Topps incorporated a “retro” wood grain border design in ‘87 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 1962 Topps set. While I was not a big fan of this set at the time, I appreciated the concept. As Camden Yards proved in the subsequent decade, the  old-time aesthetic combined with touches of modern flair sparked a series of copycat ballparks. In the realm of baseball cards, Topps’ old rival Bowman returned to the mix in 1989 after a nearly 30 year absence. Other manufacturers introduced “retro”-looking cards and Topps issued a number of reprinted cards and sets over the years. Topps’ designers ultimately decided to return to a more modern look-and-feel with the ‘88 series. 

Corby Corner

Topps went back to the basics following the release of the 1986 set. The wooden background was reminiscent of the 1962 card and I think a collective effort was made to recapture their standing atop an ever-evolving baseball card world. Personally I liked the Topps card in 1987, collected them, but didn’t love them like I did the Fleer and Donruss. If the ‘86 Topps set lacked star power, 1987 more than made up for it. I remember loving the “Future Stars” Bo Jackson card of him camped out on the warning track, as like many, I was wrapped up in the “Bo Knows” world. Jose Canseco, Will Clark and Barry Bonds rookies were in this set, yet, many did not view them as rookies since they all had traded cards in ‘86 as well. I feel this started to undercut the actual rookie card in complete sets. Just a few years back Mattingly, Ripken, Boggs, etc. all had their first cards in the actual set. Traded sets started to outplay the complete sets and that took some of the fun away from the hobby and putting sets together. Well, at least  this Topps set got me and many others back on board. Sadly, I feel 1987 was the final legitimate year of collecting before greed took over and created a monster that stole the hobby aspect from young kids like myself.

Features

The first thing that one notices about the ‘87 Topps cards is the light-brown wood grain border surrounding the player photos. The Topps logo is situated in the bottom left corner while the player’s name is listed in a box with background colors coordinated by team (such as orange for the Orioles, red for the Red Sox, etc..) The team logo hovers in the upper left corner and player positions are omitted from the card fronts. The card backs include the usual biographical and relevant statistics for each player with a color scheme of blue lettering, yellow background and gray borders. The first row lists the card number, player name and position (spelled out in most cases such as “first base”, “center field” instead of the abbreviation. When there is ample space beneath the player’s statistics, the card will denote career highlights, additional personal info, or a reference to a historical baseball fact (“On this date..”) 

The ‘87 Topps set commenced with Roger Clemens’ 20-strikeout game, the first in a series of seven “Record Breakers”. “Team Leaders” were interspersed throughout the checklist. The “Turn Back The Clock” subset (cards # 311-315) depict Topps’ cards from previous seasons at five-year intervals: Rickey Henderson (1982), Reggie Jackson (1977), Roberto Clemente (1972), Carl Yastrzemski (1967) and Maury Wills (1962). All-Stars from the previous campaign are highlighted in cards #595 – 616. 

Greg Maddux, Matt Williams and Fred McGriff make their Topps debuts in the 1987 Traded set. The upscale Tiffany regular and traded sets appeared in the Topps product line for the fourth successive season. The 22-card Glossy All-Stars appeared as inserts in rack packs while collectors had to redeem “special offer” cards from wax packs in order to acquire the “Send-Ins” series. A new offering in the “Glossy” line, Topps Rookies, were inserted into Jumbo packs. The subset included the best rookies from the 1986 season including Jose Canseco, Will Clark and Rafael Palmeiro. The Topps/O-Pee-Chee Stickers set tallied 300+ stickers and a collector’s album. The miniature Gallery of Champions were only available in complete sets and featured 12 cards in bronze, silver or aluminum versions. The 3-D, Super and Tattoo series were discontinued. 

The subset values according to the 1997 edition of the Beckett Almanac of Baseball Cards and Collectibles are as follows: Traded $8, Glossy All-Stars $5, Glossy Send-Ins $12.50, Gallery of Champions $100, Coins $8, Mini Leaders $5, Stickers $15, Rookies $10, Tiffany $25, Traded Tiffany $15.

One-and-Dones

The players listed below made their lone appearance on a regular-issue baseball card in the 1987 Topps set. 

T.R. Bryden (# 387) – Thomas Ray “T.R.” Bryden began his professional career in June 1981 as a member of the Idaho Falls Angels rookie league squad. Dividing his 14 appearances equally among starting and relief chores, he scuffled to a 4.91 ERA and a 1.652 WHIP. Control issues plagued Bryden throughout his eight seasons in pro ball as his overall 1.549 WHIP attests. In his sophomore season with the Danville Suns (A) he achieved personal-bests in victories (10), innings pitched (135 ⅔), strikeouts (101), starts (22) and complete games (6). Recast in a relief role for the Redwood Pioneers (A) in ‘83, Bryden notched 9 saves with an ERA of 3.36 despite walking more batters than he struck out (55/42). Splitting time between Redwood and Waterbury (AA) the subsequent season, he attained career-bests with a 2.95 ERA and 10 saves while whiffing nearly one batter per inning. Bryden continued to slowly ascend the ladder towards the big leagues as he registered 7 saves with a 5.04 ERA and a 1.500 WHIP with California’s affiliates Midland (AA) and Edmonton (AAA) in ‘85. The Halos headed to the Pacific Northwest to square off with the Mariners for the opening series in 1986 with Bryden in tow. He relieved Don Sutton in his first Major League appearance on April 10, 1986 and hurled four frames of one-hit ball in a 5-2 loss to Matt Young. Bryden punched out Alvin Davis for his first strikeout but the slugging first baseman returned the favor with a run-scoring triple in the eighth inning. His second outing went south when he yielded five straight baserunners to open the sixth inning of an eventual 11-7 loss to Oakland. After the M’s shelled Sutton for 8 runs in ⅔ of an inning on April 15, Bryden picked up the pieces with 3 strikeouts over 3 scoreless innings. A highlight of Bryden’s career came on April 26-27 when he registered back-to-back victories over the Twins. On the 26th, Minnesota extended the lead to 6-1 on a sacrifice fly by Mickey Hatcher off Bryden in the eighth inning. California mounted an epic comeback against Frank “Sweet Music” Viola and Ron G. Davis. Brian Downing led off the top of the ninth with a double to left-center field and scored on a “Silent”  George Hendrick blast to deep left field, knocking Viola from the contest. Rob Wilfong greeted Davis with a long single to right and he came around on Ruppert Jones’ bomb into the right-field seats. Reggie Jackson, batting for Gary Pettis, coaxed a one-out walk. Bobby Grich fanned but Wally “World” Joyner capped the six-run uprising with a long-distance dedication to silence the Metrodome crowd. Donnie Moore set the Twins down in order to lock down the save and secure Bryden’s first big-league “W”. The following afternoon, Bryden was called upon in the third inning after Ron Romanick was unable to maintain the 5-0 lead that the Halos spotted him. The long reliever twirled five frames of four-hit ball, allowing two runs while striking out four. California tallied three runs in the fourth on an RBI-single by “Mr. October” and a two-run base hit off the bat of Rick “Rooster” Burleson. Bryden yielded a pair of runs in the fifth on ground ball outs but the Angels held on for an 8-7 triumph. Cecil Cooper swatted two big-flies (one off Bryden was the first he allowed as an Angel) as the “Brew Crew” bashed the Halos 16-5 on May 9, 1986. In his next appearance, he took the loss when Boston batsmen garnered a base on balls followed by four consecutive knocks in the ninth inning, turning a 5-5 contest into an 8-5 defeat. Bryden closed out the month of May with three straight scoreless outings. The Yankees tagged him for three runs and a blown save when Mike Pagliarulo’s solo shot in the top of the ninth knotted the score at 6-6 on June 2, 1986. The Bronx Bombers took a 7-6 lead when Rickey Henderson rapped a two-bagger off Doug Corbett later in the frame. California battled back in the bottom of the ninth, loading the bases with no outs against Dave Righetti. Dick Schofield drew a base on balls, then Bob Boone reached on an error by Willie Randolph. Hendrick received a free pass and Burleson delivered a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 7-7. Joyner walked to reload the bases and Downing drilled a walk-off single to seize the victory! Bryden fared poorly over his last three outings (7 IP, 10 ER, 2.429 WHIP) and the Angels optioned him out to Edmonton (AAA) after his final appearance at Cleveland on June 8, 1986. He managed to strike out the last batter that he faced in the Majors – Brook Jacoby. Bryden crafted an ERA of 3.49 over 22 relief appearances with the Trappers in ‘86 and he somehow achieved a record of 9-1 during the following campaign in spite of his 6.35 ERA. The Halos released him in October 1987 and he inked a minor league pact with Minnesota. He started 13 of his 30 games with the Portland Beavers (AAA) and logged a record of 8-8 with a 4.99 ERA to conclude his time as a professional ballplayer. 

