Barry Bonds 1987 Topps Rookie Card
Written: Sep 22 '04 (Updated Mar 04 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Affordable card of a baseball icon and possible future Hall of Famer.
Cons: An over-produced card of a steroid user that will probably never increase in value
The Bottom Line: An ungraded card obtained at a bargain price for .50 or $1.00 might be worth it to a die hard fan, otherwise avoid this card.
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| LonghornMan's Full Review: Topps Pittsburgh Pirates Barry Bonds 1987 Rookie T... |
The 1987 Topps Barry Bonds rookie card is neither his most valuable card nor is it his most aesthetically pleasing. It is however, the first regular issue Topps card produced that features a man who will go down in history as either one of baseball's greatest players or one of the most infamous users of performance enhancing drugs. Regardless of the appearance of this card, it is no doubt a card that is extremely desirable to many collectors who care nothing about his steroid use or don't believe it actually took place. Another downside to consider is that it comes from the 1987 Topps set.
The 1987 Topps set is not particularly attractive. This is especially true when compared to the latest cards released by Topps and their competitors that feature high-quality, high-resolution photos and graphics. The front of the card has a photograph of a much thinner less intimidating Bonds following through on what was either a home run or a pop fly. Odds are it was a pop fly since he wasn't taking steroid back then. Bonds is sporting his gray Pirates jersey with yellow and black piping on the sleeves, Pirates in the traditional black Pittsburgh script outlined in yellow across the chest and number 7 in black outlined with yellow on the lower left side. Bonds is also sporting matching gray uniform pants with black and yellow piping, yellow double wristbands, what looks to be black and white Franklin batting gloves, white socks, black stirrups and black Nike cleats with a yellow swoosh. The picture of Bonds has a wood grain border with the Pirates logo in the upper left corner and the Topps logo in the lower left.
The back of the card has Bonds' statistics previous to his 1987 season. It presents the standard batting statistics which consist of games, at bats, runs, hits, doubles, triples, home runs, runs batted in, stolen bases, slugging percentage, walks, strikeouts batting average and major league totals. It shows his statistics for his 1985 season at Prince William, 1986 season with Hawaii and his first 113 with at Pittsburgh in 1986. Below the standard statistics it has his game winning runs batted in for 1986 and his career game winning runs batted in. The back of the card is printed in blue and yellow ink with the natural cardboard background. In addition to his batting statistics, the card features the biographical information that, "Barry majored in Criminal Justice at Arizona State. His father, Bobby, played major league ball, 1968-1981, and coached Cleveland Indians in 1986." Directly under this information is the gee whiz fact, "On This Date October 3, 1970: Dave McNally became the 1st pitcher to hit grand slam in World Series. Dave's 1970 Topps card was #20.” Under the "On This Date" facts are Bonds' vital statistics which include height: 6'1, weight: 185, bats: left, drafted: Pirates #1 June 1985, acquired: via the draft, born: 7-24-64, Riverside, CA, home: San Carlos, CA. Back when all these statistics were crunched, nobody ever thought that Barry Bonds would put together the kind of numbers that he has to date.
Bonds' statistics here to for are surprising to those who watched him play without steroids in the beginning of his career. A little over 17 years ago, a man set foot on a Major League Baseball field embarking on a journey that will result in him either going down in history as one of the best players in the history of the game or a cheating steroid user that stole records from those who played by the rules. Without the aid of performance enhancing drugs, Barry Bonds' statistics would be viewed as undeniably outstanding. Bonds has six National League Most Valuable Player Awards 1990, '92, '93, 2001, '02 and '03 while no other major league player has one more than three, holds the single season home run record, All-Star selection 12 times, 8 time Rawlings Gold Glove winner, named player of the decade for the 1990's by The Sporting News, 40-40 club member (40 home runs and 40 stolen bases) and with 700 home runs is now on the chase for Babe Ruth's mark of 714. Please note that those are only a few of his plethora of achievements and many of these may have been accomplished without the use of steroids. In seventeen years, Bonds has managed to take baseball to a whole new level. The only question is: Would these achievements have been accomplished without the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs?
