the era.
At 525 cards in the base set, 1986 Topps was one of the largest sets produced by Topps up to that point. The set included cards of all major and minor league players as well as managers and coaches. Some of the biggest stars featured included Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Rickey Henderson, and Dwight Gooden. The set also included the rookie cards of future Hall of Famers Barry Larkin, Greg Maddux, and John Smoltz.
For the first time, Topps included Traded cards in the base set. These cards featured players who had been traded since the previous season and showed them in the uniform of their new team. A total of 37 Traded cards were included in the 1986 set. Another notable first was the inclusion of Update cards. These cards featured players or stats changes that occurred after the set had already been produced and distributed. The 1986 set included 9 Update cards.
One of the most iconic and valuable rookie cards from the 1986 Topps set is that of Ken Griffey Jr. Often considered one of the most desirable rookie cards of all-time, Griffey’s rookie has a photo of him swinging a bat from his left side with his distinctive high leg kick. The card captured Griffey at the beginning of what would become a Hall of Fame career. In high grade, Griffey’s rookie routinely fetches thousands of dollars.
Other notable rookie cards from the 1986 set include Barry Larkin, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz of the Atlanta Braves, as well as Randy Johnson, Mark McGwire, and Tim Raines. The set also included the rookie cards of future 300-game winners Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. Maddux’s card shows him pitching for the Chicago Cubs while Glavine is pictured as a member of the Atlanta Braves. Both players would go on to have legendary careers and help define one of the greatest pitching rotations in baseball history as members of the Braves staff.
The design of the 1986 Topps set featured a photo centered on each card with the team name arching across the top and player’s name along the bottom. Statistics were included on the back of each card. The design also included a yellow border around the photo. The set marked a transition period for Topps card designs, moving away from the more basic designs of the 1970s and 80s towards the modern aesthetic of the late 80s and 90s.
In addition to the base set, Topps also produced several supplemental sets tied to the 1986 release. This included the high number series, Traded & Update series, and rookies & stars subset. The high number series contained an additional 74 player cards to account for late season call-ups and players added after the base set was completed. The Traded & Update series contained the 37 Traded cards as well as the 9 Update cards found in the base set. The rookies & stars subset highlighted 50 of the top rookie and star players from the 1986 season.
In the decades since its release, the 1986 Topps set has taken on an iconic status among collectors and fans of the era. The set captured some of the biggest stars and rookie cards from what is considered a golden age of baseball in the 1980s. Led by the popularity of stars like Griffey, Gooden, Larkin, and Maddux, sets from this period continue to attract new collectors and command premium prices especially for high grade vintage rookie cards. The 1986 Topps set remains one of the most storied and desirable releases in the history of the hobby.