Did You Know?

In addition to biographical and statistical records, Topps card backs incorporated fun facts about the players along with historical trivia (“On This Date”) if there was ample space near the bottom of the card. 

Cecil Cooper (#10) – “Cecil once had a column in Brewer club magazine.”

Greg Brock (#26) – “Greg once earned himself the free use of a car for a year by recording a hole-in-one in golf match.”

Danny Gladden (#46) – “Danny enjoys competition water skiing and motorcycle racing.”

Thad Bosley (#58) – “Thad has recorded a gospel contemporary album, ‘Pick Up the Pieces’.”

Ron Romanick (#136) – “Ron once appeared on a television soap opera.”

Mickey Brantley (#347) – “Mickey was childhood chum of boxer Mike Tyson.”

Jeff Lahti (#367) – “Jeff is the owner of an apple orchard in Oregon. He is known by the nickname of ‘Jam Man’.”

Moose Haas (#413) – “Moose has a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. He is an amateur magician and a certified locksmith.”

Floyd Rayford (#426) – “Floyd lists electric trains among his hobbies.”

Jim Slaton (#432) – “Jim spends most of his time living on his boat.”

Jim Traber (#484) – “Jim is an accomplished professional singer. He sang National Anthem at Memorial Stadium the night he made his major league debut, 9-21-84.”

Don Mattingly (#500) – “Don’s birth certificate states he was born in 1962, not 1961 as shown in most baseball records.”

Terry Mulholland (#536) – “Terry works as a gas station attendant during the off-season. He’s an avid baseball card collector.”

Sid Fernandez (#570) – “Sid wears uniform #50 for two reasons: His native Hawaii was the 50th of the U.S. states and his favorite television show is ‘Hawaii Five-0.’”

Ken Schrom (#635) – “Ken is employed as Assistant General Manager of Double-A El Paso Diablos during the off-season.”

Errors

The 1987 Topps set does not contain any significant error variations. 

Rookie Cards

Barry Bonds, Bo Jackson, Barry Larkin, Wally Joyner, Rafael Palmeiro, Will Clark, Dave Magadan, Devon White, B.J. Surhoff, Bobby Bonilla, Ruben Sierra, John Kruk, Mike Greenwell, Chuck Finley, Bobby Thigpen and Kevin Mitchell highlight the list of players making their cardboard debuts in the ’87 Topps set.

Price Guide (Then and Now)

The “Beckett Baseball Card Monthly Price Guide” (December 1987 edition) cataloged the 1987 Topps Baseball complete set at $25. Currently the Barry Bonds (#320) graded PSA 9 can be acquired through auction sites in the $20-$40 range. 

Please add a comment below if you would like to share any memories from collecting the 1987 Topps baseball card set or your experiences with card collecting in general!

Articles in the Series

The 1984 Donruss Baseball Set

The 1984 Fleer Baseball Set

The 1984 Topps Baseball Set

The 1985 Donruss Baseball Set

The 1985 Fleer Baseball Set

The 1985 Topps Baseball Set

The 1986 Donruss Baseball Set

The 1986 Fleer Baseball Set

The 1986 Topps Baseball Set

The 1987 Donruss Baseball Set

The 1987 Fleer Baseball Set

The 1987 Topps Baseball Set

The 1988 Donruss Baseball Set

References and Resources

Beckett, Dr. James, Rich Klein and Grant Sandground. Beckett Almanac of Baseball Cards and Collectibles. Dallas, TX: Beckett Publications, 1997. Print.

Beckett.com (requires subscription to view prices):

https://www.beckett.com/search/?term=1987+topps&year_start=1987

http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides

http://www.baseballerrors.com/

Miller, Sam. “Happy 59th! Or is it 58th? Cracking the mystery of Don Mattingly’s birthday”, ESPN.com. April 29, 2020. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29043681/cracking-birthday-mystery-don-mattingly-1987-topps-baseball-card

Trading Card Database – Photo Gallery

https://www.tcdb.com/Gallery.cfm/sid/117/1987-Topps

About the Authors

Derek Bain is a New Jersey native with a passion for baseball, statistics, computers and video games who enjoys spending quality time with his family.

Tom Corby – Cousins with Derek, I am a history teacher at New Egypt High School. I have three kids, Addison, Jaclyn, and Mason and I’m happy that I get to coach them in their sports as well. In my spare time I enjoy reading, anything beach related, and fishing when time allows. 

Derek’s Books

“Hardball Architects – Volume 1 (American League Teams)”, published in July 2020, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. 

“Hardball Architects – Volume 2 (National League Teams)”, published in April 2022, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com.  

Hardball Architects examines the trades, free agent acquisitions, draft picks and other transactions for the 30 Major League Baseball franchises, divided into a 2-volume set (American League and National League). All key moves are scrutinized for every team and Sabermetric principles are applied to the roster construction throughout the lifetime of the organization to encapsulate the hits and misses by front office executives.

“Hardball Retroactive”, published in June 2018, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com.  Hardball Retroactive is a modest collection of selected articles that I have written for Seamheads.com along with my Baseball Analytics blog since 2010. Exclusive content includes the chapter on “Minors vs. Majors” which assesses every franchise’s minor league successes and failures in relation to their major league operations.

“Hardball Retrospective” is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. Supplemental Statistics, Charts and Graphs along with a discussion forum are offered at TuataraSoftware.com. In Hardball Retrospective, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original teams. Using a variety of advanced statistics and methods, I generated revised standings for each season based entirely on the performance of each team’s “original” players. I discuss every team’s “original” players and seasons at length along with organizational performance with respect to the Amateur Draft (or First-Year Player Draft), amateur free agent signings and other methods of player acquisition. Season standings, WAR and Win Shares totals for the “original” teams are compared against the real-time or “actual” team results to assess each franchise’s scouting, development and general management skills.

Don Daglow (Intellivision World Series Major League Baseball, Earl Weaver Baseball, Tony LaRussa Baseball) contributed the foreword for Hardball Retrospective. The foreword and preview of my book are accessible here. 

“Hardball Retrospective – Addendum 2014 to 2016” supplements my research for Hardball Retrospective, providing retroactive standings based on Wins Above Replacement (WAR) and Win Shares (WS) for each “original” team over the past three seasons (2014-2016). Team totals from 2010 – 2013 are included for reference purposes. “Addendum” is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. 

