The 1983 Topps baseball card set is one of my favorites of the 1980s for three reasons:
- the design is fantastic (with a nod to the 1963 set design)
- its loaded with stars and Hall of Famers
- it contains three key Hall of Fame rookie cards in Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs and Ryne Sandberg
As Fleer and Donruss had entered the market a couple years earlier, you could clearly see that Topps was trying to step up its game to hold off its competitors.
There's just so much to love about this set as it was one of the last sets produced before the "Junk Era" was underway later that decade.
And in this guide, I'll run through the 25 most valuable.
Let's jump right in!
1983 Topps #482 Tony Gwynn Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $2,700
Along with those of Wade Boggs and Ryne Sandberg, the 1983 Topps Tony Gwynn rookie card is one of the most important and iconic baseball cards of the 1980's.
Sure, Gwynn was one of the greatest hitters who ever played with 8 batting titles to his name, but why are collectors willing to pay so much for this card in top grade?
Back in 1983, the bubble in the baseball card market had already started to form as Donruss and Fleer had both entered the market in 1981 and all three companies started to boost production.
However, print quantities of 1983 Topps weren't at the same levels they were by the late 80s and early 90s.
Nor did as many pristine examples survive as centering and print bubbles were always tough challenges with this set.
For example, as of this writing there are 640 examples of Gwynn's Topps rookie card that achieved PSA 10 grade status while there are nearly 12,000 examples of Ken Griffey Jr.'s 1989 Topps Traded rookie graded in PSA 10 holders.
Therefore, the market has responded by boosting the price level of Gwynn's rookie in PSA 10 condition to the price levels you see here.
1983 Topps #498 Wade Boggs Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $1,650
Like Gwynn, Wade Boggs was no slouch himself when it came to winning batting titles as he'd rack up 5 over his career.
I still remember when he did the unthinkable when he left the Red Sox after the 1992 season to sign with their hated arch rivals in New York.
Boggs was extremely productive in Yankee pinstripes and even won a World Series with them in 1996 so I guess it all worked out for him.
As one of the game's all-time greats in batting average and OBP, if you were an opposing pitcher then Boggs was one of the last guys you wanted to face.
1983 Topps #83 Ryne Sandberg Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $1,200
The third key Hall of Fame rookie card in this iconic set belongs to Chicago Cubs legend, Ryne Sandberg.
Growing up in central Indiana, Sandberg was one of the players I was able to watch most frequently and I remember being amazed at his ability to hit for power as a second baseman.
He'd go on to win 7 Silver Sluggers over his career.
And he was also a fantastic fielder (although in recent years his defensive ability has come into question) as he won 9 consecutive Gold Gloves during one stretch of his career.
Sandberg's status as a Hall of Famer and one of the most beloved Cubs of all-time keeps demand for high grade specimens of his rookie card at lofty price levels.
1983 Topps #391 Rickey Henderson All-Star
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $500
Next on the list is Rickey Henderson's All-Star card of which, as of this writing, there are only 8 copies on record that have been graded in PSA 10 condition.
By comparison, there are 240 examples of his base card (#240) that have achieved PSA 10 status.
Typically, collectors will find a player's base card more desirable than his All-Star card.
However, the relative scarcity of his All-Star card in top grade is what keeps it at such a high price level compared to his base card when you consider there are plenty of both Rickey Henderson collectors and 1983 Topps set builders wanting it.
1983 Topps #360 Nolan Ryan
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $475
Speaking of legendary pitchers, this next guy needs no introduction.
It doesn't matter what set you're talking about, Nolan Ryan is almost always going to be one of the most desirable cards within it.
While I do like the overall design of this set with its nod to the 1963 Topps set, I always wished they would've come up with a better image to use.
Ryan looks to be signaling to his catcher that he's about ready to throw a fastball, so it would've been worth the small wait to snap a shot of him throwing it.
It's hard to complain too much about any Nolan Ryan card, though, and that retro Astros jersey and overall color scheme of the card help to maintain strong eye appeal.
1983 Topps #186 Whitey Herzog
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $425
1983 Topps #180 Rickey Henderson
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $400
The 1983 Oakland A's had one of the worst pitching staffs in baseball, finishing third-worst in the Majors in ERA (4.34).
Oakland needed more than its fair share of offense to remain competitive.
Their all-everything leadoff hitter, Rickey Henderson, was the guy tasked with bringing most of it home.
Under new manager Steve Boros, Henderson kept on chugging as he had under Billy Martin for the previous three seasons.
He led the team in WAR for the fourth consecutive season with 6.9.
Only one other teammate, Mike Davis, had even three wins to his name.
Henderson won his fourth consecutive AL steals title, topping 100 swipes (108) for the third time.
It wasn't the record 130 stolen bases of the year before, but it still ranks as the fifth most of the modern era.
The 24-year-old center fielder also led the world in walks (116) and posted an on-base percentage just shy of 40% (.398).
1983 Topps #600 George Brett
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $400
"The Pine Tar Incident" is one of the most bizarre and quintessentially baseball moments we've ever had.
On July 24th, 1983, Kansas City Royals superstar George Brett came up clutch with a two-run home run in the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium.
The two-out bomb pushed the Royals ahead, 5-4, and set the stage for a comeback win.
And then, chaos.
Yankees manager Billy Martin strode to the mound after the homer, imploring home plate umpire Tim McClelland to check Brett's bat.
He inspected the lumber and determined the third baseman used more pine tar than allowed.
McClelland overturned the home run, ruling Brett out to end the game.
The iconic image of Brett storming towards McClelland in disbelief remains burned in the minds of baseball fans, young and old.
In the end, the Royals got theirs.
A protest of the ruling overturned McClelland's call and forced the teams to play a makeup ending at Yankee Stadium in front of 1,200 fans.
The Royals won the game, 5-4, 25 days later.
1983 Topps #163 Cal Ripken Jr.
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $375
Cal Ripken Jr.'s second-year issue rounds out our list and can be had for around $75 in PSA 10 condition.
I've always loved the look and feel of this card with its color scheme and fantastic action shot of a young Ripken knocking one into play.
Ripken wasted no time building his Hall of Fame resume after winning Rookie of the Year honors in 1982 and following that up with a World Series title and MVP award in 1983.
Arguably the greatest shortstop to ever play the game, Ripken had a brilliant career and he was always one of my favorites to watch as a kid.
1983 Topps #426 Earl Weaver
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $350
The greatest manager in Baltimore Orioles history took a temporary curtain call in 1982.
Then, he watched the fruits of his labor yield World Series gold.
Earl Weaver led the O's to four AL pennants and a 1970 World Championship across his 15 years with the club from 1968 to 1982.
Baltimore did not finish under .500 in any of those seasons.
Weaver announced his intention to retire at the end of the '82 season and received a grand send-off from players, managers, executives, and fans across the map.
When the Orioles lost Game #162, a de facto division tiebreaker game, at home against the Brewers, fans clamored for Weaver to take a bow.
He did just that, spelling "ORIOLES" with his body to the delight of the 51,642 in attendance.
Baltimore later hired Joe Altobelli as Weaver's replacement, and Altobelli parlayed Weaver's hard work into a title months later.
Altobelli wouldn't last long, however, and Weaver returned for parts of two more seasons starting in 1985.
1983 Topps #672 Jim Kaat
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $325
For as long and winding as Jim Kaat's MLB career was, it sure ended abruptly.
Kaat reinvented himself in his forties as a bullpen arm for the St. Louis Cardinals.
While the former starting workhorse only pitched to a virtual league-average ERA+ from 1980 to 1982, the seemingly ageless lefty was valuable for eating innings and getting other pitchers rest.
Kaat even got an elusive World Series ring with the '82 squad.
1983 seemed to be more of the same.
Kaat pitched right around league-average, posting a 3.89 ERA in 24 appearances.
However, when the defending champion Cardinals flailed to a disappointing .500 start through the first three months of the campaign, it was Kaat who ended up being one of the scapegoats.
The 44-year-old was released on July 6th with no fanfare.
Kaat didn't even get a one-on-one meeting with manager Whitey Herzog.
It was a swift ending, and it would ultimately prove to be the end of Kaat's Hall-of-Fame career.
1983 Topps #540 Ozzie Smith
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $275
If you want to know why Ozzie Smith's light-hitting meant little to the fans and members of the St. Louis Cardinals organization, all you need to do is dive a little deeper into the numbers.
The defensive numbers, that is.
In 1983, Smith hit .241 and got on base just over 32% of the time.
He hit three home runs, a career high at that point, but just three nonetheless.
Nothing about his batting screamed Hall-of-Fame.
And then, you get into his work with the glove.
"The Wizard" was the ultimate double-play partner, the perfect vacuum at the six.
He led baseball with 304 putouts, the only time that he eclipsed 300 in his career.
Smith also turned triple-digit double plays for the third time in four seasons and turned in the game's best range factor per 9 innings (5.51), which adds assists and putouts and divides them by 9-inning chunks.
When you're that unreal in the infield, no slump can really touch you.
1983 Topps #410 Phil Niekro
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $250
The 1983 season would be legendary knuckleballer Phil Niekro's last with the Braves, the team with which he amassed 268 of his 318 career wins.
"Knucksie" is one of the most interesting players in the history of the game, in my opinion.
