The card has lost its luster over the years, but there was a time when my LCS gave customers $100 in store credit for their near mint and centered copies. These days you can find copies for under $10 any day of the week on eBay.
Oh how the times have changed.
Back in September... right around the 20th Anniversary of The Great Race, I decided to take advantage of the soft market and start looking for an autographed copy of this iconic card. Unfortunately... I quickly discovered they aren't cheap. Sometimes they even fetch triple digits. I actually came close to deleting the saved search, because there was no way I was going to spend that kind of dough.
Then Probstein123 listed an auction for a BGS/JSA authenticated copy a few weeks ago. I threw in a last second bid and ended up winning this card:
Up until a few years ago, demand for McGwire autographs easily outweighed supplies. This drove prices well above the century mark. However Topps and Panini have both included him in their autograph lineup in recent years. That being said... his signatures still command anywhere from $30 to $100 depending on the print run and product brand.
I ended up paying $66 (+ $4 shipping) for my copy. It's not exactly cheap, but I felt like I got a reasonable deal.
Well that's it for now. The holiday break is over and I'm back in my classroom. Until my next post...
What's the first card that comes to mind when you hear the words "iconic 80's rookie card"?
Happy Tuesday and sayonara!
22 comments:
'89 Upper Deck Griffey because it's one of the most iconic cards, period, and stars a favorite player. But there's plenty of good options that I look forward to seeing after my comment!
1986 Donruss Rated Rookie Jose Canseco.So expensive back in the day because he was arguably the Mike Trout of that era.
Very cool card. Autographed RCs have become a hot item over the past couple of years.
McGwire's 85T is definitely one of the most recognizable baseball RCs of the 80s. One thing that intriges me about this card is that it's a pure RC - not a traded/update - and no one else (Fleer/Donruss) made a McGwire card that year.
Gotta be the '89 UD Griffey.
It's a high price but as long as you're happy, there's nothing wrong with that. If I didn't have thousands of other things I want, I wouldn't hesitate spending that on the card.
When I graduated college (2001), my uncle that got me into cards gave me two card - a Cal Ripken rookie and the 1985 Topps McGwire. For pure nostalgia sake, it's one of my most valuable cards.
-kin
beansballcardblog.com
ifeellikeacollectoragain.blogspot.com
Wonderful pick up! The most iconic rookie cards I can think of are these five. Ripken 1982 Topps base; the big three from 1983 (Sandberg, Boggs, and that other guy from San Diego!), and then 1989 Upper Deck Griffey Jr!
I bought lots of packs during the 81 - 83 Topps, Donruss and Fleer craze. All were affordable until the 1984 Donruss. The Mattingly card was a huge deal because they were the first new packs of cards that were a bit too pricey for some collectors.
The '87 Topps McGwire.
Lots of iconic 80's rookies come to my mind. 82' traded Ripken, 83' Topps Sandberg, Gwynn, and Boggs, 84' Mattingly, also the 85' Puckett and Clemens. I kind of lose it with 86' and after though.
80 Henderson, 85 McGwire, 89 Griffey all jump in relatively the same. Griffey is the only one I ever had a chance of pulling out a pack though.
Ripken's 82 comes to mind first. I had enough of them to almost pay a semester of grad school.
'89 UD Ken Griffey Jr.
I am with Nick V, the 3 that come to mind are 80 Rickey, 85 McGwire and 89 UD Griffey. Great pick up, love the autoed version.
Looks like the 1989 Upper Deck Griffey is going to take the crown...
89UD Griffey 5
86D Canseco
85T McGwire 3
82T Ripken 3
83T Sandberg 2
83T Boggs 2
83T Gwynn 2
84D Mattingly 2
87T McGwire
82TT Ripken
84F Mattingly
84T Mattingly
85D Puckett
85F Puckett
85T Puckett
85D Clemens
85F Clemens
85T Clemens
80T Henderson
Sigh - He looks so much smaller on that card, doesn't he? Still, an awesome pickup of a great card!
He does look smaller, but that bat he's holding still looks like a toothpick!
Definitely an iconic card of the 80s. 89 UD Griffey and 84 Donruss Mattingly would be the only 2 I rate higher.
Here is a slightly different take on the question: which were the rookie cards considered most iconic in the 1980s but not at all today?
1989 UD Jerome Walton
1988 Topps Matt Nokes
1987 Topps Kevin Mitchell
1985 Topps Cory Snider
1985 Fleer Bret Saberhagen
I am missing a ton here.....
Yeah, he wasn't jacked to the gills yet, but that Mac was always Big.
From what I heard... he started eating his Wheaties along with Sosa and Bonds. Breakfast of Champions!
Sean - Great list. Here are a few more that came to mind...
1983 Fleer Ron Kittle
1987 Fleer Wally Joyner
1987 Fleer Mike Greenwell
1988 Gregg Jefferies
Update:
89UD Griffey 6
86D Canseco
85T McGwire 3
82T Ripken 3
83T Sandberg 2
83T Boggs 2
83T Gwynn 2
84D Mattingly 3
87T McGwire
82TT Ripken
84F Mattingly
84T Mattingly
85D Puckett
85F Puckett
85T Puckett
85D Clemens
85F Clemens
85T Clemens
80T Henderson
I would have guessed the most common answer was going to be the 1989 Upper Deck Griffey.
Thinking back to my collection in the 1980s, I would have to go with 1986 Topps Vince Coleman as my personal favorite. Also had a 1980 Henderson rookie that I got in a trade for a Dwight Gooden rookie, loved that card. I might have to come up with my own list and make it into a post.
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