While the changes from the previous year’s effort were subtle, I immediately appreciated the design of the 1987 Fleer baseball cards. I made multiple attempts to acquire the cards but they were very difficult to track down. My recollection is that the product was highly sought after and the prices quickly exceeded a threshold that I was not willing to cross. As I wasn’t a big fan of the 1987 Topps offering at the time, I focused instead on my ‘87 Donruss collection. Many years later I was able to locate a dealer with a 5000-count box of 1987 Fleer commons, so I finally got my hands on the majority of this set.   

Corby Corner

Ok, I’ll say it, I personally liked the Fleer set the best in 1987. It was not the most glamorous, didn’t have the Rated Rookies like Donruss, but there was something about that set that made me want to buy those wax boxes and create set after set. I believe I made three if I am not mistaken. Again, if you are looking for a reason, I don’t have one, and sometimes it’s cool that certain players or sets just strike your fancy. Well the set did have some solid cards in it. Will Clark, Ruben Sierra, Bobby Bonilla were hot items in ‘87, though their stars would fade as the 90’s approached. “Wally World” Joyner lit up the league and his “rookie” card was in the set, and the same can be said for Barry Bonds. Like I stated prior, this set didn’t light the world on fire, but it also didn’t disappoint. Sadly, to me, this was the peak of baseball card collecting. I think the 1988 sets just lacked any real star power, and in 1989 the saturated market officially moved the hobby from collecting to greed. 

Features

Fleer softened the color scheme from the dark blue in ‘86 to a two-tone border, using a lighter blue on the top half with white towards the bottom. Player names and primary fielding positions are incorporated into the upper left corner while the team logos are affixed to the lower right. The readability of the card backs is improved from the prior year due to the color scheme, which utilizes the light blue-white combo along with a pair of pink columns. The formatting of each player’s biographical and statistical information mirrors previous Fleer releases. Similar to past releases, the set is ordered based on the final standings from last season and alphabetically by the player’s last names. The back end of the set includes nineteen “Superstar Specials” (usually two or more players with a specific theme), ten “Major League Prospects” (two players per card) and seven checklists for a total of 660 cards.

Fleer opened the floodgates with regards to their production of subsets in 1987, ramping up the offerings from seven in ‘86 to seventeen one year later! The six-card “Headliners” substituted for the previous season’s “Future Hall of Famers” in Fleer rack packs. A twelve-card “World Series” subset were issued in collated sets only to hobby dealers. Subsets that were composed of 44 cards and sold exclusively in chain stores include “Award Winners” (7-11), “All-Stars” (Franklin), “Exciting Stars” (Cumberland Farms), “Hottest Stars” (Revco), “League Leaders” (Walgreens), “Limited Edition (McCrory’s), “Record Setters” (Eckert’s Drug Stores). Multiple chain stores distributed “Game Winners” – Bi-Mart, Pay’n’Save, M.E. Moses, Mott’s, and Winn’s. All of the subsets featured standard size cards with the exception of the “Mini” series which were printed on 1 13/16” by 2 9/16” stock. 

The subset values according to the 1997 edition of the Beckett Almanac of Baseball Cards and Collectibles are as follows: Update $15, Glossy $30, Update Glossy $10, Mini $6, All-Stars $22, Headliners $8, Award Winners $4, Baseball All-Stars $5, Exciting Stars $4, Game Winners $5, Hottest Stars $5, League Leaders $5, Limited Edition $4, Record Setters $4, Sluggers/Pitchers $5, Star Stickers $15, World Series $2. 

One-and-Dones

None of the players in the 1987 Fleer set qualify for the ‘one-and-done’ designation (i.e. all appeared on other regular-issue cards during their careers). This does not include multi-player cards such as “Major League Prospects”. 

Did You Know?

Fleer card backs replaced the career highlight information from previous offerings with a “Pro Scouts Report”. Pitchers received rankings for six different pitch types ranging from “average” to “awesome” while hitters depicted three strike zones outlining the locations where they produce the best results. 

Errors

The 1987 Fleer set does not contain any significant error variations. 

Rookie Cards

Barry Bonds, Bo Jackson, Barry Larkin, Will Clark, Kevin Mitchell, Wally Joyner, Ruben Sierra, Bobby Bonilla, Devon White, Chuck Finley, Jamie Moyer, John Kruk, Terry Steinbach, Mitch Williams and Mike Stanley highlight the list of players making their cardboard debuts in the ’87 Fleer set.

Price Guide (Then and Now)

The “Beckett Baseball Card Monthly Price Guide” (December 1987 edition) cataloged the 1987 Fleer Baseball complete set at $40. The Major League Prospects card (#652) featuring Orioles’ backstop John Stefero along with Royals’ rookie sensation Kevin Seitzer fetched $7 during the winter of ‘87 but was eclipsed in later years by Fleer’s first regular issue cards of Barry Bonds, Will Clark and Bo Jackson, among others. At the present time, a Bo Jackson (#369) with a grade of PSA 9 can be found in the $20-$40 range. 

Please add a comment below if you would like to share any memories from collecting the 1987 Fleer baseball card set or your experiences with card collecting in general!

Articles in the Series

The 1984 Donruss Baseball Set

The 1984 Fleer Baseball Set

The 1984 Topps Baseball Set

The 1985 Donruss Baseball Set

The 1985 Fleer Baseball Set

The 1985 Topps Baseball Set

The 1986 Donruss Baseball Set

The 1986 Fleer Baseball Set

The 1986 Topps Baseball Set

The 1987 Donruss Baseball Set

The 1987 Fleer Baseball Set

The 1987 Topps Baseball Set

The 1988 Donruss Baseball Set

References and Resources

Beckett, Dr. James, Rich Klein and Grant Sandground. Beckett Almanac of Baseball Cards and Collectibles. Dallas, TX: Beckett Publications, 1997. Print.

Beckett.com (requires subscription to view prices):

https://www.beckett.com/search/?term=1987+fleer&year_start=1987

http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides

http://www.baseballerrors.com/

Trading Card Database – Photo Gallery

https://www.tcdb.com/ViewSet.cfm/sid/115/1987-Fleer

About the Authors

Derek Bain is a New Jersey native with a passion for baseball, statistics, computers and video games who enjoys spending quality time with his family.

Tom Corby – Cousins with Derek, I am a history teacher at New Egypt High School. I have three kids, Addison, Jaclyn, and Mason and I’m happy that I get to coach them in their sports as well. In my spare time I enjoy reading, anything beach related, and fishing when time allows. 

Derek’s Books

“Hardball Architects – Volume 1 (American League Teams)”, published in July 2020, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. 

“Hardball Architects – Volume 2 (National League Teams)”, published in April 2022, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. 

Hardball Architects examines the trades, free agent acquisitions, draft picks and other transactions for the 30 Major League Baseball franchises, divided into a 2-volume set (American League and National League). All key moves are scrutinized for every team and Sabermetric principles are applied to the roster construction throughout the lifetime of the organization to encapsulate the hits and misses by front office executives.

“Hardball Retroactive”, published in June 2018, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com.  Hardball Retroactive is a modest collection of selected articles that I have written for Seamheads.com along with my Baseball Analytics blog since 2010. Exclusive content includes the chapter on “Minors vs. Majors” which assesses every franchise’s minor league successes and failures in relation to their major league operations.

