In the beginning, collectors weren’t really sure what to make of a Bo Jackson rookie card.
Pull one from a wax pack in 1987 or so, and you might have been holding the next Mickey Mantle rookie card … or the next hunk of commons-bin fodder.
But, even for those who weren’t convinced of the magic that Bo brought to the game(s), there was still a certain mystique to the man, and his cards.
After all, here you had a Heisman Trophy winner who had decided to put his gridiron career on hold to pursue one of his other passions … baseball!
Indeed, the early hobby returns seemed to bolster that decision as Jackson landed on several baseball cards before he ever showed up on his first football card.
Eventually, of course, Jackson would play both sports back-to-back through the year, achieving at least some level of stardom at the highest levels in each pursuit.
Along the way, Bo Jackson rookie cards took on a heartier shine, too, and had collectors of both sports, and all across the nation, reserving special spots in their cardboard shrines for the phenom.
And, even after Jackson’s NFL career ended at the hands of a devastating hip injury in 1991, he kept plugging away on the diamond for another couple of years before hanging up his spikes for good.
By then, his rookie cards (and non-rookie cards, for that matter) had cemented their place as hobby stars, and they’ve only grown in popularity in the decades since.
Here, then, is a complete rundown each Bo Jackson rookie card, beginning with his baseball issues and ending-around to his gridiron issues. Prices are based on actual selling prices for PSA 9 copies of the cards, which you can track through the various PSA price guides.
Play ball … and hut-hut!
(Note: The following sections contain affiliate links to eBay and Amazon listings for the cards being discussed.)
1986 Donruss The Rookies Bo Jackson (#38)
After wheeling out “Highlights” as their first foray into the late-season-set foray in 1985, Donruss upped the ante in 1986 with “The Rookies.”
And, Wally Joyner and his juggernaut first half undoubtedly inspired this set as Donruss raced to beat their competitors to market, Bo was a secondary hit right off the bat.
Today, we all know who drives this issue, and it ain’t Wally World.
Value: $25-35
Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)
Check prices on Amazon (affiliate link)
1986 Sportflics Rookies Bo Jackson (#40)
Sportflics cards are nobody’s idea of masterpieces (my apologies if you fall into that “nobody” realm), but they were pretty cool when they were issued, what with all their whizbang Triple Motion technology and foil packs (but “Upper Deck was an innovator” – yeah, yeah) and thick-as-Coke-bottle-glasses-cardstock and color photos on card backs.
Most of all, they were baseball cards.
And *most* most of all, this baseball card was a Bo Jackson rookie card.
Value: $15-20
Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)
Check prices on Amazon (affiliate link)
1986 Topps Traded Bo Jackson (#50T)
When it debuted, the 1986 Topps Traded set was all about the first Topps Jose Canseco card, with a secondary nod to Wally Joyner.
Within a couple of years, the Will Clark and Barry Bonds rookies were also climbing the charts of this one.
But all along the way, Bo was a draw, too, even if something of a curiosity to start with.
These days, though, with plenty of history for perspective, it’s Bo and Barry duking it out for supremacy among the 1986 Topps Traded dandies.
(Note: There’s also a Tiffany version of this set, and of the Bo rookie card – you can expect to pay about a 20X multiplier for that version.)
Value: $35-45
Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)
Check prices on Amazon (affiliate link)
1987 Donruss Bo Jackson Rated Rookie (#35)
By the end of the 1986 baseball season, Bo had 1) turned down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ $7-million+ draft offer to play in the NFL, 2) held his own against Double-A pitching with the Memphis Chicks, and 3) spent a month with the big league Kansas City Royals.
Oh, and the NFL was still talking about the former Heisman Trophy winner, with an eye toward luring him back to the gridiron.
Bo was a hot commodity, in other words, and he was starting to get some decent hobby play – enough so that any card company would have been foolish to *not* include him in their 1987 set.
And, when those new issues debuted, Donruss fed the building frenzy by featuring Jackson prominently in their sharp black-bordered set as a Rated Rookie.
It’s a stone-cold classic that’s become a hobby icon from the era.
Value: $20-25
Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)
Check prices on Amazon (affiliate link)
1987 Fleer Bo Jackson (#369)
Among Jackson’s base rookie cards from 1987, the Fleer version is probably the least flashy and most overlooked of the lot (aside from Sportflics).
But the colors of the blue-fade border work so well with the smiling Bo’s Royals powdered Royals togs that you might get the idea that Fleer crafted the design just to flatter the young superstar.
(Note: You can expect a price multiple of about 2X for the Fleer Glossy version of Bo’s RC.)
Value: $25-30
Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)
Check prices on Amazon (affiliate link)