I purchased my 1987 Topps complete set in the brown cardboard factory box (see below) from a dealer in Cheshire, CT. Its wood-grain borders harken back to the classic 1962 set that so many collectors of an earlier generation love. The 1987 set is an improvement over 1986 in terms of the brightness and clarity of many of the photos and the use of team logos. However, The Real One continued to use some terrible paint jobs...more on that particular complaint farther below.
Cards are printed against a wood-grain background. A team logo appears in the upper left corner, and the Topps logo in the bottom left. A colored box at the bottom contains the player's name. Beginning a custom which would last for several years, the player's position is not shown on the front.
Backs are printed in yellow and blue against gray, creating a very clear and readable appearance. Space permitting, backs contain a feature called On This Date, which provides a tidbit of baseball trivia linked to a specific date and provides the card number for the subject's Topps card in that year.
All in all, 1987 is an attractive set which kicked off a run of nice-looking offerings that lasted a few years.
"A" Sheet
"C" Sheet
"E" Sheet
"B" Sheet
"D" Sheet
"F" Sheet
6 different printing sheets each held 132 unique cards, for a complete set total of 792 cards.
Wax packs contained a record high 17 cards (along with a stick of gum) as well as a 'Spring Fever Baseball' game card. Packs sold for 40 cents each and were packed 36 per box, with cases containing 20 boxes each.
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Wrappers came in 3 varieties - each one contained information on the Spring Fever Baseball game and provided a no-purchase-necessary way to obtain a game card. Each provided a listing of the players included in 2 of 6 sets of 10 glossy cards which were available via the game card. Wrappers listing sets 1&2 included an ad for 10 collectors sheets ($2 plus 60 cents for shipping), those listing series 3&4 advertised a Topps 3-ring binder (6 wrappers and $9.60), and those listing series 5&6 contained an anti-drug message.
Each wrapper exists in an exact parallel version but with the commodity code printed in green rather than the standard blue. It is unknown how their distribution may have differed from the standard packs.
'Spring Fever Baseball' offered an opportunity to enter a sweepstakes for which the grand prize was a trip for 4 to the 1988 spring training camp of the team of the winner's choice.
Also, by sending in 6 of these cards along with $1, you would receive one of 6 "1987 All Star and Hot Prospects Collector's Edition 10-Card Sets", known in the hobby as simply 'glossy send-away cards'.
The full glossy set included 60 cards.
In 1987, Topps' on-box cards appeared not on the bottom of the box but on the rear panel. As a result the cards are smaller than usual. 8 cards in 4 2-card panels comprise the set. Card backs describe some event from the player's 1986 season.
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Cello packs contained 31 cards and a stick of gum, as well as a Spring Fever Baseball game card. Packs sold for 69 cents and were packed 24 per box.
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Jumbo packs contained 100 cards, a stick of gum and 1 special glossy Rookies card. Packs, which carried no MSRP, were packed in cases of 18 each which could be folded open into store sales displays.
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The glossy Rookies set contained a total of 22 cards.
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Rack packs held 48 cards plus one special Glossy All Star Card, and carried no MSRP. They were packaged 24 per box and cases contained either 3 or 6 boxes.
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The 1987 version of the Glossy All Star set contained 22 cards. All 18 starters from the 1986 All Star game are featured, as well as an opposite-armed starting pitcher from each roster and the managers. Cards have either the AL or NL shield on the front, as appropriate.
Vending boxes again contained 500 cards and came packaged 24 per case.
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Factory sets came in 4 varieties - a plain brown cardboard box, a white box with some printing, sometimes stamped "Baseball 1987", a white box printed with "1987" and a full-color version with card images.
Two case images are available presently. Evidence suggests the box marked with the code 969-87 contained the plain brown sets, but it is unclear which sets the other case held, or what the remaining 2 cases looked like.
It also remains unclear what the sales points of each was intended to be (card shops, retail, etc.) and whether any pricing differences existed.
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Complete sets in the form of 6 uncut sheets were available at limited retail locations.
Out of 792 total cards, the set contains 700 basic player cards.
Included in the basic player card count are two subsets. Topps designated 6 young players as "Future Stars", and for the first time since 1978, Topps recognized the members of the previous season's All Star Rookie team with gold cups.
170 - Bo Jackson, Royals
216 - B.J. Surhoff, Brewers
429 - Tim Pyznarski, Padres
449 - Pat Dodson, Red Sox
512 - Dave Magadan, Mets
634 - Rafael Palmeiro, Cubs
80 - Wally Joyner, Angels 1B 658 - Robby Thompson, Giants 2B
296 - Andres Thomas, Braves SS
327 - Dale Sveum, Brewers 3B*
620 - Jose Canseco, A's OF
550 - Pete Invaviglia, Rangers OF
192 - Cory Snyder, Indians OF
436 - Andy Allanson, Indians C
465 - Todd Worrell, Cardinals RHP
499 - Bruce Ruffin, Phillies LHP
* - Sveum's card lacks a gold cup; Danny Tartabull (476) of the Mariners, an OF/2B, has a gold cup on his card, for reasons unknown.
Cards 1-7 highlight record-breaking performances from 1986, with newspaper-like accounts of each on the reverse.
Cards 311-315 highlight the events of five past seasons - 1982, 1977, 1972, 1967 and 1962 - in a Turn Back the Clock subset, continuing the tradition Topps started in 1986. Fronts feature a Topps card image from that year, and backs provide narrative descriptions of some of its most memorable events.
Cards 595-616 N.L. (595=605) and A.L. (606-616) 'All Stars'. Players appearing in this set didn't necessarily appear on the rosters of either 1986 squad, but rather they seem to be Topps' selections for the best players at their positions in 1986.
League shields appear on the card fronts as applicable, and card backs provide the top 10 performers, by league, in a variety of statistical categories, as well as a few brief season highlights of the subject.
Scattered throughout the set are 26 team leader cards. Featured on the front is a general image of a player or players from the team, while card backs provide the team's leaders in a variety of statistical categories from 1986.
The set includes cards depicting the current managers of the 26 clubs. Card backs provide brief information about the manager and a team checklist.
6 checklist cards mark the set off in increments of 132: 1-132, 133-264, 265-396, 397-528, 529-660 and 661-792.
A full checklist of the 1987 set, including printable formats, can be found at the Trading Card Database HERE.
Hall of Famer Barry Larkin (648) makes his debut in the 1987 set, along with Jamie Moyer (227), Mike Greenwell (259) and Ruben Sierra (261).
Hall of Famers Tom Seaver (425) and Phil Niekro (694) appear for the final time, as do Steve Garvey (100), Bill Russell (116), Toby Harrah (152), Pete Rose (200), Vida Blue (260), Dusty Baker (565), Hal McRae (573), Bob Grich (677), Dave Kingman (709), Boll Madlock (734) and Chris Chambliss (777).
Topps again produced a 132-card boxed Traded set late in the season to reflect those players who had changed teams and rookies not included in the base set. Cards are numbered 1T-132T.
The set contains 127 basic player cards, 4 managers and a checklist. Cards were printed on thinner, white card stock and were only available via dealers. Sets came packed in cases of 100.
Hall of Famers Greg Maddux (70T) and Fred McGriff (74T) debut in the 1987 Traded set as do Ellis Burks (14T), David Cone (24T) and Matt Williams (129T).
Hall of Famers Steve Carlton (19T) and Reggie Jackson (52T) make their final appearances, as does Ron Cey (22T).
In 1987 Topps again produced what the hobby has come to call "Tiffany" editions of both their basic and Traded sets. Cards in each were printed on heavier, glossy white card stock. Production occurred at Topps' facility in Ireland. The stated print run of each was 30,000. Each set was packed 6 per case. Sets were only available via dealers.
The 1987 set contains several errors/variations. Urbano Lugo (92), Dwight Gooden All Star (603) and Don Mattingly All Star (606) can be found without the small copyright mark to the right of the logos in the upper left corner of the card fronts.
Joe Niekro (344) can be found with the copyright line both inside and outside the border on the reverse and Ray Soff (671) can be found without the 'D' code to signify the printing sheet in the copyright line .
In 1987, The Real One continued to rely on the use of paint jobs. No less than 13 cards in the set are artists' creations, some quite terrible. Plus, for good measure, Darryl Motley's card contains a "Now With Braves" note.
In each case, the player spent part of 1986 with their "new" club, and in all but 4 instances, Donruss or Fleer, or both, managed to capture the player with his proper club. In the remaining cases, the player simply wasn't featured in their 1987 sets.
I love Topps, but this was just plain sloppy.