“Hardball Retrospective” is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. Supplemental Statistics, Charts and Graphs along with a discussion forum are offered at TuataraSoftware.com. In Hardball Retrospective, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original teams. Using a variety of advanced statistics and methods, I generated revised standings for each season based entirely on the performance of each team’s “original” players. I discuss every team’s “original” players and seasons at length along with organizational performance with respect to the Amateur Draft (or First-Year Player Draft), amateur free agent signings and other methods of player acquisition. Season standings, WAR and Win Shares totals for the “original” teams are compared against the real-time or “actual” team results to assess each franchise’s scouting, development and general management skills.

Don Daglow (Intellivision World Series Major League Baseball, Earl Weaver Baseball, Tony LaRussa Baseball) contributed the foreword for Hardball Retrospective. The foreword and preview of my book are accessible here. 

“Hardball Retrospective – Addendum 2014 to 2016” supplements my research for Hardball Retrospective, providing retroactive standings based on Wins Above Replacement (WAR) and Win Shares (WS) for each “original” team over the past three seasons (2014-2016). Team totals from 2010 – 2013 are included for reference purposes. “Addendum” is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. 

Hands down, the ‘87 Donruss cards are one of my favorites from the Eighties. I’m a fan of the company’s regular season issues from 1984 to 1987 but this particular set delivered rookies by the dozens and the card design is clean, crisp and appealing to the eye. Fleer upped their game in ‘87 but I recall the product was in short supply at all of my local card shops. Topps went back to basics with the woodgrain borders and it was a step in the right direction but in my opinion it was Donruss that dominated the mid-Eighties. The Rated Rookies, Diamond Kings, puzzles, along with the continued enhancements in design and photography made them my go-to product, at least until Upper Deck blew the doors off of the entire industry in 1989.   

Corby Corner

Fresh off what I believed was the best card in 1986, Donruss held strong with their 1987 set. It was definitely the first one that I began to collect for my annual card-by-card collected set. By this point within the hobby, I saw Fleer, Toops, and Donruss on equal footing, and though I don’t feel this year’s Donruss had that same “wow” factor, I do believe that it more than held its own to maintain its top level status. Again, every Donruss set was carried by their rated rookies, good or bad. Bo’s card was late to the party but still pretty awesome. The two Cubbies, Mr. Maddux and Palmerio were solid choices. Barry Bonds rookie, as well as McGwire’s made this set a must have. Now, as with other sets this year, this is when the steroid dominos started falling and wiped out gains that had been made on many of these players to that point in their careers. Overall, I found this set to be a fun one to collect, just wish some of the individual cards within it had taken off like an ‘84T Mattingly, ‘85T Gooden, or ‘86D Canseco

Features

Returning to the black border from the ‘85 series, the card fronts include a pair of yellow lines near the center surrounding a gray section filled with baseballs. The Donruss logo and year appear in the top left of the photo with the player’s team logo in the opposing corner. A row containing the player’s name and primary position is anchored above the bottom border with the background color reflecting that of the represented team. The layout on the flip side replicates the Donruss format from season’s past. The upper section lists the player’s biographical information, center encompasses up to five year’s worth of statistics, and the bottom reveals contract status, transactional information and career highlights. The font size and type remain the easiest to read among the big three manufacturers. Following in the Donruss tradition, the Diamond Kings 26-card subset bats leadoff in the checklist followed by 20 “Rated Rookies”. The Roberto Clemente puzzle card (#612) is the lone card depicting a former ballplayer  

The standard and All-Star wax boxes included 3 cards on the bottom of the boxes along with a Roberto Clemente puzzle card. The Rookies 56-card set mimicked the regular issue ‘87 series except for the border (green instead of black) and featured Greg Maddux, Matt D. Williams, Fred McGriff and Mark McGwire.. Donruss offered a new product dubbed “Opening Day” for the first time in ‘87. This set contains 272 cards with a maroon border and a valuable error card (the original run incorrectly substituted Johnny Ray’s photo on Barry Bonds’ card). The large form All-Stars set (60 cards, 3 ½” x 5”), Pop-Ups (2 ½” x 5”), Super DK’s (nearly 5” x 7”) and the standard-size Highlights (56 cards) round out the Donruss subset catalog.

The subset values according to the 1997 edition of the Beckett Almanac of Baseball Cards and Collectibles are as follows: Rookies $20, All-Stars $6, Highlights $4, Opening Day $10, Pop-Ups $5, Super DK’s $12. 

One-and-Dones

The players listed below made their lone appearance on a regular-issue baseball card in the 1987 Donruss set.

