The 1987 Topps baseball card set was released during a historic season in Major League Baseball that saw many noteworthy events and milestones. This was the 75th anniversary set released by Topps and contained a total of 792 cards including solo portraits of all players along with team, league leaders, rookie, and manager cards.
The 1987 season saw Don Mattingly of the New York Yankees capture the American League batting title by hitting .327. In the National League, Tim Raines of the Montreal Expos led the league with a .334 batting average. Raines also stole a league-leading 90 bases that year. Another notable season was had by Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Roger Clemens who went 24-4 with a 2.48 ERA while leading the league in wins and strikeouts.
Some memorable rookie cards from the 1987 Topps set included Ben McDonald of the Baltimore Orioles, John Smoltz of the Atlanta Braves, and Mike Piazza of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Piazza in particular went on to have a Hall of Fame career primarily with the Dodgers and New York Mets as one of the greatest hitting catchers of all time. The 1987 Topps set also featured the rookie cards of Barry Larkin, Fred McGriff, and David Wells who all had impressive MLB careers.
On the baseball history front, the 1987 season saw San Francisco Giants outfielder Bobby Bonds become the 10th player in MLB history to hit 300 career home runs. Two other notable milestones were reached as Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Steve Carlton notched his 300th career win and Oakland Athletics slugger Reggie Jackson hit his 500th career home run.
Defending World Series champion New York Mets featured some star players showcased in the 1987 Topps set including catcher Gary Carter, first baseman Keith Hernandez, and pitchers Dwight Gooden and Ron Darling. Gooden in particular was coming off a dominant 1986 season where he won the NL Cy Young award by going 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA and 268 strikeouts in 276 innings pitched.
Some interesting quirks featured in the 1987 Topps design included a die-cut diamond shape with gold accents surrounding each photo. The team logo appeared at the top of each card along with the player’s first and last name printed vertically. Statistics from the previous season were listed on the back along with a short biography. Topps continued its traditional design elements of blue and gray color scheme along with the company logo at the bottom.
Some key rookies featured in the 1987 Topps set included shortstop Ozzie Smith of the St. Louis Cardinals, who was taking over as the team’s starting shortstop that season. Others were slugger Mark McGwire of the Athletics and pitcher David Cone of the New York Mets. McGwire in particular went on to have one of the most prolific home run hitting careers in baseball history, smashing 583 career home runs primarily with Oakland and St. Louis.
The 1987 season saw several notable events including Baltimore Orioles first baseman Eddie Murray breaking the all-time record for home runs by a switch hitter, surpassing Mickey Mantle’s total of 156. Another achievement was San Diego Padres pitcher Gaylord Perry notching his 300th career victory that year. On September 13, 1987, struggling pitcher Dick Ruthven of the Philadelphia Phillies achieved perhaps the rarest of pitching stats by tossing a no-hitter despite walking a record-setting 13 batters.
In the 1987 postseason, the Minnesota Twins defeated the St. Louis Cardinals four games to three in the World Series. The deciding Game 7 went 11 innings before the Twins won 1-0 on a walk-off single by lifelong Twin fan Dan Gladden. Stars of that Series included Twins pitcher Frank Viola, who was named World Series MVP, and Cardinals slugger Jack Clark. This concluded another memorable season in MLB history well represented by the great players and talents featured in the 1987 Topps baseball card set.
The 1987 Topps baseball cards provided an excellent snapshot of that baseball season through the solo player photos and key statistics found on each card. The rookie cards from that set of future Hall of Famers like Piazza, Larkin, and McGwire are still highly sought after today. Collectors enjoyed following their favorite players and teams through the annual Topps releases. This made the 1987 Topps set a very memorable and valuable collectible for fans and hobbyists even now over 30 years later.