One might think that a seventeen year old card with the vital and batting statistics of a man who, statistically speaking, might possibly be the greatest baseball player this world has ever seen would be worth a great deal. This line of thinking would be completely incorrect. The regular 1987 Topps set was produced in huge numbers and widely available to the public.
The grandiosity of the card's distribution makes for a card that is not remotely rare or coveted whatsoever. The fact that there are thousands upon thousands of unopened 1987 Topps wax packs still available in the secondary market only reinforces this reality. This fact does however make these affordable unopened packs a nice product for Joe and Joan Public to open with their kids in hopes that they will pull a rookie card.
Speaking in terms of investment potential, the jury is still out on how the fans will react to the revelation that one of the most famous baseball players in history was a steroid user at the time he broke some of the most significant records in Major League Baseball. This card is by no means going to skyrocket in price and make you rich and just might possibly plummet in value depending on exactly what is proved in the coming weeks and months. The current Beckett Baseball Card Price Guide value is between $4.00 and $10.00 for a Mint ungraded card. Depending on where you live you should be able to acquire one of these for around $5.00. If you don't have any luck finding one at this price at local card shops check out Ebay and Naxcom.
Ungraded cards, unless they are in pristine condition and eventually graded by a reputable company such as PSA (Professional Sports Authenticators) or BGS (Beckett Card Grading Services) do not generally demand a high premium. If you just want this card to own a piece of history that you can pass down to your child or display in your den then go the ungraded route. If you are truly looking to invest in this particular card, I wouldn't advise purchasing an ungraded one.
Prices for a graded 1987 Barry Bonds Topps rookie are significantly higher than the ungraded. A PSA Gem Mint 10 will set you back between $90.00 and $150.00 and BGS Gem Mint 10 will cost you between $125.00 and $150.00. While this seems expensive, Gem Mint 10 cards are really the only cards you can hope to have any significant increase in value. An affordable alternative to the PSA or BGS Gem Mint 10's are Mint 9 cards. These cards can be obtained for between $12.50 and $25.00 depending on the grading company and the locale in which you purchase them. The Beckett Baseball Card Guide prices for these cards is as follows: BCCG 9 $12.50-$25.00, BGS $15.00-$30.00, PSA $10.00-$25.00 and SGC $10.00-$25.00.
Overall, I think that this an affordable card of a player that would have been a shoe-in for induction into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame without this evidence of steroid use. Even before news of this steroid scandal broke, Barry Bonds was by no means a national fan favorite because of his lack of interest in the thoughts and opinions of fans and sportswriters. However, this lack of caring about what anyone thought of him may have been what enabled him to hone his concentration to such a degree that he was able to shut everything out, but the task at hand. This ability along with the use of steroids has allowed him to perform at a level the likes of which Major League Baseball has ever seen. Even in the unlikely event that he is exhonerated of any wrong doing, it is unlikely that he will be able to perform at the level he once did. I can see no reason to run out and purchase his 1987 Topps rookie card. I definitely cannot suggest that you pay $13.00 lowest price offered through merchants on this site, unless you have a gift certificate or the like for one of these stores. If you still feel compelled to purchase this card would be getting a much sounder investment by shopping around and trying to score a PSA or BGS 9 at a lower price.
At the present time Barry Bonds claims he didn't know that what he was taking were steroids. I personally find it hard to believe that a baseball superstar with a degree in Criminal Justice had no idea that he was taking performance enhancing drugs.
Other Steroid Using Baseball Player Reviews
Jose Canseco 1986 Donruss Rookie Card
My Other Baseball Related Reviews
Greg Maddux 1987 Topps Rookie
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Recommended:
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Location: Dallas, TX Dirty South
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