The 1987 Topps All-Time Greats baseball card series spotlighted many of the sports’ greatest players throughout history. With vivid portraits and concise career recaps on the back, the 80-card set paid tribute to legends from the earliest days of professional baseball up through the 1970s. By casting its collector net so widely both temporally and positionally, the 1987 Topps All-Time Greats collection became one of the most iconic and treasured vintage releases in the hobby.
Among the headliners included were Babe Ruth, who has long been viewed as the game’s ultimate icon. Ruth’s card showed him in a Yankees uniform, bat casually slung over his shoulder as he smiles out at collectors. His back details his record 714 career home runs along with World Series wins in 1921, ’22, ’23, and ’27. Another true pillar of the early sport, Ty Cobb also received his own card depicting him in a Tigers jersey, glaring out with the intense competitiveness that helped him accumulate career records in batting average and stolen bases still unmatched over a century later.
Branch Rickey, widely considered one of baseball’s greatest executives and innovators, had a card highlighting his crucial role in breaking the sport’s color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson to the Dodgers in 1947. Robinson himself, the trailblazer who overcame immense adversity and prejudice to become an all-time great ballplayer, got a shining tribute as well. His card shows him legging out an infield hit with perfect form and focus, a testament to the skill and determination that made him a six-time All-Star and National League MVP in 1949.
Pitching legends Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson, the latter holding the all-time record for career strikeouts that stood for 56 years, each received well-earned recognition. Matty’s card portrayed him in a New York Giants uniform, capturing his elegant delivery and unhittable control. Meanwhile “The Big Train” Johnson towered over hitters on his card, perched on the mound with intimidating size and stuff that baffled AL batters for over two decades with the Washington Senators. Their generation of hurlers also included Grover Cleveland Alexander, whose amazing 40-win season of 1916 for the Phillies stood out on his baseball card.
Moving into the Golden Age of the 1920s and 30s, the cards paid homage to “The Georgia Peach” Ty Cobb’s feared rival, the incomparable hitter Rogers Hornsby, shown pulling away for yet another base hit for the Cardinals. His .358 career average remains the highest of all time. Hall of Fame teammates Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth were logically paired together, with Gehrig’s card proudly displaying his iconic durability in playing in 2,130 straight games for the Yankees before ALS cruelly cut his career short.
Pitching legends from the period included standouts Dizzy Dean, Lefty Grove, and Carl Hubbell, the latter known for his unhittable screwball that often had batters hopelessly swinging at three in a row during his 24-10 season of 1934 that led the Giants to a World Series title. Dean’s card depicted him in a Cardinals uniform, capturing his loose, violent delivery that brought him 150 career wins despite chronic shoulder issues cutting his career short. Meanwhile Lefty Grove was portrayed on the mound with his signature high leg kick and blazing fastball that racked up 300 wins between the A’s and Red Sox from 1925-1941.
The post-WWII era saw the emergence of integration and dynasty teams like the Yankees and Dodgers, with stars like Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and more receiving well-deserved All-Time Greats commendations. Campy’s powerful catcher’s frame and all-round skills as the Dodgers’ cornerstone made him a constant presence behind the plate for Brooklyn from 1948-1957, highlighted on his card.
Meanwhile Koufax emerged as the most dominant pitcher of the 1960s, blessed with pinpoint control and a blazing fastball-curve combo. His accomplishments in wins, strikeouts and especially his three Cy Young Award/MVP seasons from 1962-1966 were enshrined alongside stats like his iconic 1965 record of erupting for four no-hitters, captured on his intense card portrait. Teammate Drysdale, part of Koufax’s devastating 1-2 punch for the Dodgers during their glory days, also made the All-Time Greats set with a card memorializing his dominance from 1956-1969 thanks to a blazing heater and sweeping slider.
The collection rounded out its coverage by paying due respects to living legends like Hank Aaron, still chasing Babe Ruth’s home run record in 1987 but by then the true “Home Run King” himself thanks to eclipsing the Bambino. Willie Mays’ iconic catch over his shoulder and Mickey Mantle’s tape measure blasts were also featured cards, while the dominant hurlers of the 1960s, Bob Gibson and Juan Marichal, received long-deserved spots as well. Stars from the ’70s like Johnny Bench, Reggie Jackson and Tom Seaver made the cut, making for an all-encompassing retrospective spanning the sport’s full history.
When it was released in 1987, the Topps All-Time Greats set was an instant blockbuster success that appealed to both casual and serious collectors alike. By spotlighting over eight decades of baseball legends through vivid imagery, stats and career highlights on the back, it brought the storied history of the national pastime vividly to life. Even today, the cards remain a constant source of nostalgia and fascination for vintage collectors hoping to track down overlooked gems from this seminal vintage issue. Its wide-ranging scope and talented photography saluting the pantheon of all-time great players ensures the 1987 Topps All-Time Greats set will remain one of the most iconic and desirable core collections for baseball card enthusiasts for generations to come.
