The Los Angeles Dodgers have one of the most storied franchises in Major League Baseball. As the team moved west from Brooklyn in the late 1950s, collectors eagerly followed the team’s stars through baseball cards. Dodgers cards offer a window into the evolution of the franchise and some of the game’s greatest players.
While cards featuring Dodgers players date back to the early 1900s Brooklyn Superbas and Robins teams, the most collecting interest surrounds the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers era from the late 1940s onward. In those post-World War II years, the Dodgers rose to prominence led by players who would become basketball card icons like Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax and later Steve Garvey.
Topps dominated the baseball card market from the mid-1950s through the 1980s and released annual Dodgers cards featuring the team’s players and notable performances. Many consider the 1955 Topps set, the company’s first color issue, as the most iconic. It featured the matured Dodgers roster that would win back-to-back World Series titles in 1955 and 1956. Star rookie pitcher Johnny Podres’ dominant World Series Game 7 performance earned him a legendary place in Dodger lore and ensured his ’55 rookie card remained a hot commodity.
Through the late 1950s and 1960s, annual Dodgers Topps sets tracked the team’s fortunes and stars of the eras like Dodgers GM/manager Walter Alston, outfielders Tommy Davis and Willie Davis, and pitchers Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax who won back-to-back Cy Young awards in 1963-64. In 1966, Koufax’s sudden retirement at age 30 due to an arthritic elbow at the peak of his career only added to his legend memorialized on his vintage cards.
The Dodgers’ groundbreaking move to Los Angeles in 1958 opened billions in new marketing potential for both the team and card companies. 1960s/70s Dodgers cards saw the emergence of multi-talented stars like Maury Wills, who stole an MLB record 104 bases in 1962, and outspoken slugger Duke Snider who played his final season in 1964. Career Dodgers like Sandy Amoros, Jackie Robinson and Don Sutton appeared on several different card designs before finally hanging up their cleats.
In the 1970s, young stars like Bill “Spaceman” Lee, Andy Messersmith, Bill Buckner and Dusty Baker blazed new paths. Meanwhile, veterans like pitcher Tommy John and slugger Willie Davis still delivered highlight reel moments for collectors. John underwent the first UCL replacement surgery in 1974 pioneered by Dr. Frank Jobe and made one of the most improbable comebacks in MLB history.
New leaders emerged in the 1980s like ace pitcher and perennial 20-game winner Fernando Valenzuela who captured both the NL Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards in 1981 during “Fernandomania.” Rookies and veterans included Pedro Guerrero, Mike Marshall, Steve Garvey and Reggie Smith among others helping the Dodgers remain contenders. Garvey especially became a popular ’80s card subject for his All-Star prowess and beefcake physique which occasionally landed him in men’s magazines as well.
The 1990s Dodgers introduced a new generation including power-hitting outfielder Eric Karros who twice led the NL in home runs as well as pitchers Ramon Martinez, Darren Dreifort and Hideo Nomo who brought Japanese phenomenon “Nomo-mania” stateside. Fan favorite Mike Piazza also donned Dodger blue for parts of the decade before his career took off with the Florida Marlins and New York Mets in the late ’90s.
Modern Dodgers standouts have continued to populate baseball card sets into the new millennium. Players including Clayton Kershaw, Cody Bellinger, Mookie Betts and Walker Buehler have carried on the Dodger tradition of excellence on the diamond and in the collecting world through their baseball cards which still bring joy to young and seasoned fans alike. Through its stars and fascinating franchise storylines over more than a century, Dodgers cards remind us why this team’s place in the game’s history is as iconic as any.
