Nolan Ryan Baseball Cards: Values and Collector’s Guide

Ryan’s second-year card from the 1969 Topps set is another huge collector favorite throughout the hobby as it features a young Ryan with the closest thing to a smile as you’ll get on any Ryan card.

The purple button with his name in white and yellow in the top right corner along with the Mets team name in yellow at the bottom give this card a lot of pop.

Ryan’s calm and non-aggressive pose along with that subtle smile don’t paint him as the dominant and intimidating pitcher he was as some of his later cards do.

But there’s no arguing this card’s eye appeal.

Hobbyists have mixed feelings about the 1970 Topps set design due to those rather bland, grey borders.

However, those grey borders are precisely why this card can be so valuable since they easily show wear and that makes them tough to find in top grade.

And centering is another tough challenge as sell.

Condition issues aside, I still think this is a great-looking card that is saved by a nice image of Ryan with the stadium in the background.

The 1971 Topps set is easily my favorite of the decade but their black borders make it nearly impossible to find them in mint condition.

They’re just far too susceptible to showing wear and chipping.

That’s why you can expect to pay thousands of dollars for one in top grade.

I’ve always loved the image of Ryan ready to burn one across the plate offset by that fantastic vintage RC Cola sign in the background.

This is such a great card.

Some love this set design.

Some hate it.

No matter which side you’re on, there’s no arguing that this Topps design was very fitting for the time with its bright, psychedelic look and feel.

Ryan’s serious gaze into the distance almost offsets that boisterous design, however.

In his first year with the Angels in 1972, Ryan broke out in a big way after finishing with a 2.28 ERA, 19 wins and 328 strikeouts on his way to making his first All-Star team.

In 1973, Ryan would set the MLB single season record for most strikeouts with 383, besting Sandy Koufax’s previous record of 382 by one strikeout.

That season was also the closest Ryan would ever come to winning a Cy Young award.

Incredibly, even though he notched 21 wins, a 2.87 ERA, a 1.227 WHIP, fanned 383 batters and threw two no-hitters, he still finished second in voting behind Jim Palmer.

It’s safe to say that Ryan had certainly found his stride with his new team and on his 1973 Topps issue he looks calm and collected in his Angels uniform.

Every Nolan Ryan baseball card should feature an image of the legendary hurler like this one.

Topps perfectly captured Ryan’s mystique as a blazing fireballer with the angle they used in this action shot.

Can you imagine how intimidating it must have been for opposing hitters to face off against Ryan?

This is what a 100+ mph fastball looks like right before it’s released.

Topps did an outstanding job with this card as they let the image of Ryan do the work on this card while presenting his name, team affiliation, and position in a non-intrusive and straightforward manner.

The 1975 Topps set is instantly recognizable with its bright, two-tone borders and bold team names across the top.

But, while the design elements may be bright and flashy, Ryan looks as calm and reserved as ever.

Rookie cards of George Brett, Robin Yount, Jim Rice, and Gary Carter are the key focal points but Ryan’s card is just as sought-after and expensive.

Mint copies will set you back over $1,500 and PSA 10 Gem Mint copies go for well into the five-figure range.

During the season, Ryan would tie another Koufax record after notching his fourth no-hitter.

One of the things I’ve always liked about Ryan’s 1976 Topps issue is the cartoon image of the pitcher in the lower left.

Let’s face it, the image that Topps chose for Ryan isn’t the most exciting so at least the cartoon and bright color scheme on the name and team plates at the bottom still provide some pop.

Even though the 1976 season saw a bit of a dip in his overall numbers, Ryan still threw an amazing 7 shutouts that year.

The 1977 season was highly productive for Ryan as he would rack up 22 complete games, 19 wins, and 341 strikeouts on his way to finishing third in the Cy Young vote.

His 1977 Topps card may seem a bit busy as well with its flashy design elements across the top and large facsimile signature near his face.

Ryan looks onward into the distance with a serious and overpowering demeanor for which he was famous.

Ryan’s 1978 Topps card has always stricken me as the least flashy of any of his cards of that decade.

Aside from the Angels team name in cursive in the lower-left corner, everything else about this card is very uniform and conservative.

Even the image of Ryan himself looks very structured.

The 1978 season wasn’t all that flashy for Ryan either as he would amass only 10 wins

Even though this may be Ryan’s least expensive card of the 1970s, it is one of my favorites of that decade.

I enjoy the team and nameplate along with the Topps logo in the lower-left corner.

They may seem simple but I think they give the card a lot of character.

Overall, it’s just a nice card with few condition challenges aside from centering issues here and there.

Despite his dominant strikeout totals and no-hitters, Ryan had failed to win over owner Buzzie Bavasi and the 1979 season would be his last in an Angels uniform.

Topps kicked off the 1980s with a very busy design for this Nolan Ryan card.

The bright color scheme and design elements may seem flashy.

But, along with the great image of Ryan on the mound ready to burn one across the plate, everything comes together nicely to make for a card with strong eye appeal.

Prior to the start of the 1980 season, Ryan became the first million dollar baseball player after signing a four-year contract with the Astros that paid him $1 million per year.

I’ve always loved the 1981 Topps design because of the cartoon hats in the lower-left.

But, I almost laugh a little bit whenever I see this card because of the way Ryan is positioned: it makes the hat on his head look nearly identical to the cartoon hat.

You have to wonder if Ryan and/or the Topps photographer orchestrated the whole idea.

Despite all this, the card still boasts a huge amount of pop.

