1986 Topps

I was a freshman in high school when this prolific set came out. With 15 cards and one piece of gum for less than a $1.00 per pack originally. The set had 792 cards and Beckett lists it at $25. You can pick up a box for $15 or a set for $15 on Ebay pretty easily. Cards to look for are #1(Pete Rose), #100(Nolan Ryan), #180(Don Mattingly), #200(Mike Schmidt), #254(Ozzie Guillen), #300(George Brett), #329(Kirby Puckett), #340(Cal Ripken), #386(Cecil Fielder), #661(Roger Clemens). Subsets include Pete Rose Tribute, Record Breakers, Turn Back the Clock, All Stars, and Team Leaders. The Parallel sets were Tiffany and Opeechee. These boxes also came with box "bottomers" instead of box toppers, so four cards were part of the bottom of the box. I remember opening a lot of packs back in the day to complete my set. Let's get to ripping.


Manny played for the Athletics, Cubs, Phillies, Indians, Expos, Giants and Reds during his career.


Awesome, a Cardinal who also played for the Mets, Royals, Mariners, Reds and Tigers. Vince and Lou Brock are only two of four players to steal 100 bases in one season. He was National ROY in 1985.


Carlton played for 24 years for the Red Sox and White Sox. He is a HOF player (2000) and had his numbers retired by both the Red Sox and White Sox. He was American ROY in 1972.


Doc played for the Mets, Yankees, Indians, Astros and Devil Rays in his infamous career. He was the 1984 National ROY, who also pitched a no-hitter in 1996 against the Mariners.


Steve played for 14 years with the Dodgers and his last with the Mariners. He was the 1981 World Series MVP.


Rusty played for the Colts, Astros, Expos, Mets, Tigers and Rangers during his 23 years in professional baseball. The Expos retired his #10.


Juan played for a lot of teams including, the Red Sox, Rangers, Yankees, Mariners, Angels, Orioles, Royans and Blue Jays.


Charlie played his 14 seasons for the Brewers and Blue Jays.


Dave, a HOF player (2001) played for the Padres, Yankees, Angels, Blue Jans, Twins and Indians during his great 22 year career. I have to mention that ESPN named him the third best all-around athlete of all time for any sport, wow. He was selected for 12 All-Star games as well as amassing many other awards. The Padres retired his #31.

The rest of the cards are Checklist, "Spring Fever Baseball", Randy Ready, Rick Sutcliffe, Ernie Whitt, Frank Dipino, and Barry Bonnell. I have to admit I have thousands of 1986 Topps cards laying around, but I couldn't resist opening a pack and smelling that old gum. I am glad I pulled the Coleman, Fisk, Gooden and Winfield cards, all amazing players.