The Best Set of Baseball Cards Ever Made, Hands Down
'87 Topps was the first set of cards I collected. Every week, with my one dollar allowance, I would buy two packs at 40 cents a pop at the Burger Dairy store on the corner of Kern and US-31 in South Bend, Indiana.
The packs came with a stick of pink gum which I usually threw away without chewing because it was not good gum.
The cards, on the other hand, are legendary. The wood border, the many iconic images, and the players' names written in the perfect font.
My current theory for why the wood border is ideal is that it makes you feel like you're looking at posters hanging in someone's basement rec room. It's homey.
I owned almost all of the ‘87 Topps set, including each of the four cards below. I might have these four cards lying around somewhere still, but I'm not sure.
Andre Dawson was the National League MVP in 1987. 49 homers. “The Hawk.”
Kevin Mitchell-- great player. Remember the barehanded, over the shoulder catch he made in left field when he overran a fly ball? Mostly, I am choosing to highlight this card because of the amazing photograph. I spent a lot of time staring at that card. What a cloud of dust! I thought only a truly impressive athlete could generate a cloud of dust like that. I still think so.
Barry Bonds-- this is a great card because it's his rookie card. And on top of that, it might be the best photograph in the '87 Topps set. Who knows where he hit the ball with that particular swing? I always thought it had to be a home run. Look at the torque! Look at that beautiful swing! Look at the packed stadium behind him, everyone surely looking on in wonder! Yes, Barry Bonds took steroids and will probably never make the Hall of Fame. But he does have the most home runs of all-time, more than Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. And he has a Kanye West song about him. Not many people can say that! And he also has my #1 favorite card ever (this one).
Finally, Rob Deer-- he played for a lot of teams, he swung hard, he hit for power, he hit a low average, he struck out a lot. But, as you can see on the card, he had a great mustache, great hair, and he enjoyed hanging around with the guys at batting practice. He probably had a couple of Bob Seger tapes in his car, to boot. Nothing wrong with that.
If you collected ‘87 Topps, I hope you enjoyed the trip down memory lane. If you never did get your hands on a pack, I hope you will now clearly see that ‘87 Topps is the best set of cards ever made.