Ray Chadwick (#505) – California selected Chadwick in the 16th round of the June 1983 Amateur Draft. The North Carolina native was assigned to the Salem Angels of the Northwest League where he started in 10 of 16 appearances, going 3-5 with a 4.97 ERA and striking out nearly one batter per inning (82 K’s in 83 ⅔ IP). Pitching for the Peoria Chiefs (A) in ‘84 he made 25 starts and posted a record of 11-9 with a 3.99 ERA and 7.8 SO9. Chadwick achieved multiple promotions in ‘85 but struggled with his control as his walks (64) outnumbered his whiffs (63). Assigned to the Edmonton Trappers (AAA) coming out of Spring Training in ‘86, Chadwick rebounded with 9 victories and a 4.79 ERA. In July 1986 the Angels stormed into the division lead ahead of the Rangers and Ron Romanick, a 14-game winner in ‘85, was scuffling with a 5-8 mark and a 5.50 ERA. The ballclub farmed Romanick out to Edmonton and called upon Chadwick to assume his spot in the starting rotation. Manager Gene Mauch slated Chadwick’s debut for July 29, 1986 against Oakland. He fell behind in the second inning after issuing a leadoff walk to Bruce Bochte and serving up a one-out double to Dave Kingman but the Angels tied the game in the next frame on a single by Gary Pettis. The Halos assumed the lead when Dick Schofield clubbed a long ball to deep left off Dave Stewart to commence the top of the fifth. Chadwick entered the seventh inning having allowed only a pair of hits while working around five bases on balls. Dwayne Murphy singled and Donnie Hill doubled to begin the home half of the seventh, so Mauch signaled to the bullpen for left-hander Gary Lucas. The bases were loaded after Alfredo Griffin reached on an error. Tony Phillips grounded into a 6-4 force out but Murphy scored the tying run. Lucas induced Mike Davis to loft an infield fly to Rob Wilfong for the second out. Doug Corbett replaced Lucas and promptly gave up a base hit up the middle off the bat of Jose Canseco which plated Hill with the go-ahead run. The inning unraveled further as Bochte singled against Chuck Finley. Carney Lansford coaxed a bases-loaded walk to force Phillips home with the fourth tally. Kingman ended the rally with a groundout against the Angels’ fourth reliever of the inning, Vern Ruhle. Oakland triumphed 4-2 and Chadwick took the loss but held a 3.00 ERA after his first MLB outing. His second outing was a disaster as he failed to retire any of the five Mariners that batted in the first inning (four singles and a bases on balls to Ken Phelps) before Mauch gave him the quick hook. Seattle assumed a 4-0 lead and held on for a 6-3 victory despite seven scoreless innings of long relief by Ruhle. The Halos pivoted to Ruhle for the next three turns in the rotation where he delivered a 1-2 record with a 7.98 ERA. Chadwick returned to the mound for a starting assignment against the Orioles in Baltimore on August 23, 1986. He surrendered gopher balls to Cal Ripken, Jr. and Jim Traber in the bottom of the first to fall behind, 3-2. However Mauch stuck with him and Chadwick held the O’s to one hit over the next three frames. Fred Lynn launched a long ball leading off the fifth and Mauch called upon rookie left-hander Chuck Finley to close out the final three innings with the Angels trailing 4-2. Finley flummoxed the Birds but the California crew was unable to mount a comeback against Mike Flanagan, Rich Bordi and Don Aase. One week later Chadwick pitched six strong innings and took a no-decision against the Tigers. Holding a 3-2 advantage with two outs in the visitor’s sixth, Darrell Evans crushed a solo shot deep into the right field corner. Detroit went ahead in the eighth when Gary Lucas served up Evans’ second long ball of the game. California claimed the walk-off win after Brian Downing drew a free pass leading off the bottom of the ninth and Doug DeCinces launched one into orbit down the right-field line off Bill Campbell. Squaring off against the Bronx Bombers at Anaheim Stadium on September 5, 1986, Chadwick retired the first 8 Yankees he faced before issuing a two-out walk in the third to Wayne Tolleson. New York tied the score at 1-1 on consecutive base hits by Claudell Washington and Willie Randolph. In the fourth inning, a single by Don Mattingly and a Dan Pasqua base on balls set the table for an RBI knock by Mike Easler and a two-run single off the bat of Joel Skinner. Mauch called upon Chuck Finley to stop the bleeding. He whiffed Tolleson but the Yankees prevailed 7-4. California held a 6 ½ game lead in the American League Western division standings and the manager opted to skip Chadwick’s next turn in the rotation. He sat for 17 days before receiving another start, opposing Cleveland in the second game of a doubleheader. Chadwick issued a one-out walk to Brett Butler and gave up back-to-back two-baggers to Joe Carter and Mel Hall as the Tribe registered two runs in the first frame. Julio Franco led off the third with a double and scored on a one-out base knock by Hall to put the Indians up by 3. Tony Bernazard’s fourth inning two-base hit plated Brook Jacoby and knocked Chadwick out of the contest. Rich Yett quieted the Halos’ bats as he twirled a 4-hit shutout and Cleveland emerged with a 7-0 victory. In his final Major League appearance the Angels rallied for 5 runs in the sixth inning against the Royals but Chadwick did not figure in the decision. California snatched a quick 1-0 lead when Gary Pettis roped a double to left, swiped third and scored easily on a sacrifice fly to center by Wally Joyner. The Royals responded with three unearned runs in the bottom of the first after Mark Ryal dropped a fly ball off the bat of leadoff man Rudy Law although Chadwick contributed by allowing three singles and a walk. Jack Howell ripped a double to center off Bret Saberhagen and scored on Joyner’s single to right field but the Halos trailed 3-2 after three innings. In the home half of the fourth, Bo Jackson walked, stole second and moved to third on a Bill Pecota groundout. Mauch hooked Chadwick in favor of Chuck Finley but Buddy Biancalana greeted the lefty with a line drive base hit to right to plate Jackson. The Angels’ offense erupted when the Royals replaced Saberhagen on the mound with fellow right-hander Scott Bankhead. Ryal hit a line drive single to right and Rob Wilfong followed with a bunt hit towards third base. The bases were loaded when Jerry Narron coaxed a walk. The runners were unable to advance on a fly out to center by Dick Schofield. Pettis drew a base on balls to force Ryal home. Kansas City manager Mike Ferraro summoned Steve Shields but he issued a walk to the free-swinging rookie left fielder Devon White to knot the score at 4-4. Howell’s sacrifice fly put the Halos ahead and following an intentional walk to Joyner, Reggie Jackson ripped a two-run single to increase the advantage to 7-4. Kansas City was unable to solve Finley as the southpaw struck out five and allowed only two hits and no runs over 5 ⅔ innings to pick up the victory. Chadwick was assigned to Edmonton (AAA) to begin the ‘87 season and his command issues prevented him from returning to the big leagues. He started 25 games and made a pair of relief appearances for the Trappers, posting a 7-10 record with a 5.86 ERA and an unsightly WHIP of 1.799 while issuing a career-worst 114 free passes. California released him and he signed a minor league deal with the White Sox in May 1988. Pacific Coast League opponents continually feasted on Chadwick as he yielded an ERA of 6.51 in 14 outings (13 starts) for the Vancouver Canadians. Demoted to the Birmingham Barons (AA) he finally turned in some decent outings, furnishing a 3-2 mark with a 3.92 ERA and a 1.231 WHIP in six starts. He swapped Sox in August 1989, traded from Chicago to Boston in return for outfielder Dana Williams. Starting in seven contests for Pawtucket, the right-hander was pummeled as he allowed 52 hits and 24 walks in just 38 innings for a 6.39 ERA and a ghastly 2.000 WHIP. Chadwick’s final minor league stop came with the Royals’ double-A affiliate in 1990. Working primarily in long relief while making 16 starts for Omaha, Chadwick logged 7 wins against 11 losses with a 5.00 ERA and a 1.431 WHIP. 

Randy Asadoor (#574) – Texas selected Randy Asadoor in the third round of the June 1983 Amateur Draft and immediately assigned him to the Tulsa Drillers (AA). He slugged .503 across 46 contests and returned to the club the following year. His output declined somewhat from his stellar debut but he still contributed 22 two-base knocks, 16 bombs and 17 stolen bases. Upon the conclusion of Spring Training in ‘85, the Rangers sent Asadoor packing to the Padres in exchange for Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams. The Friars assigned him to Las Vegas (AAA) where he spent most of the next three campaigns, compiling a .262 BA with 19 doubles and 11 jacks. In 1986 he produced his highest BA (.280) and OBP (.388) along with 10 triples to merit a recall in September as San Diego limped towards a fourth-place finish. Taking over at the hot corner for veteran Graig Nettles, Asadoor played nearly every day down the stretch. He drew a tough assignment for his first MLB game on September 14, 1986. Facing Mike Scott, the eventual 1986 NL Cy Young Award winner, he struck out in all three plate appearances before being lifted for a pinch-hitter. The man who replaced him, Carmelo Martinez, belted a two-run walk-off blast off Scott with one out in the ninth as the Padres prevailed, 3-2. Asadoor collected his first MLB hit the following night against Mike Krukow in a 4-1 loss to the Giants. One week into his big league career, he delivered a pair of base hits and notched his first RBI while Jimmy Jones one-hit the ‘Stros on September 21, 1986. Asadoor enjoyed a banner evening against Atlanta at Fulton County Stadium twenty four hours later, collecting four safeties in five trips to the dish and raising his batting average to .421 in a 9-8 loss to the Braves. Over his next three games the rookie registered four hits (three doubles) and four ribbies to maintain a .400 BA. He had an adventurous day on the basepaths versus the Reds on September 26, 1986. After San Diego knocked Chris Welsh out of the contest in the bottom of the first, Asadoor stepped to the dish and rapped a two-run double to put the Friars ahead 5-3. Making a mental note as the rookie extended his lead off third (he advanced on the throw home), Bo Diaz caught a ball from reliever Carl Willis and fired down to third. Asadoor was stuck in no-man’s land, and the Reds tagged him out in a rundown (C-3B-P). However he redeemed himself by stroking a single to start the sixth, swiped second on Gary Green’s strikeout and advanced to third on Diaz’s throwing error. Facing the Dodgers on September 30, 1986, Asadoor hammered a two-run double to knot the scoring at 6-6 in an eventual 11-8 victory by the Padres. In his final big league contest Asadoor struck out against Ron Robinson in his last at-bat but he collected two base knocks in the game to end the season with a .364 BA (20-for-55) with 9 runs and 7 ribbies. The Padres acquired Kevin “World” Mitchell in the off-season to be their everyday third baseman which left Asadoor to battle with Randy Ready and Tim Flannery among others for playing time. He was optioned to Las Vegas when the club broke camp in ‘87 and his batting line (.248/3/28) did nothing to convince the Padres’ brass to recall him at any point during the season. The infielder spent the majority of the 1988 campaign with the Albuquerque Dukes (AAA), an affiliate of the Dodgers, before latching on with the Rangers’ Port Charlotte (A) ballclub for 19 games. Asadoor compiled a woeful slash line of .216/.291/.335, did some soul-searching in the off-season and decided to look for another line of work. 

Did You Know?

Donruss card backs included “Career Highlights” which revealed interesting facts about the players.

Errors

The 1987 Donruss set does not contain any significant error variations.However, the 1987 Donruss Opening Day set botched the Barry Bonds card (#163). The original version displays a photograph of Bucs’ second baseman Johnny Ray and sells for three times above the corrected edition. 

Rookie Cards

Greg Maddux, Barry Bonds, Bo Jackson, Barry Larkin, John Kruk, Will Clark, Rafael Palmeiro, Kevin J. Brown, B.J. Surhoff and Doug Drabek highlight the list of players making their cardboard debuts in the ’87 Donruss set.

Price Guide (Then and Now)

The “Beckett Baseball Card Monthly Price Guide” (December 1987 edition) cataloged the 1987 Donruss Baseball complete set at $33. Mark McGwire’s “Rated Rookie” / first regular issue Donruss card ranked as the highest individual value at $7.50 followed closely by Eric Davis’ Diamond King ($3), Don Mattingly ($2.50) and Wally Joyner’s rookie card ($2.50). At the present time, a Greg Maddux (#52) with a PSA 8 grade can be found in the $10-$25 range while the Barry Bonds (#361) is selling between $5 and $15. 

Please add a comment below if you would like to share any memories from collecting the 1987 Donruss baseball card set or your experiences with card collecting in general!

Articles in the Series

The 1984 Donruss Baseball Set

The 1984 Fleer Baseball Set

The 1984 Topps Baseball Set

The 1985 Donruss Baseball Set

The 1985 Fleer Baseball Set

The 1985 Topps Baseball Set

The 1986 Donruss Baseball Set

The 1986 Fleer Baseball Set

The 1986 Topps Baseball Set

The 1987 Donruss Baseball Set

The 1987 Fleer Baseball Set

The 1987 Topps Baseball Set

The 1988 Donruss Baseball Set

References and Resources

Beckett, Dr. James, Rich Klein and Grant Sandground. Beckett Almanac of Baseball Cards and Collectibles. Dallas, TX: Beckett Publications, 1997. Print.

Beckett.com (requires subscription to view prices):

https://www.beckett.com/search/?term=1987+donruss&year_start=1987

http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides

http://www.baseballerrors.com/

Trading Card Database – Photo Gallery

https://www.tcdb.com/ViewSet.cfm/sid/112/1987-Donruss

About the Authors

Derek Bain is a New Jersey native with a passion for baseball, statistics, computers and video games who enjoys spending quality time with his family.

Tom Corby – Cousins with Derek, I am a history teacher at New Egypt High School. I have three kids, Addison, Jaclyn, and Mason and I’m happy that I get to coach them in their sports as well. In my spare time I enjoy reading, anything beach related, and fishing when time allows. 

Derek’s Books

“Hardball Architects – Volume 1 (American League Teams)”, published in July 2020, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. 

“Hardball Architects – Volume 2 (National League Teams)”, published in April 2022, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. 

Hardball Architects examines the trades, free agent acquisitions, draft picks and other transactions for the 30 Major League Baseball franchises, divided into a 2-volume set (American League and National League). All key moves are scrutinized for every team and Sabermetric principles are applied to the roster construction throughout the lifetime of the organization to encapsulate the hits and misses by front office executives.

“Hardball Retroactive”, published in June 2018, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com.  Hardball Retroactive is a modest collection of selected articles that I have written for Seamheads.com along with my Baseball Analytics blog since 2010. Exclusive content includes the chapter on “Minors vs. Majors” which assesses every franchise’s minor league successes and failures in relation to their major league operations.

“Hardball Retrospective” is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. Supplemental Statistics, Charts and Graphs along with a discussion forum are offered at TuataraSoftware.com. In Hardball Retrospective, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original teams. Using a variety of advanced statistics and methods, I generated revised standings for each season based entirely on the performance of each team’s “original” players. I discuss every team’s “original” players and seasons at length along with organizational performance with respect to the Amateur Draft (or First-Year Player Draft), amateur free agent signings and other methods of player acquisition. Season standings, WAR and Win Shares totals for the “original” teams are compared against the real-time or “actual” team results to assess each franchise’s scouting, development and general management skills.

Don Daglow (Intellivision World Series Major League Baseball, Earl Weaver Baseball, Tony LaRussa Baseball) contributed the foreword for Hardball Retrospective. The foreword and preview of my book are accessible here. 

“Hardball Retrospective – Addendum 2014 to 2016” supplements my research for Hardball Retrospective, providing retroactive standings based on Wins Above Replacement (WAR) and Win Shares (WS) for each “original” team over the past three seasons (2014-2016). Team totals from 2010 – 2013 are included for reference purposes. “Addendum” is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. 

Impressed with both the standard and subsets of Donruss products from the two previous years, I anxiously awaited the release of the 1986 cards. They did not disappoint! I rushed to my local card shop and other vendors to gobble up as much product as I could afford. When the dust settled I managed to hand-collate nearly 4 complete sets while placing one of my Jose Canseco rookie cards aside for safe keeping. I loved the angles, the blue-black borders, the crisp photos and of course, the Rated Rookies! Later that year, I scraped together some birthday money and picked up the inaugural Donruss “The Rookies” set. The card layout is similar to the regular set while substituting a green-black border on the front along with a light green background on the flip side. 

Corby Corner

After such a strong 1985 campaign from all companies, there was an eagerness to see the 1986 series. One of the companies that did not disappoint was Donruss. Their cards were designed in a modern way but without selling out completely to the New Wave 80’s. The “big get” from this set was the Jose Canseco “Rated Rookie”. Canseco’s impact on the game with both speed and power forced many of us to re-examine which players we would want to collect. I moved into players like Eric Davis and Rickey Henderson, who had started combining power with his speed. Yet the card I most remember from this set was the Fred McGriff “Rated Rookie” which I bought at a show in Atlantic City. I admired McGriff’s consistency and felt that this investment would be as safe as they get. Overall, I think that the 1986 Donruss set was by far the strongest this year and catapulted them into a level that 3 years ago seemed almost impossible. 

Features

The ‘86 Donruss card front features sharp blue borders with a series of black lines, angled white text for the player names and position on a red background, team logo in the lower left corner of the photograph and the Donruss logo in the upper left corner. Following the tradition from prior releases, the Diamond Kings subset kicks off the 1986 edition with one player depicted from each of the 26 MLB teams, highlighted by the Dwight Gooden (#26) entry. The rookie card craze reached “next-level” status with the inclusion of Oakland outfielder Jose Canseco (#39) as a member of the “Rated Rookies”. Fred McGriff, Andres Galarraga, Danny Tartabull, Paul O’Neill and Todd Worrell round out the stellar list of first-year players that added to the appeal of the ‘86 set. Hank Aaron puzzle pieces are included in every wax pack and card # 602 depicts the finished puzzle. Pete Rose makes three appearances – card # 62 as the Reds’ first baseman / manager, card # 644 shows a split view of hits 4,191 and 4,192 in his quest to overtake Ty Cobb as the player with the most base hits in MLB history (hence the “Pete Rose Ty-Breaking” designation) and card # 653 is a Diamond Kings portrait entitled “King of Kings”. The Niekro Brothers are featured on card # 645 (“Knuckle Brothers”). The Redbirds’ swift outfielder tandem of Vince Coleman and Willie McGee are highlighted on the “Fleet Feet” card (#651). Seven checklist cards (one for the Diamond Kings series and six for the standard player cards) round out the set. With the exception of the light blue background, the card backs are nearly identical to the 1985 Donruss regular edition. 

Donruss dropped the “Action” from the Action All-Stars set in ‘86 and retired the HOF Sluggers from their lineup. The company produced a new 56-card Rookies set which sparked immediate interest among collectors. The 1986 Rookies featured the first Donruss cards for future stars such as Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla, Will Clark, Bo Jackson, Wally Joyner and Ruben Sierra. Another inaugural offering was the 18-card Pop-Up series which portrayed the starting players from the ‘86 All-Star Game on oversized (2 ½” x 5”) die-cut cards. Highlights and Super DK’s returned with card counts similar to the previous editions.

The subset values according to the 1997 edition of the Beckett Almanac of Baseball Cards and Collectibles are as follows: Rookies $25, All-Stars $6, Highlights $3, Pop-Ups $5, Super DK’s $12.50. 

One-and-Dones

The players listed below made their lone appearance on a regular-issue baseball card in the 1986 Donruss set.

Johnny Abrego (#32) – Selected in the first round of the June 1981 Amateur Draft by Philadelphia with the 20th overall pick, Abrego started 12 games for the Rookie League affiliate in Helena, Montana where he posted a 4.70 ERA and issued 52 walks in 67 innings. An elbow injury forced him to miss the entire ‘82 campaign but he returned in the subsequent campaign where he delivered a 7-5 mark with a 3.97 ERA for the Bend Phillies of the Northwest League. The Cubs obtained Abrego in the December 1983 Rule 5 Draft. He enjoyed a breakthrough season with the Lodi Crushers in ‘84 as he yielded career-bests in ERA (2.10), WHIP (1.177) and strikeouts (139). The right-hander made 5 starts for the Iowa Cubs (AAA) at the tail end of the campaign. Resuming his climb up the organizational ladder in 1985 with Pittsfield (AA), Abrego continued to harness his stuff as he managed a 6-6 record with a 2.45 ERA and a WHIP of 1.222. He struggled in his second stint with Iowa (0-5, 7.92) but managed to receive a callup to the big leagues in September 1985. Cubs’ skipper Jim Frey summoned Abrego from the ‘pen on September 4, 1985 to commence the fifth inning against the Astros after removing southpaw Ray Fontenot for pinch-hitter Billy Hatcher in the previous frame. Chicago led 4-3 after Hatcher singled to drive in a run and Shawon Dunston scored on a wild pitch. Abrego retired the side in order and Ryne Sandberg padded the Cubs’ lead with a two-run blast to deep center field off Mike Scott. In his second inning of work, Abrego got into trouble immediately when he issued consecutive walks to Glenn Davis and Phil Garner. One out later, Jerry Mumphrey doubled to drive in a pair of runs. Ron Meredith entered the contest and promptly gave up the lead when Tim Tolman hammered a three-run shot into the bleachers, leaving Abrego with a 20.25 ERA. Frey inserted Abrego into the starting rotation on September 11, 1985 as the visiting Cubs squared off against the Pirates. The contest remained scoreless into the fifth inning. Tony Pena led off with a double and advanced to third on a base hit off the bat of Denny Gonzalez. Abrego induced Sammy Khalifa to rap into a 4-3 double play but Pena scored easily. The Cubbies tied the game at 1-1 when Bob Dernier snuck home while Ryne Sandberg was caught in a rundown between first and second. Abrego was pulled from the contest after allowing a single to Joe Orsulak followed by an R.J. Reynolds’ sacrifice bunt and an intentional walk to Johnny Ray. Reliever Ron Meredith got Jason Thompson to hit into a 4-6-3 double play and picked up the victory when Leon Durham belted a tie-breaking solo shot off Jose DeLeon in the seventh. After a mediocre outing against Montreal, Abrego fashioned his best effort as a big leaguer against Philadelphia on September 21, 1985. He went 6 innings and yielded 4 hits and 2 runs while striking out 5 Phillies to lower his ERA to 4.86. The Cubs rallied for 8 runs in the top of the fifth off Kevin Gross and two relievers en route to a 9-2 win with Abrego earning his lone victory in the Majors. He was tagged with the loss in his next start against the Mets and took a no-decision in his final start at home versus Pittsburgh. Abrego allowed 16 hits and 8 runs through 7 ⅓ innings in those outings as his ERA ballooned to 6.38. Back in Iowa (AAA) to begin the ‘86 season, Abrego compiled a 7.89 ERA along with a WHIP of 1.876 before walking away from professional baseball upon the conclusion of the 1987 campaign.       

Rich Surhoff (#42) – Philadelphia picked Surhoff in the twentieth round of the January 1982 Amateur Draft. The older brother of B.J. Surhoff reported to Spartanburg (A) where he thrived in a relief role, posting an ERA of 2.55 along with 6 saves in 21 appearances. He split the following season between Peninsula (A) and Reading (AA), notching 8 wins and 10 saves to complement an ERA of 2.83 in 114 ⅓ innings. Surhoff returned to Reading in ‘84 and flummoxed opposing batters while registering 7 victories, 15 saves and a 3.09 ERA. The Phillies rewarded the righty with a call to the Majors in September 1985 following his successful campaign with the triple-A Portland Beavers in which he won 7 games, saved 16 and furnished a 3.17 ERA in 70 games. Surhoff earned a victory in relief of Steve “Lefty” Carlton in his big league debut against the Padres on September 8, 1985. The contest was tied at 5-5 in the fifth inning with runners on first and second. Surhoff retired Carmelo Martinez on a pop-up to second base but allowed the go-ahead run to score on a base hit off the bat of Kurt Bevacqua. He whiffed Bruce Bochy to end the frame and the Phils regained the lead when Luis Aguayo belted a two-run homer off San Diego reliever Ed Wojna. In his second outing with Philadelphia, Surhoff entered the game in relief of Shane Rawley with runners on the corners and two outs in the top of the sixth inning. Expos’ center fielder Mitch Webster stole second and then Vance Law delivered an infield hit to third base. Fred Manrique scored and Webster attempted to streak home but first baseman Mike Schmidt alertly fired the ball to the plate and Daulton applied the tag for the final out. Phillies’ GM Bill Giles dealt Surhoff to the Rangers on the following day (September 13, 1985) for Dave Stewart. He made his Texas’ debut in Anaheim one night later and notched a two-inning save against the Halos. The Rangers scored twice in the top of the eighth against Jim Slaton and Doug Corbett to take a 6-4 lead. Surhoff whiffed the first batter he faced (Doug DeCinces) and retired the side in order. Al Holland allowed a pair of inherited runners to score on a Pete O’Brien single in the ninth as Texas increased the advantage to 8-4. Gary Pettis laced a one-out triple off Surhoff in the bottom of the ninth and jogged home on a Juan Beniquez two-base knock. Rod Carew drew a base on balls to bring the tying run to the plate but Surhoff recovered to induce successive groundouts by Daryl Sconiers and Brian Downing to close out the contest. Facing the Twins on September 24, 1985, the right-hander pitched two scoreless frames and yielded a lone safety off the bat of Gary Gaetti. Three days later at the Kingdome, Mike Mason and Frank Wills squared off in a pitcher’s duel. Mason exited the game with runners on first and second, one out in the eighth and the Rangers trailing 2-0. Surhoff promptly gave up an RBI single to Jim Presley and a three-run bomb to Dave Henderson. Jose Guzman pitched into the ninth inning with a 4-1 lead against the A’s on October 1, 1985. Jose Canseco and Dave Collins supplied back-to-back singles to commence the inning so Rangers’ manager Bobby Valentine summoned Surhoff. He struck out Mike Davis and Dusty Baker and then gave up a base hit to Alfredo Griffin. Tony Phillips hit a harmless fly ball to right field for the final out as Surhoff tallied his second career save as a big leaguer. Surhoff took the loss in his last MLB game on October 6, 1985 at home against California. Entering the match with a 4-3 advantage in the top of the eighth, he permitted consecutive singles to Rob Wilfong and Devon White. He buckled down, striking out Sconiers and retiring Jack Howell on a fly ball to right field. Angels’ designated hitter Rufino Linares walloped a three-run dinger to put the Halos on top for an eventual 6-5 victory. The outing bloated his ERA and WHIP to 6.75 and 1.821 respectively. Surhoff spent the next four seasons toiling in the minors for the Rangers, Cubs, Phillies and Indians prior to hanging up his spikes after the ‘89 season. 

