Ernie Banks Baseball Cards: The Ultimate Guide

Like the man himself, Ernie Banks baseball cards have brought sunshine and joy to collectors and fans across the land since their debut way back in 1954.

After all, Mr. Cub may be a Chicago icon, but his exuberance for the game, megawatt smile, and Hall of Fame career make him one of the game’s most lovable figures no matter which team you root for.

And the same goes for his cards — who wouldn’t love to open a vintage wax pack and find Banks beaming back at you?!?

Let’s play two!

Whatever you say, Ernie. Heck, let’s play about 30 or so. That’s the number of regular-issue cards that featured Banks during his illustrious march to Cooperstown, every one of them a story unto itself.

Here, then, is a complete rundown of Ernie Banks baseball cards, complete with current selling prices for cards in the most commonly available condition.

(Note: The sections below contain affiliate links to eBay and Amazon listings for the cards being discussed. Value information is based on recent actual selling prices.)

1954 Topps Ernie Banks Rookie Card (#94)

One of several player-selection missteps that helped lead to Bowman’s demise in the 1950s was passing on rookie cards of both Hank Aaron and Ernie Banks in their 1954 set.

Instead, collectors found the young sluggers only in packs of Topps baseball cards, then watched as the two mixed it up with Wally Moon and Gene Conley for National League Rookie of the Year honors.

Moon took the ROY, but Banks played all 154 games for the Cubs and tagged 19 home runs to proclaim that he was in Wrigley Field to stay.

Today, Banks’ 1954 Topps rookie card is a hobby staple and, while it doesn’t carry quite the swagger of Aaron’s on RC in the set, its distinctive white background makes it really stand out against the colorful palette around it.

Condition: PSA 5

Value: $2000-2500

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1955 Bowman Ernie Banks (#242)

Bowman finally got in the Banks game (and the Aaron game, for that matter) in their iconic 1955 set.

Here we see the unusual sight of a rather stoic young Banks in a posed batting follow-through in front of a light tower at Philadelphia’s Shibe Park. Maybe Banks is none too thrilled about his environs, or maybe he’s just saving that patented Mr. Cub smile for a rainy (rainier?) day.

Either way, this is an important piece of hobby history as Banks’ only vintage Bowman card.

Condition: PSA 5

Value: $300-350

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1955 Topps Ernie Banks (#28)

For 1955, Topps flipped their design on its side for the first time in their history, same as Bowman did. What could have been a bit of cardboard intrigue – how did they both come to that particular decision at that particular time? – turned into a historical footnote when Topps bought out their rival prior to the 1956 issues hitting shelves.

As for Banks’ second Topps card, it’s a stunner, featuring both a headshot and action cameo, vibrant colors, and even that cute Cub-head logo.

Come to think of it, though …

Banks isn’t offering up a smile on this 1955 Topps card, either, but this beauty still makes collectors grin after all these years.

Condition: PSA 5

Value: $250-300

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1956 Topps Ernie Banks (#15)

Topps was all alone in the market for the first time in 1956, meaning they could pretty much do what they wanted.

“What they wanted” turned out to be reusing the horizontal format, large headshots, and facsimile autographs from 1955 while dropping the solid-fade background in favor of a wider shot of action on the field.

The result here was a Banks card that looks pretty familiar, but also has a classic 1950s feel all its own.

Condition: PSA 5

Value: $200-250

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1957 Topps Ernie Banks (#55)

If you never thought of baseball cards as “beautiful,” then I invite you to take a really good look at the 1957 Topps Ernie Banks pasteboard.

A minimalistic design that features just some understated text at the bottom of the card and a modest white border all around left plenty of to focus on the image. And, boy, did Topps get that one right!

The vibrant shot of young Mr. Cub in his batting stance is perfectly framed, with Banks almost seeming to be spilling out of the confines of the card and into our living room.

We even get a hint of the seldom-seen red swoop underlining the “Chicago” on Banks’ road uniform.

Overall, this card can rightly be labeled, “masterpiece.”

Condition: PSA 6

Value: $200-250

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1958 Topps Ernie Banks (#310)

After the classic no-design design of the 1957 set (that also standardized card size at 2-½” x 3-½”), Topps returned to their 1950s-gaud roots for 1958.

Nothing subtle about this Ernie Banks card, with its surface-of-the-sun yellow background, red (and huge!) letters and accents, and gargantuan noggin shot of the guy who would win his first National League MVP award that fall.

It’s a classic look that fits its era about as well as any card in the hobby.

Condition: PSA 6

Value: $225-300

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1958 Topps Ernie Banks All-Star (#482)

Except for Banks’ 1958 All-Star card, that is. This one looks like it belongs on a 1950s movie marquee.

Heck, it looks like it is a 1950s movie marquee.

“Now playing – The Chicago Cubs, starring award-winning shortstop, Ernie Banks.”

It’s a great card that instantly transports you back in time to pre-expansion baseball and the the excitement of pulling a special card from your penny pack.

