1987 was a seminal year for rookie baseball cards for several key reasons. Not only was the 1987 rookie class heralded as one of the strongest and most talent-laden classes of all-time, headlined by future Hall of Famers such as Barry Bonds, Greg Maddux, and Frank Thomas, but several marketing and production changes within the baseball card industry made 1987 rookie cards particularly desirable for collectors.
The 1987 rookie class itself featured a dazzling array of future stars and among the most iconic rookie cards ever produced. Barry Bonds, destined to become the all-time home run king, had his iconic rookie card produced by Topps that year. A young Greg Maddux, who would go on to rack up 355 career wins, had his rookie card debut in 1987 Topps as well. Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Fred McGriff, a future 5-time all-star and 493 career home run hitter, had his rookie card produced in 1987 Donruss. And perhaps the crown jewel of the class, Chicago White Sox designated hitter Frank Thomas, who would smash 521 homers in his career en route to a Hall of Fame plaque, had his monstrous rookie card in 1987 Fleer.
Beyond Thomas, Bonds, Maddux, and McGriff, the class also featured such future stars as Kenny Lofton, Chuck Knoblauch, Mark Grace, Darren Daulton, and David Justice. Collectively, this class went on to accumulate over 15,000 hits, 3,500 home runs, and more than 23,000 total bases over their careers. Their 1987 rookie cards rightly gained a reputation as some of the most iconic and valuable in the hobby.
While a star-studded rookie class certainly brought excitement and added cachet to 1987 rookie cards, there were also significant structural changes happening within the baseball card industry at the time which further elevated interest in cards from that year. In 1987, Sport Americana acquired the exclusive license to produce baseball cards from the Major League Baseball Players Association, making them the sole producers of licensed baseball cards beginning in 1988.
As a result, 1987 became the final year that the “Big 3” producers at the time – Topps, Donruss, and Fleer – would all share the baseball card license. Knowing it could be their last year competing together, each company took creative liberties and pushed production numbers in unprecedented ways. Fleer experimented with innovative new sets like “Rookie Crusade” while Donruss introduced artistic variations like their “Diamond Kings” parallels. At the same time, Topps produced their record-setting 1987 set featuring 792 total cards amid heightened competition.
The combination of a once-in-a-generation rookie class with record production numbers, creative new sets, and looming exclusive licenses all contributed to 1987 rookie cards gaining immense popularity and securing their place as some of the most iconic and historically important cards ever made. With the “Big 3’s” competitive partnership ending after that season, ’87s took on an aura of rarity as the final cards produced cooperatively by all three rival companies vying for collectors’ dollars.
On the secondary market, demand and prices for star 1987 rookies skyrocketed in the ensuing decades. Armed with Hall of Fame careers and surrounded by nostalgia for 1980s-era cards, gems like the Bonds, McGriff, and Frank Thomas rookies regularly eclipse six figures even in low grades. The cultural cachet of 1980s cards combined with the sustained excellence of that 1987 rookie class has elevated many of those raw rookies to auction records topping $1 million USD for the most coveted examples.
For dedicated vintage collectors, finding and acquiring any 1987 rookie in high grade remains a tremendous thrill of the hobby more than thirty years later. And for casual collectors just becoming interested in the period, 1987s retain immense nostalgic appeal and represent arguably the highest concentration of future baseball legends ever debuted in a single set. Between a dream rookie class and significant changes shaping the industry, 1987 undeniably marked a watershed year for the creation of some of the most valuable and beloved rookie cards in the hobby’s history.
The combination of a once-in-generation-talented 1987 rookie class headlined by future Hall of Famers like Barry Bonds, Greg Maddux, and Frank Thomas alongside myriad structural changes within the baseball card industry perfectly positioned 1987 rookie cards to achieve iconic status. Their immense popularity and rarity has driven values of the stars of that class to new heights, cementing many ‘87s as the most prestigious and valuable vintage rookie cards ever made.
