The Seattle Mariners baseball franchise joined the American League as an expansion team in 1977, becoming the first major league team in Seattle since the Braves left town after the 1965 season. Naturally, that first year of 1977 marked the debut of Mariners baseball cards issued for the players and coaches of the new AL West squad.
Topps was the premier baseball card company at the time and was awarded the license to produce the inaugural Mariners cards that year. Their design was similar to other 1977 Topps cards with a solid colored team logo at the top and player stats and info below the photo. Some key rookie cards from that set include Dan Meyer, Julio Cruz, and Ruppert Jones. Of course, one of the biggest rookie cards was that of future Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez, who had one of the more memorable MLB careers despite playing his entire career with the Mariners from 1987-2004.
In the following years, Topps continued to hold the Mariners license and produce annual sets through 1995. They included 1987 which featured rookie cards for future stars Ken Griffey Jr. and Jay Buhner. Griffey’s rookie is one of the most iconic and valuablecards in the hobby due to his superstar status and time with the M’s. Buhner also had a memorable career averaging over 30 home runs a season from 1987-94. Other notables from the late 80s/early 90s Topps Mariners sets include rookie cards for Russ Davis, Dave Valle, and Erik Hanson.
The designs evolved over the years with color photo fronts starting in 1984. In 1989, Topps introduced Mariners cards in the new “Topps Tiffany” design which featured vibrant color photos and diamond-cut edges. This was a very popular subset that year.into the 90s, Traded and Update sets first began featuring Mariners, as Griffey and company made the franchise relevant on a national stage.
After losing the Mariners license, Topps competitor Fleer took over card production from 1996-2000. Their inaugural M’s set in 1996 featured The Franchise, Ken Griffey Jr., on the very front of the base set in his trademark backwards hat. Other stars like Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez, and Alex Rodriguez started to appear in larger numbers in sets as well as more parallel and insert sets.
Upper Deck gained the MLB license from 2001-2007, producing some of the best photographed and designed Mariners cards of the era. Notable rookie cards included Ichiro Suzuki’s iconic first card in 2001 which captured his smooth left-handed swing. Other rookies included Adam Jones, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Felix Hernandez who had one of the more visually striking first cards ever. Parallel and insert sets really exploded during the Upper Deck years with Rainbow Foil, Gold Medallion, and 1/1 printing plates featuring Mariners stars.
After Upper Deck’s license expired, the MLB license returned to Topps in 2008 where it remains today. Since then, Topps has continued putting out traditional Mariners base sets each year alongside myriad parallel, numbered, and insert sets. Some of the more popular recent rookies include cards for Dustin Ackley, Mike Zunino, Kyle Seager, and promising young arms like Taijuan Walker and James Paxton. Veterans like Felix Hernandez, Robinson Cano, and Nelson Cruz have had some of their best cards produced in modern Topps designs as marquee stars for the franchise.
Of course, the longtime fans also loved chasing rarer vintage cards from the early Topps sets in the 70s and 80s featuring Mariners from that inaugural season all the way through the Griffey/Buhner/Martinez glory years. High-grade rookie cards of these stars can fetch tens of thousands of dollars or more due to their legendary careers and the demand from collectors.
Seattle’s baseball cards have truly cataloged the growth of the franchise from expansion team beginning in 1977 through championship contenders in the late 90s and hopefully a future World Series champion. From Topps to Fleer to Upper Deck and now Topps again, the annual Mariners baseball card sets have continued introducing new stars, celebrating career milestones, and preserving the history of the Seattle Mariners for fans and collectors. Cards featuring beloved players like Junior, The Big Unit, and more will always have a special place in the hearts of diehard M’s fans everywhere.