Condition: PSA 6

Value: $75-85

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1959 Topps Ernie Banks (#350)

Banks had just won his first MVP award when this card was issued, and he would nab another for his efforts in 1959.

It was sort of an interesting proposition for the time, given that the Cubs finished well under .500 and in fifth place in the National League each of those summers. Most of the time in those days, it took a winning team to yield individual hardware.

The card itself shows Banks in the middle of receiving a ball, maybe during infield warm-ups (or a staged version of the same). It also leaves the eye wanting more, thanks to porthole view of the game’s most celebrated shortstop of the moment.

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $250-275

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1959 Topps Ernie Banks – Cubs Clubbers (#147)

Dale Long was an interesting player, setting the baseball world on fire by hitting home runs in eight straight games for the 1956 Pittsburgh Pirates, then becoming the majors’ first left-handed catcher in nearly 60 years for the 1958 Cubs (Jiggs Donahue had turned the trick in 1902).

Long followed that up by landing on this fun card with Banks in 1959 as a Cubs Clubber, along with left fielder Walt Moryn.

The three had combined for 93 home runs in 1958, and I’ll let you guess which one of them combined for just over half that total.

(For the record, Cubs teammates Lee Walls and Bobby Thomson each out-homered Long that summer.)

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $40-60

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1959 Topps Ernie Banks MVP (#469)

Part of a 10-card run of “Baseball Thrills” late in the set, this Banks card celebrates his 1958 National League MVP performance and was issued during the summer he was winning his second MVP in a row (1959, that is).

The painted shot gives an unusual glimpse of Banks sliding home.

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $55-60

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1959 Topps Ernie Banks All-Star (#559)

Banks was a hot commodity in the late 1950s, as evidenced by this, his fourth card in a 1959 Topps set that stretched to just 572 cards in total. You could expect to find a different Ernie card about once per series, in other words.

This one shows a pensive young Banks on a tree-filled, sunny day, all wrapped in a busy, bright red border. Nothing subtle about the 1959 Topps Ernie Banks All-Star card!

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $145-165

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1960 Topps Ernie Banks (#10)

Early Wynn scored the first card of the 1960 set, perhaps a nod toward his majors-leading 22 wins in 1959 and his march on 300 victories in his 40s, not to mention the pennant his Chicago White Sox had won in 1959.

Joe Adcock and Wally Moon also appear in the first nine slots of the 1960 Topps set, as does a combo card of Willie Mays and Giants manager Bill Rigney.

But the first true superstar single?

Yeah, that one belongs to two-time reigning N.L. MVP Ernie Banks, who looks majestic in side-by-side shots on the horizontal card front, accented by the Cubbie-head logo.

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $250-350

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1960 Topps Ernie Banks All-Star (#560)

Banks appeared in both All-Star Games in each of 1959 and 1960, so it’s little wonder that he also appeared in Topps’ 1960 All-Star subset. These AS specials were about as bold as Banks’ own 1958 and 1959 seasons had been, too, thanks to the huge “60” background that makes them among the most identifiable baseball cards of all time.

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $135-185

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1961 Topps Ernie Banks – N.L. Home Run Leaders (#43)

Banks slipped to fourth in NL MVP voting in 1960, but he still led the Senior Circuit in home runs with 41. That was his second and final longball crown (he won with 47 in 1958) and landed him at the head of the class on this 1961 Topps “leaders” card that also features Milwaukee Braves teammates Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews, as well as Cardinals great, Ken Boyer.

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $50-55

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1961 Topps Ernie Banks (#350)

Looking at this hatless card of Banks, you have to wonder if there were rumblings about a possible trade away from the Cubs as the 1961 season dawned. Dropping a player’s cap was one of Topps’ tricks for staying current, after all, as it made it easier to just change the team designation on the card design when a deal DID go down.

No airbrush necessary.

A little internet research shows that there were, indeed, various trade rumors involving Banks over the years so … it’s possible.

What’s for sure is that the 1961 Topps Ernie Banks baseball card is about as generic a pasteboard as you’re likely to find for a Hall of Famer.

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $150-200

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1961 Topps Ernie Banks MVP (#485)

This blue-bathed Banks was part of a 16-card run in the second series of 1961

Topps that showcased American and National League MVPs from 1950 through 1960. Banks was one of four players, along with Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, and Mickey Mantle to appear with multiple years on their cards, representing the multiple MVP awards they had nabbed in the preceding 11 seasons.

Any surprise those multi-award guys produced four Cooperstown plaques among them?

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $100-125

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1961 Topps Ernie Banks All-Star (#575)

Banks was once again a double All-Star in 1960, landing him a slot on Topps roster of All-Star cards. Sponsorship for the AS cards switched from Sport Magazine to the Sporting News, and collectors were treated to the “exploding newspaper” motif for the first time.