A few key facts that I've always liked are:
- he and younger brother Joe hold the MLB record for most combined wins by two brothers with 539
- Niekro won 121 games after the age of 40
- he finished the 1979 season with 21 wins and 20 losses
1983 Topps #760 Dale Murphy
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $250
When Atlanta Braves outfielder Dale Murphy secured the 1983 NL MVP award, his second in a row, he took the honor with trademark humility.
"I don't feel any different and I don't feel I should," Murphy said. "I don't want to feel this award, two or how many, puts me at a higher level than anyone else."
The thing is that what Murphy did was pretty dang historic.
At 27 years old, the Braves star became the youngest player in MLB history to win back-to-back MVP awards.
Murphy played all 162 games for the second straight year and paced the National League in RBIs (121), slugging percentage (.540), and OPS (.933).
He also hit 36 home runs, just like his '82 MVP campaign, while topping .300 (.302) and getting on base nearly 40% of the time (.393).
The second-place Braves fell short of a playoff berth, but Murphy still had plenty to crow about, provided he ever would.
1983 Topps #60 Johnny Bench
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $200
The final at-bat of Johnny Bench's career essentially washed away three long years of diminished returns.
In 1981, the Cincinnati Reds legend was moved from catcher to first base in an effort to protect his knees and general health.
A perennial All-Star and one of the greatest backstops ever, Bench was visibly uncomfortable with the sudden left turn.
He was only 33.
His body wasn't supposed to do this.
The thing was, Bench broke into the league at just 19 years old and had a 40-year-old's worth of miles on his legs and joints.
This seemed to be the only way to lengthen his career.
Ironically, Bench suffered a broken ankle in '81 when attempting to bust up a double play.
When he came back, his bat never really came with him.
The "Little General" hit at a league-average clip before calling it quits after the '83 campaign.
His final hit, though, a two-run home run on Johnny Bench Night in Cincy, shook off all that frustration.
It looked fun again for Bench, as it always used to.
1983 Topps #100 Pete Rose
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $200
1983 Topps #300 Mike Schmidt
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $200
Throughout the 1983 season, the Philadelphia Phillies opened fan voting for both the franchise's Centennial Team and the "Greatest All-Time Phillies Player."
It was academic that both slugger Mike Schmidt and teammate Steve Carlton would be on the Centennial Team.
The real intrigue, however, was which one would be named the greatest Phillie ever.
In the end, Schmidt took home the honor by a wide margin of over 5,000 votes.
Just 34 years old and with another six seasons ahead of him, the slugging third baseman was a certified living legend.
He hit like one, too.
Schmidt won the MLB home run title for the sixth time in 1983 (40) and also paced the Majors in walks (128).
The NL-worst 148 strikeouts weren't a great look, but they were nullified by his league bests in on-base percentage (.399) and OPS+ (156).
It was another one-of-a-kind year from the one guy who, still to this very day, defines the Phillies franchise.
1983 Topps #2 Rickey Henderson Record Breaker
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $175
1983 Topps #350 Robin Yount
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $175
Harvey's Wallbangers hit the wall face-first in 1983.
As it does for many of the fun teams in baseball history, injuries turned out the lights on the Milwaukee Brewers' early-1980s party.
The Brewers were prohibitive favorites to repeat as division champs, but fell flat early as reigning Cy Young winner Pete Vuckovich and former Cy Young recipient Rollie Fingers went down.
More key contributors soon followed, and Milwaukee bounced above and below .500 for most of the first half.
All of this injury turnover forced the Brewers to lean heavily on Robin Yount for production and leadership.
It's not that Yount wasn't busted up.
He was stung by severe back pain that would end up plaguing him for the rest of his career.
Still, the veteran shortstop dug in and turned in an All-Star performance, slashing .308/.383/.503 with 17 home runs, an AL-best ten triples, 42 doubles, 80 RBIs, and 7.3 WAR in 149 games.
1983 Topps #595 Tim Raines
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $175
When Tim Raines entered drug rehab to turn his personal and professional life around, he didn't have to look farther than his own clubhouse for support.
Montreal Expos teammate Andre Dawson embraced Raines at his lowest and pushed him to get the help he needed to kick his coke addiction.
Raines entered rehab during the 1982-83 offseason and came out with a renewed lease on life and an obvious passion to make up for lost time.
It all showed on the field in 1983.
Raines once again topped the NL in steals (90) to go along with a league-best 133 runs scored.
The 23-year-old left fielder also placed fourth in the league in on-base percentage (.393) and became the first NL player to steal at least 70 bases and drive in 70 as well.
For Raines, it was Dawson who made much of this possible.
"When Virginia gave birth to our second son in July 1983, we had an easy time selecting a name -- Andre," Raines said.
