By the time collectors got our hands on 1987 Topps Traded baseball cards for the first time that fall, we pretty much knew what to expect — this was the seventh year in a row that Topps had graced us with a 132-card box set to carry us into the winter, after all.
So, we eagerly tore through the set looking for 1) cards of veterans with their new teams, 2) the creamier, more consistent, premium cardstock the traded sets offered over the yearly base sets, and, of course 3) loads and loads of rookie cards that would be worth a fortune someday.
The 1987 year-end set delivered on two of those three promises, but the rookie crop found it hard to live up to both the 1986 Topps Traded set and the breathtaking run of RCs that had fueled the 1987 Topps base set all summer long.
So we took what we could get and tried to shrug away the disappointment of a weak rookie-card class, hoping someone might emerge from the muck … someday.
As it turns out, there were indeed a few first-year gems hidden among the commons, even if it took a few years for them to make themselves known, and for us to “discover” them.
All along the way, of course, 1987 Topps Traded offered up the same iconic woodgrain borders that made the base set an instant hobby classic, love them or hate them. It was always a good day to flip back through them, looking for those breakouts.
Today, the most valuable 1987 Topps Traded baseball cards don’t look like much of a whiff at all. Here, see for yourself …
(Note: The following sections contain affiliate links to eBay and Amazon listings for the cards being discussed. Values reflect actual selling prices for cards in PSA 9 condition.)
1987 Topps Traded Steve Carlton (#19T)
Steve Carlton played for 38 different teams between the end of his Phillies tenure in 1986 and the end of available clubs in 1988.
OK, maybe 38 isn’t quite right, but it’s not far off – Lefty hung on and on and on.
Here, he’s hanging on with the Indians, which looks weird, but not as heart-rending sad as that one Giants monstrosity.
Value: $7-9
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1987 Topps Traded Ellis Burks (#14T)
Ellis Burks didn’t come to the major leagues with the hype of a Jose Canseco or Ruben Sierra, and he didn’t put up the sorts of monster numbers that grabbed all the headlines in 1987.
But the Red Sox centerfielder managed to sort of quietly mash 20 home runs in that rookie season, establishing himself alongside Mike Greenwell as a promising young core for Boston.
As Burks slow-burned his way to an excellent 18-year career, his 1987 Topps Traded ratcheted steadily up in value to take its rightful place among this group.
Value: $8-10
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1987 Topps Traded Andre Dawson (#27T)
For as mundane as the headshot of Andre Dawson is, this card stands as a sort of historical milepost.
The Hawk had infamously found no takers during free agency heading into the 1987 season, a situation which was later found to be collusion, so he handed the Cubs a blank contract in Spring Training.
They filled in a bargain-basement price, and Dawson took his frustration out on National League pitchers to the tune of a league-leading 49 home runs.
No doubt this was a turning point in Dawson’s march to Cooperstown, and this was the first Topps card to show the Chicago legend in his new duds.
Value: $7-12
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1987 Topps Traded Reggie Jackson (#52T)
Reggie Jackson came “home” for one final season in 1987, returning to the Oakland A’s, with whom he had begun his Hall of Fame career back in 1967 (when they played in Kansas City).
And, even though everyone knew the 41-year-old was done when the ‘87 season was, Topps broke their usual protocol and issued one final Reggie card.
Bully for us
Value: $10-12
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1987 Topps Traded Matt Williams (#129T)
Entering the 1987 season, Matt Williams had played all of 72 professional baseball games, none above the Single-A level.
But the Giants brought the third overall pick of the 1986 draft (UNLV) to the majors in April of 1987 anyway, and, though he earned a July demotion, he was back up for the September pennant drive.
Overall, Williams’ rookie showing was pretty anemic – .188 with eight home runs and 21 RBI – but it was enough to land him his first Topps card.
And that card would become a lot more interesting when Williams finally claimed the Giants’ third base job as his own in 1989 and started hitting taters by the bushelful.
Value: $10-15
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