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $100-125

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1962 Topps Ernie Banks (#25)

After all the firepower and awards he racked up from 1958 through 1960, Banks played just 138 games in 1961, thanks largely to a knee injury he had been working around for years. The result was a 29-homer season sort of lost in the glare of the big bombers that summer, and only a base card in the 1962 Topps set (even though he did make it to one of two 1961 All-Star Games).

Good thing it’s a great-looking, classic card, huh?

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $140-170

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1963 Topps Ernie Banks – N.L. Home Run Leaders (#3)

Banks moved from shortstop to first base in 1962, and he responded with a big bounceback season at the plate that included 37 home runs, 104 RBI, and two All-Star selections. Not surprisingly, Mr. Cub was all over the 1963 Topps set, beginning with this home run leaders card that he shares with Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, and Orlando Cepeda.

That’s a whole lotta slugging firepower all on one card!

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $160-180

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1963 Topps Ernie Banks and Hank Aaron – Power Plus (#242)

It may not have carried quite the swagger that “Managers’ Dream” did in 1962, but this pairing of Banks and Aaron surely made young collectors squeal in delight whenever it emerged from a 1963 Topps wax pack.

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $250-325

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1963 Topps Ernie Banks (#380)

Banks’ 1963 Topps base card is nothing special or outrageous, just a simple, well-lit shot of a Cubs legend and then-future Hall of Famer. Which, when you think about it, really does make it kind of special, after all.

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $250-300

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1964 Topps Ernie Banks (#55)

Banks’ playing time dropped again in 1963, to 130 games. And his 18 home runs weren’t enough to inspire any “special” cards the next summer. Topps also dropped their All-Star cards in 1964, and Banks had missed the AS cut in ‘63, anyway.

As in 1962, that all added up to a single base Banks card in the 1964 Topps set.

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $135-185

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1965 Topps Ernie Banks (#510)

At 33, Banks was back in the lineup on the regular in 1964, but the power didn’t really bounce back – 23 home runs and 95 RBI were OK, but not earth-shattering for a slugging first baseman.

No All-Star berth, no appearance on league-leader boards … it all added up (again) to a just a base card in the 1965 Topps set. This one is sort of iconic, though, with Banks featured in profile, ready for his place on a coin.

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $135-165

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1966 Topps Ernie Banks (#204)

Banks made it back to the All-Star Game in 1965 for the first time since 1962, but even his 28 home runs and 106 RBI weren’t enough to get him on the leaderboards. Consequently, the lean years for Banks collectors continued the next summer, as there was but one (base) card of Mr. Cub in the 1966 Topps set.

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $125-140

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1967 Topps Ernie Banks (#215)

Same deal in 1967 – after managing just 15 home runs in 1966, Banks landed just a base card in the classic 1967 Topps set. This one is a beauty, though, with Ernie flashing his Cubbie blue under a perfect (even) blue(r) sky.

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $85-125

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1968 Topps Ernie Banks (#355)

Banks made it back to the All-Star Game and back into 20-homer territory in 1967, but it wasn’t enough for him to escape his cardboard purgatory. To wit, there is but one 1968 Topps burlap card of the Cubs’ legend, but at least it features that amazing smile perched above Cubbie on his left sleeve.

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $110-120

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1969 Topps Ernie Banks (#6)

Topps sort of lost whatever creative drive they had during the last half of the 1960s, at least as far as their image selection went. Case in point – this 1969 Topps Banks base card, though sunny and bright, features the same image as his 1968 Topps card. Hey, at least they cropped it a bit differently!

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $100-110

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1969 Topps Ernie Banks – N.L. Home Run Leaders (#20)

Banks had cranked up the wattage one last time at age 37 in 1968, cranking 32 long balls in “The Year of the Pitcher.” That got him back on the N.L. leaderboard and prompted Topps to include him on this power-packed trio with Willie McCovey and Dick Allen.

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $25-30

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1970 Topps Ernie Banks (#630)

Banks made his final All-Star appearance in 1969, but that didn’t land him an All-Star card in the 1970 Topps set. Instead, collectors were treated to a really nice base card of an aging legend … and nothing more.

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $100-150

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1971 Topps Ernie Banks (#525)

Banks played in just 72 games in 1970, popping 12 home runs. Those numbers fell to 39 games played and three home runs in 1971. He retired after that ‘71 season and, in keeping with their standards of the time, Topps did NOT issue a career-capper card for him in 1972.

That leaves the black-bordered 1971 Topps beauty as the last Ernie Banks card, and it’s become something of a hobby classic.

Condition: PSA 7

Value: $200-225

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1973 Topps Ernie Banks – Cubs Coaches (#81)

Banks was actually a player-coach during that final season, 1971. He dropped the “player” portion moving forward but remained on with the Cubs as a coach in 1972 and 1973. That turned out to be a boon for collectors when Topps included coaches on manager cards in their 1973 set.

And, thus, we have the only Whitey Lockman–Hank Aguirre-Ernie Banks-Larry Jansen–Pete Reiser card the world has ever seen.

Condition: PSA 8

Value: $30-50

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