1983 Topps #500 Reggie Jackson
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $150
Reggie Jackson wasn't "Mr. October" in 1983.
He wasn't even a .200 hitter.
After winning a Silver Slugger and finishing sixth in the MVP race in his 1982 California Angels debut, Jackson tumbled all the way backwards and became one of the worst qualifying hitters in Major League Baseball.
Before '83, Jackson had hit no worse than .237 in a season.
His average plummeted much farther than that, below the Mendoza Line at .194.
His power was zapped as well, going from an MLB-best 39 home runs in '82 to just 14.
It's not like Reggie offered much on defense, either.
He played more than half of the time as a designated hitter and graded out as a well-below-average outfielder when he did touch grass.
Altogether, Jackson posted -1.8 WAR on the year.
It was the first negative output of his career and a warning sign that the best of baseball's most clutch playoff performers was behind him.
1983 Topps #530 Eddie Murray
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $150
In the most significant moments on the brightest stage he'd ever play on, Eddie Murray made it happen.
Murray was sensational for the '83 Baltimore Orioles, placing as the AL MVP runner-up for the second straight campaign.
He slashed .306/.393/.538 with 33 home runs, 30 doubles, three triples, 86 walks, and 115 runs while providing Gold Glove defense at first base.
When Murray went, so did the Orioles.
And they went all the way to the franchise's third World Championship.
Murray had two massive hits in the ALCS against Chicago, helping the O's erase a Game 1 loss to reach the World Series.
The Orioles once again lost Game 1 in the Fall Classic, yet rallied again to take the next four and drop the power-laden Philadelphia Phillies.
Murray scuffled to start the series and then heated up, culminating with two title-sealing home runs in the Game 5 clincher.
1983 Topps #49 Willie McGee Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $125
Willie McGee got a little bit spoiled in his rookie year.
The St. Louis Cardinals brought the former first-round pick to the Bigs in 1982 and immediately thrust him into a starting role on a winning team.
Whether it be youth or confidence, McGee never shied away from the task.
He ended up placing third for NL Rookie-of-the-Year and playing an indispensable role in the team's world championship win.
In 1983, the Cardinals stepped back as McGee stepped forward.
The 24-year-old center fielder slashed .286/.314/.374 with five home runs, 75 runs, 75 RBIs, and 39 stolen bases in 147 games.
More importantly, perhaps, McGee evolved as an outfielder.
Similar to star teammate Ozzie Smith, McGee mixed routine plays with extraordinary athletic feats to earn both his first Gold Glove and All-Star nod.
It was early yet.
But all the tools were there that would eventually make McGee an NL MVP.
1983 Topps #95 Alan Trammell
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $125
A (not-so) funny thing happened to Alan Trammell when the 1983 MLB season came to a close.
The Detroit Tigers shortstop was his regular brilliant self in '83, slashing .319/.385/.471 with 14 home runs, 31 doubles, 30 steals, 83 runs, and 66 RBIs in 142 games.
While he was inexplicably left off the All-Star team, he did receive down-ballot MVP consideration to go along with his third Gold Glove.
The Tigers were unable to track down the division champion Orioles, finishing second in the AL East six games back.
After the regular season, it was time for Trammell to let off some steam.
That included a Halloween party, which he attended wearing a Frankenstein costume complete with platform boots.
Those platform boots weren't very sturdy.
Trammell tipped over into some shrubs at one point in the night and ended up requiring arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.
1983 Topps #431 Gary Gaetti Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $125
Gary Gaetti is one of the most beloved Minnesota Twins of all-time as he had a fantastic stretch with them from 1981-1990.
He'd pick up a World Series ring with them in 1987 and would have had another with them had he been around for their 1991 World series run.
Although he was an extremely productive player with 2 All-Star appearances, 4 Gold Gloves, and 1 Silver Slugger award to his name, Gaetti never quite put up the stats to be voted into the Hall of Fame.
Speaking of stats, though, one of the more interesting things about Gaettit is that his 360 career home runs rank him between two Yankee greats in Joe Dimaggio (361) and Yogi Berra (358).
1983 Topps Baseball Cards In Review
As you can see, there are several cards in this set whose values in top grade have held up quite well over time.
Many people think that cards from the 1980s are worthless but that's clearly not the case if you consider those graded in PSA 10 condition.
And regardless of monetary value, the nostalgic factor of this 792-card set is huge as there are just so many stars and Hall of Famers included.
Included in the set were also several different subsets, including:
- Super Veterans
- Team Batting/Pitching Leaders
- Managers
- All-Stars
- Record Breakers
- League Leaders
- Checklists
Overall, the 1983 Topps series is a great set with a fantastic design that offered collectors plenty to enjoy.