1965 Topps, Bob Gibson

Card No. 320

One of the most feared hurlers in the game's history, Bob Gibson graces the iconic 1965 Topps design for today's Jukebox hit....Is there any real argument that '65 Topps is the best of the decade?....Bob is one of 10 pitchers in baseball history to win the Cy Young and MVP in the same season (1968)....This is Gibby's 7th Topps card....His rookie can be found in the 1959 Topps set....A fine '65 season saw Gibson accomplish a pair of a firsts: a 20-win campaign and an N.L. Gold Glove.

*MK*

1994 Topps, Doc Gooden

Card No. 150

An outstanding athlete and a capable batter, this is the one and only Topps card of Doc Gooden featuring a non-pitching action photo....Topps began using the nickname "Doc" on Gooden's base cards starting with the 1990 set....Reverted back to "Dwight" in 1997....This is Doc's final Topps card as a member of the New York Mets....Dr. K's rookie is part of the 1984 Traded series....Nightmarish '94 season--which included a 6.31 ERA over 7 starts--was punctuated by a 60-game ban for illegal substance abuse.

*MK*

2014 Topps, Jose Ramirez

Card No. 424

With so much buzz around the rookie cards of Masahiro Tanaka and Jose Abreu in 2014, players with much less buzz like Jose Ramirez were lost in the shuffle initially....The '14 set was the last time a Topps base design featured a border....Generally, I think the '14 design is a tad busy, but I've come to appreciate it over time....Jose has been included in each Topps base set since '14 with the exception of 2016 (he was later included in '16 Update)....Jose produced seven 3-hit games as a rookie for the Tribe in '14.

*MK*

1967 Topps, Frank Robinson

Card No. 100

The only man to win MVP in both leagues, the great Frank Robinson is today's Jukebox hit....Earned N.L. MVP award in 1961 with Cincy and captured Junior Circuit honors in '66 with Baltimore....This is Frank's second card as a member of the O's....His rookie can be found in the 1957 Topps set....In 1967--one year removed from his second MVP season--Robinson smashed 30 homers and logged 94 RBIs for the Birds.

*MK*

1992 Topps, Frank Thomas

Card No. 555

A case can be made quite easily that this is Frank Thomas' best Topps card in terms of artistic presentation....As you can see, some of the photo choices in the 1992 Topps set are every bit as good as those used in that year's super-premium Stadium Club product....This is one of two horizontally-oriented cards of Frank in the Topps catalog (1997 being the other)....Thomas' iconic "#1 Draft Pick" rookie card can be found in the 1990 set....The Big Hurt established a career high and led the A.L. with 46 doubles during the '92 season.

*MK*

1982 Topps, Jorge Bell

Card No. 254

In honour of Victoria Day for our friends in Canada, we proudly present the rookie card of former Blue Jays slugger and 1987 A.L. MVP George Jorge Bell....Listed as "Jorge" on his first four Topps cards....Became "George" beginning with his '87 Topps card....The only thing nicer than the all-powder blue Jays uni is Bell's handsome signature....Played 60 games for Toronto in 1981 but did not see any action for the big club in 1982.

*MK*

2015 Topps, Derek Jeter

Card No. 1

The 23rd and final Topps card of Yankees captain Derek Jeter....The great photo choice plus the attractive design of 2015 Topps places this one firmly in my top-three favorite Jeter cards....Derek first appeared in a Topps set in 1993 when he was featured in the "1992 Draft Pick" subset....Jeter boasts a rare trifecta, earning Rookie of the Year (1996), All-Star Game MVP ('00) and World Series MVP ('00) accolades during his storied career....Retired after the 2014 season with 3,465 hits, which is 6th-most in MLB history.

*MK*

1964 Topps, Charlie Neal

Card No. 436

Charlie Neal is front and center on this confluence of greatness: the classic Reds uniform and the clean, colorful 1964 Topps design....Charlie played for the Dodgers in their final season in Brooklyn (1957) and was also a member of the expansion Mets in '62....Listed as "Charley" on four of his nine career Topps cards, including his '56 rookie card....This is Neal's final Topps card and his only one as a Red....Batted just .156 (10-64) in 34 games for Cincinnati following trade from Mets, July 1, 1963.

*MK*

1986 Topps, Dave Kingman

Card No. 410

The 1986 set brought us the penultimate Topps card of strikeout-prone slugger Dave Kingman....Behind only the 1987 and '89 sets, '86 Topps is my favorite Topps design of the decade....Kingman first appeared on a Topps card wearing Oakland duds in the 1984 Traded set.... Kong's rookie card is part of the 1972 Topps checklist....Dave led the A's with 35 home runs during in '86 season--his final as a big leaguer.

*MK*

2000 Topps Traded & Rookies, Curt Schilling

Card No. T123

A three-time World Series champion and a member of the 3,000-strikeout club, Curt Schilling shows off his new uniform in this card from the 2000 Traded & Rookies set....Arizona acquired Curt from the Phillies at the '00 trade deadline for a package of players including Travis Lee and Omar Daal....Also appeared in the Traded/Update sets in 1992 and 2004....Schilling's rookie card can be found in the 1990 Topps set....Went 5-6 with a 3.69 ERA in 13 start for the D-backs following the trade.

*MK*

1980 Topps, Rusty Staub

Card No. 660

This card from 1980 Topps captures affable All-Star Rusty Staub in his second go-round with the Montreal Expos....Rusty appeared in the 1969 through '71 Topps sets as an Expo, as well....Nicknamed "Le Grand Orange" during his Montreal days for his unmistakable red hair...Staub's first appearance in a Topps set was 1963 where he shared a "Rookie Stars" card with Duke Carmel, Bill Haas, and Dick Phillips....Played the 1980 season for the Texas Rangers, batting an even .300 over 340 ABs. 

*MK*

1993 Topps, Nigel Wilson

Card No. 426

Younger collectors likely don't know the name Nigel Wilson, but if you were collecting cards in 1993 you definitely do....The top-rated prospect in baseball, Wilson was the first-ever draft pick by the Florida Marlins when he was selected 2nd overall in the 1992 MLB Expansion Draft....This card, Nigel's rookie, was part of the Series 2 release in '93....His only other Topps card appeared in the 1995 set....In his lone season as a Marlin, Nigel played in just 7 games during the '93 campaign and went 0-for-16 with 11 Ks.

*MK*

1966 Topps, Richie Allen

Card No. 80

Welcome to the Gun Show, starring Phillies third-sacker Richie Allen....If you were a pitcher during the '60s and '70s you were probably wetting your pants when Richie came to bat....This is Allen's third Topps card and just his second stand-alone, as he shared his '64 rookie card with fellow Phillie John Herrnstein....Listed as "Rich Allen" on his cards beginning in 1970 and eventually "Dick Allen" from 1972 through '76....Blasted a career-best 40 round-trippers for the Phils in '66, finishing fourth in N.L. MVP voting.

*MK*

1984 Topps, Alan Trammell

Card No. 510

Hall of Famer Alan Trammell squares to bunt at old Tiger Stadium on this card from 1984 Topps....This marked the second year in a row Topps included an inset headshot photo on the front of the base cards....I've always kinda considered '84 Topps a weaker edition of the 1983 design....Trammell first appeared in a Topps set in 1978 on a "Rookie Shortstops" card with Mickey Klutts, U.L. Washington and fellow HOFer Paul Molitor....Alan earned his fourth and final Gold Glove award at the conclusion of the '84 season.

*MK*

1999 Topps, Wally Joyner

Card No. 295

Many collectors--myself included--will always associate Wally Joyner with the Angels, but here he is during his San Diego days....1999 marked the second consecutive year that Topps rolled out gold borders on their base cards....Joyner's final Topps cards would come the following year, as the Georgia native appeared in both the 2000 base and Rookies & Traded sets....Wally's rookie card can be found in the iconic 1986 Topps Traded set....Batted just .248 with 5 homers over 323 ABs for the '99 Padres.

*MK*

2017 Topps, Stephen Strasburg

Card No. 38

While 2016 may have ushered in the era of the borderless Topps card, it's the 2017 set that was the first to do it properly -- at least in my opinion....Artfully framed photo of Stephen Strasburg just after releasing the pitch....There is a short-printed 'image variation' of this card in which Strasburg is pictured at the top of the dugout steps....Stephen's famous rookie card was a 2010 factory-set exclusive, numbered #661....The former first-overall draft pick won 15 games and crafted a 2.52 ERA in '17, finishing third in N.L. Cy Young voting.

*MK*

1976 Topps, Bobby Bonds

Card No. 380

By the time the 1976 baseball season began Bobby Bonds was no longer a member of the New York Yankees....Was traded to the California Angels in December of 1975 for Mickey Rivers and Ed Figueroa....Bonds was pictured as a Yankee on his '75 Topps card also, albeit wearing a badly airbrushed 'NY' cap....Bobby's rookie card can be found in the 1969 Topps set, adorned with the coveted Topps Rookie Cup....While he enjoyed an All-Star season in '75, Bonds mustered just 10 homers and 54 RBIs in 99 games for the Halos in '76.

*MK*