Among the more critically acclaimed of these cards include NBHOFer Nolan Ryan, California Angels (his 1980 O-Pee-Chee card airbrushes in Astros in place of Angels due to a trade made after Topps had printed MLB's all-time strikeout king's 1980 card) Willie Stargell, captain of the "We Are Family" 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates World Series Champions NBHOF Pitcher Jim Palmer of the 1979 American League Champion Baltimore Orioles NBHOFers Mike Schmidt (DP), Steve Carlton and all-time MLB hit king Pete Rose of the 1980 World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies and NBHOFer George Brett of the 1980 American League Champion Kansas City Royals. As for notable second-year cards, 1980 Topps Baseball features Ozzie Smith's sophomore card Smith, like Henderson, also has plaque in the NBHOF museum in Cooperstown, New York.Īnd, as if if all of these players' cards aren't tempting enough for baseball card aficionados, Topps 1980 Baseball contains a plethora of other players who would also one wind up/should also be in Cooperstown. In terms of other notable rookies from Topps 1980 Baseball, Dave Stieb of the Toronto Blue Jays comes to mind, as does that of Rick Sutcliffe and Mike Scott & Jesse Orosco (dual). While it could be argued that one card does not a great set make, rest assured that this 726-card set offers collectors much more than just the aforesaid Hall of Famer's rookie. According to Keddy, the stock market crash of October 1987 prompted "serious people, with serious money.to invest in baseball cards" because they felt ".it was at least as safe, and more fun." ( *according to Beckett, a PSA 10 Gem Mint card went up for auction at $14,000!) No, forty years ago was a much simpler time for baseball card collectors, who only had to worry about collecting their favourite players/teams/rookies from one set (Topps/O-Pee-Chee) without having to worry about how much money Major League Baseball's all-time runs and stolen base king's 1980 Topps rookie card might fetch*. It's any wonder then, that, according to Keddy, that in 1991 people ".ran out to buy 5,000 Henderson rookies, insure (d) them with Lloyd's of London, and stuff (ed) them in bank vaults," something that people just didn't do back in 1980 when card collecting was still just a hobby, as opposed to the multi-billion dollar industry that it became with the dawning of such premium sets as Score (1988) Upper Deck (1989), Leaf (1990), OPC Premier, Topps Stadium Club, Fleer Ultra (1991), Bowman (1992) and super premium Fleer Flair (1993). As for the card itself, Halifax Chronicle Herald/Mail Star columnist Max Keddy wrote in a 1991 edition of his "Collecting Thoughts" column, titled "1980 Henderson card a grand slam in '91," that it was worth $200.00, the same as it would cost to feed a family five for a week. At the card's bottom is a facsimile signature, followed by the team name (A's) inside a green banner, fitting, seeing as how the classic colours of the Oakland Athletics are green and gold. Without question, the aforementioned Rickey Henderson rookie card is far and away the best card in this classic set, complete with the player's name just right-of-centre on the card's top, making room for his position (Outfield) inside a gold-coloured banner. As for hockey, Upper Deck, which owns O-Pee-Chee, is the only NHL-licensed card company. Today, Topps is the only company licensed by MLB, while Panini's Donruss is only licensed by the MLBPA (in case you're wondering why team names and logos have been airbrushed and omitted). Boxscore: TRURO, Nova Scotia- DecemCan you believe it's been forty-years since a piece of cardboard featuring the rookie card of future National Baseball Hall of Fame (NBHOF) player Rickey Henderson first appeared in wrapped wax in order to help sell Topps gum? Well, it has been, so what better time is there than the present to look back at this iconic Topps Baseball card set from 1980, the last year of Topps' 25-year monopoly over the baseball card market (you may recall that Donruss and Fleer entered the baseball card market in 1981).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |