The 1987 Topps Major League Baseball card set was a product released midway through the 1987 MLB season by Topps. It marked the 66th year in which Topps produced baseball cards and featured all teams from that season.
Some key things to note about the 1987 Topps set include the designs, rookie cards, notable players featured, and parallels. The set totaled 792 cards after years of growing subsets. Topps returned to a cleaner design with fewer colors compared to the busy 1986 set. Each card contained a photo of the player in action along with their team logo and defensive position below.
Statistics from the 1986 season were on the back of each card along with short biographies. Topps also experimented with different borders between teams – solid colors were used to group divisions together. The backs featured ads for other Topps sports card properties like football and hockey. Gum was still included in wax packs along with the cards.
Several future Hall of Famers had prominent cards in the 1987 Topps set. This included Ozzie Smith of the Cardinals, Andre Dawson of the Cubs, and Ryne Sandberg also of the Cubs. Dennis Eckersley of the Red Sox and Rickey Henderson of the A’s were among the stars pictured as well. Top rookie cards included Gregg Olson of the Orioles, Frank Thomas of the White Sox, and Mark McGwire of the A’s.
McGwire’s rookie card in particular rocketed in value in later years as he ascended to one of the game’s biggest sluggers. Thomas turned into a perennial MVP candidate too. Olson established himself as a top reliever. All three players had Hall of Fame caliber careers after their debut 1987 seasons. There were no short prints or serially numbered parallels in the base set that year.
One of the most iconic moments captured on a 1987 Topps card was #400 featuring Ozzie Smith making an acrobatic behind-the-back throw from deep in the hole at shortstop. Seeing “The Wizard” contort his body to unleash a throw was amazing for fans. Other top action shots included #99 Ted Williams swinging and #678 Rob Dibble’s intimidating windup and delivery for the Reds.
Topps continued to produce minor league prospects sets as a companion to the flagship release. In 1987, these included Topps Traded, Draft Picks & Prospects, and a Rookie & Traded set. Special highlight cards recognized All-Star selections, Home Run Leaders, Batting Champions, and more. All helped tell the stories from another successful Major League Baseball season.
While production and design remained largely the same as past years, 1987 did see upper deck begin to challenge Topps’ monopoly with their premier baseball card product. Their beautiful color photography and autographed rookies set a new standard that forced Topps to further innovate. But in 1987, Topps still reigned supreme financially with contracts with all MLB teams secured.
The 1987 Topps Baseball card set is notable for being the year a star-studded rookie class emerged. It also marked when the hobby began shifting toward a more collector-oriented focus with expansion of inserts and parallel products. The flagship Topps set endures as one of the most iconic releases with its classic clean look and timeless action photos capturing the sport. Over three decades later, it remains a set coveted by both casual and serious collectors alike.