Late in the 1981 season, Ryan became the third pitcher in MLB history to throw a no-hitter in each league after notching his fifth overall.

I love the retro jerseys of the 1980s like those of the Padres, White Sox and definitely the Astros.

Ryan has one on full display in this shot of him in mid-delivery on the pitcher’s mound.

I’ve always been kind of impartial to the 1982 Topps set design as it’s definitely unique but not really all that exciting.

Mint copies of this card will sell for around $15 but that doesn’t really justify the cost of grading them these days.

The 1983 Topps set is famous for containing rookie cards of three Hall of Famers: Ryne Sandberg, Wade Boggs, and Tony Gwynn.

While those three are by far the stars of the set, Ryan’s card is another one of the key cards as is the case with pretty much every set in which he appears.

It’s hard for me to pick a favorite Topps design of the 1980s but this one is up there as I’ve always loved the nod to their 1963 set design with the circular player images in the bottom right corner.

This card is bright and colorful overall with strong eye appeal as Ryan looks to be signaling a fastball during warm-ups.

Topps again went with a design in 1984 that featured a secondary player headshot, this time in a box in the lower-left corner.

Don Mattingly’s rookie card stands alone as the key card of the set to collect but with so many Nolan Ryan collectors out there, this card is arguably the second-most coveted alongside Darryl Strawberry’s rookie.

The tone of the card overall feels somewhat rigid due to the block letters and square headshot at the bottom but that doesn’t stop it from showing a lot of pop.

Any card with Ryan throwing the ball is just fine by me.

Ryan’s 1985 Topps card is one of his best-looking of the decade as it features a great balance of color and imagery.

As usual, Ryan’s card is one of the most sought after in this set stacked with five key rookie cards of the era in Kirby Puckett, Roger Clemens, Dwight Gooden, Eric Davis and Orel Hershiser.

This is arguably one of the best images of Ryan throwing of any baseball card on which he appeared.

The 1985 season would see him selected to his second of just two All-Star appearances in his nine seasons with the Houston Astros.

The 1986 Topps set is another one of those sets that draws mixed opinions because of its design.

But, in recent years they’ve seen a large uptick in interest and Ryan’s card is one of the keys.

Ryan’s card pops as the bright orange Astros team name at the top perfectly complement the retro Astros jersey that he’s wearing.

Usually, I prefer a Nolan Ryan card to show an image of him pitching but this one gets a pass as all of the design elements fall nicely into play.

Few sets in all of Topps’ history are as easy to identify as their 1987 release.

Those woodgrain borders, team logos, and player names in a comic font along the bottom are instantly recognizable.

Although he failed to make the All-Star team in 1987, he led the league with a 2.76 ERA and came as close to topping 300 strikeouts in a season while in an Astros uniform after racking up 270.

He’d finish fifth in the Cy Young voting that season as well, the closest he ever came with the Astros outside of his 1981 campaign in which he finished fourth.

1988 would be Ryan’s last year with the Astros.

This is another one of my favorite Ryan cards from the 80s as the Astros jersey he’s wearing along with the design elements of the card create fantastic eye appeal.

You’ll notice that by the time we start discussing Ryan’s base cards of the late 80s that grading them doesn’t make much financial sense.

Even a PSA 10 Gem Mint copy is worth less than the cost to grade it.

But, thankfully the hobby is still full of pure collectors who aren’t always in it for the money.

Although still pictured in an Astros uniform, Ryan was at the start of a five-year stint with the Texas Rangers in 1989.

Don’t worry, though, as he was included in the Topps Traded set that year wearing his Rangers uniform instead.

I’ve always loved the cursive team names and wavy player name banners in this set.

And how can you not love the image of Ryan throwing heat?

During the 1989 season, Ryan would make his one and only All-Star team as a Ranger and he’d top 300 strikeouts in a season for the sixth and final time.

I’ve always had a soft spot for the 1990 Topps set.

It’s the first set that I can remember that I started collecting heavily, or at least as heavy as a kid with birthday card money and loose change here and there could manage.

Many hate the multi-color design of these cards but I can’t get enough.

While his base card is nice, Topps also included a subset of Ryan cards which paid tribute to his career that spanned across four decades with four different teams.

Not since his 1968 Topps rookie card had Ryan appeared on a card with a horizontal layout.

And what a fantastic job Topps did with this one.

Paying tribute to Ryan by making him card #1 in the set for the second time in a row, their photographer masterfully captured a terrific shot of Ryan giving it all he’s got.

This was definitely not a bad way to kick off their 40th anniversary celebration.

Arguably the most interesting shot of Ryan on any of his baseball cards on this list is his 1992 Topps #1 on which we see an overhead view of him throwing the ball.

The design of the card in this set was innovative at the time with borders and player images overlapping different design elements of the front.

And there were “Topps Gold” parallels, too, that contained player and team nameplates at the bottom that were embossed in gold.

Overall, it’s a great-looking card.

The 1993 season would be Ryan’s last in the Majors as his arm would finally give up on him during a game against the Mariners on September 22, 1993.

He was so close to completing his 27th full season as a big leaguer when a ligament in his elbow popped as he was pitching.

His remarkable career had come to an end but I’ve always thought his 1993 Topps card beautifully captured him doing what he was best known for: throwing some incredible heat.

Topps would pay tribute to Ryan’s 27 seasons in the big leagues with a commemorative card in their 1994 set.

Another great shot of Ryan captures him right after releasing a pitch in his Rangers uniform.

Great design elements and a nice color scheme keep the card somewhat conservative but still flashy enough to honor such a legendary pitcher.