The 1983 O-Pee-Chee baseball card set was issued midway through the MLB season by the Topps Company of Canada. Unlike in previous years, the set featured more modern colorful designs and photography rather than simple black and white illustrations on the borders. It consisted of 493 total cards including rookie cards of future Hall of Famers Ryne Sandberg and Wade Boggs.
The set paid tribute to the 60th anniversary of the very first O-Pee-Chee cards issued back in 1923. Each card featured a special Anniversary Series logo on the bottom left hand corner. The design theme incorporated yellow borders with players photographed against solid color backgrounds of various colors such as red, green, blue, orange, etc. Text was kept to a minimum with just the player’s name, position, and team written at the bottom in white.
Some notable rookie cards from the set included: Ryne Sandberg of the Philadelphia Phillies who would go on to have a Hall of Fame career mostly with the Chicago Cubs. His card shows him batting from the left side. Wade Boggs of the Boston Red Sox who is considered one of the greatest contact hitters of all time and also inducted into the Hall of Fame. His card photographs him fielding at third base. Oddibe McDowell of the Cleveland Indians who won the AL Rookie of the Year award that season. His photo has him swinging the bat.
Other rookie cards that would have future star potential included Fred McGriff of the Toronto Blue Jays before he became a star first baseman for the Atlanta Braves in the 1990s World Series championships. Lance McCullers of the Houston Astros who never panned out but his son would become an elite MLB starting pitcher decades later. Shawn Abner of the New York Mets who flashed promise as a speedster but injuries derailed his career.
The set was dominated by stars of the era such as Eddie Murray batting for the Baltimore Orioles, who remains the last player to win the AL MVP award in both the AL East and West divisions. Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies, whose 272 career wins makes him one of the most accomplished left-handed pitchers in baseball history. Mike Schmidt of the Phillies, a future Hall of Famer who won the NL MVP award three times in the 1980s while leading the league in home runs multiple seasons.
Rookie card standouts also included Future Hall of Famers Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn, though they did not pan out as rookies in the set since Ripken spent most of 1982 in the minors and Gwynn split time between the minors and big league roster. Ripken’s 1983 O-Pee-Chee card shows him as a member of the Baltimore Orioles after breaking in full-time in 1981. Gwynn is photographed as a member of the San Diego Padres where he anchored their outfield for two decades.
Perhaps the most visually iconic card from the set was of Nolan Ryan, known as “The Ryan Express”, pitching for the Houston Astros where he was entering the final seasons of his career. His card photographs him in full windup motion, capturing the blazing fastball that made him a legend with over 5000 career strikeouts. Dave Winfield of the New York Yankees also had one of the more dramatic action shot cards, illustrated swinging for the fences with his unusually long and smooth left-handed swing.
Other notable cards photographed Hall of Famers such as Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers receiving the AL MVP award in 1982, which he won again three seasons later. Mike Schmidt of the Phillies, then in the midst of his record-setting home run and RBI seasons of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Another Philly, Steve Carlton, who was on the downside of his career but still had over 240 wins at that point. Pitcher Ferguson Jenkins rounding out the final seasons with the Texas Rangers after a standout career mostly with the Chicago Cubs that landed him in the Hall.
While not all the rookie cards from 1983 panned out to stardom, many current and future Hall of Famers were featured in their primes making this one of the more historically notable O-Pee-Chee issues. Factors such as the dynamic photography, inclusion of rising stars and established superstars, and the anniversary logo added modern cachet that resonated with collectors at the time and continues to drive interest in the set decades later.