Dave Leeper (#461) – Not to be confused with lefty reliever Dave Leiper – this Leeper played the outfield and merited a first round selection (23rd pick overall) by the Royals in the June 1981 Amateur Draft. The University of Southern California graduate reported to the Jacksonville Suns (AA) for his pro debut where he hit .269 in 67 games. He returned to the Sunshine State and spent the entire 1982 campaign with the Suns, batting at a .293 clip and swiping 24 bases in 27 attempts. Leeper compiled a .281 BA and established career-highs in doubles (29), RBI (83) and runs (74) while competing for Jacksonville and Omaha (AAA) in ‘83. In the subsequent season Leeper set personal marks with 11 triples and 16 wallops to warrant a cup of coffee with Kansas City in September 1984. The parent club was battling for the Western Division title so playing time was scarce as the rookie only made it into four games. Dick Howser sent Leeper up to the dish to face Mike Smithson with two outs in the ninth inning with the Royals trailing the Twins 7-3 on September 10, 1984. The left-handed hitting Leeper popped the ball up towards third and Gary Gaetti settled under it to make the catch. Eight days later, he entered a contest as a pinch-runner for Jorge Orta in the ninth inning and notched his first run as a big leaguer when the next batter, Buddy Biancalana, swatted a big-fly in a 10-0 rout of the Angels. Leeper went hitless in five at-bats over the final two contests of the regular season after the Royals clinched the division, leaving him 0-for-6 as a Major Leaguer heading into the ‘85 campaign. Unable to crack the Opening Day roster, Leeper returned to Omaha and fared well against American Association hurlers to earn a pair of callups – one in mid-season with the other coming in early August. His hitless streak reached 20 at-bats before breaking through with a single against “The Terminator,” Blue Jays’ closer Tom Henke, on August 18, 1985. As the Royals were in the process of claiming another division title, Leeper’s opportunities were few and far between. During the week of August 19th, he managed to drive in 4 baserunners despite logging only one hit in nine at-bats. Batting seventh and playing right field against the Rangers on August 26, 1985, Leeper strolled to the plate with the bases loaded in the third inning to face Jeff Russell. The match was knotted at 2-2 when Leeper stroked a two-run single for the go-ahead RBI’s in an eventual 9-2 victory. Leading off in the final regular season game and the last MLB contest of his career, Leeper supplied a single to load the bases against Chris Codiroli and the Royals tallied twice in the inning. Behind 9-3 in the eighth, Leeper’s final MLB at-bat ended in a ground ball back to the pitcher, Steve Mura. Reduced to part-time status in Triple-A over the next 3 seasons, Leeper produced a .262 BA with 27 two-base knocks. He concluded his journey in the professional baseball ranks during the Summer of ‘88. 

Steve Engel (#510) – A southpaw chosen in the fifth round of the June 1983 Amateur Draft by the Cubbies, Engel commenced his career with 11 starts for Geneva of the New York-Penn League. He prevailed in 7 of 9 decisions while furnishing a 3.63 ERA, a 1.139 WHIP and 9.6 SO/9. Pitching for Lodi (A) in ‘84 he won 11 games and posted a 2.68 ERA through 27 starts. The portsider produced a 3.60 ERA between stops at Pittsfield (AA) and Iowa (AAA), prompting the Cubs to recall him at the end of July ‘85. Manager Jim Frey penciled Engel in as his starting pitcher against the division-leading Cardinals on July 30, 1985. St. Louis tallied 3 in the first frame on a Willie McGee solo homer and successive bases-loaded walks to Ozzie Smith and Tom Nieto. The Runnin’ Redbirds pressed the pedal to the metal in the second as the eventual 1985 NL Rookie of the Year Vince Coleman coaxed a walk and advanced to second on a McGee single. The pair executed a double-steal and Coleman scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jack Clark. Engel breezed through the third inning but yielded a double to opposing hurler Kurt Kepshire leading off the fourth. Coleman aka “Vincent Van Go” tripled to plate Kepshire and Frey summoned Warren Brusstar from the ‘pen. McGee rapped a two-base hit to drive Coleman home and close the line on Engel’s first start: 3 IP, 6 H, 5 BB, 6 ER. Engel returned to the rotation on August 15 and started 7 games for the Cubs over the next month, notching his lone MLB victory in a complete game against Houston on August 26. The score was knotted at 2-2 entering the sixth frame when Chicago loaded the bases on a couple of singles and an error by third-sacker Phil Garner. Jody Davis delivered the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly to center field and Shawon Dunston extended the lead to 4-2 on a single. Bob Knepper remained in the game as Engel strolled to the dish with runners on first and third. Bam! – three run homer for the young hurler and second hit of the day. Through 8 big league starting assignments, Engel posted an ERA of 5.79 so Frey relegated him to the bullpen for the final three weeks of the ‘85 campaign. He coughed up a two-run blast to Sal Butera in a 17-15 loss to the Expos in his first relief outing on September 24. Two days later he delivered a scoreless frame against the Mets and in his final appearance versus the Pirates on October 3, he put up 3 goose eggs to register the save in a 13-5 victory to lower his Major League ERA to 5.57. Chicago GM Dallas Green dealt Engel to the Astros in July 1986 as the “player to be named later” in a transaction initiated the previous winter which sent Cubs outfield prospect Billy Hatcher to Houston for veteran center fielder Jerry Mumphrey. He bounced between starting and relief work while toiling for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs and Tucson Toros and the results were miserable: a record of 6-11 with an ERA of 6.89 and an unsightly WHIP of 1.840. Engel appeared in only 4 games (3 starts) for the Springfield Cardinals (A) in ‘87 and then twirled for three professional teams in ‘88 including 9 relief outings with the Mexico City Tigers. He issued 14 walks in 7 ⅔ innings to put the pin in his prospect balloon.  

Tom Runnells (#569) – Middle infielder Runnells persevered through 8 minor league campaigns before making his Major League debut. Signed as an amateur free agent by San Francisco in June 1977, Runnells reported to Great Falls (Rookie) and proceeded to bat .290 in his first taste of pro ball. During his sophomore season with the Fresno Giants (A), he attained career-highs with 163 base hits, 32 stolen bases and 83 runs scored. Runnells played all over the diamond and earned a promotion to Phoenix (AAA) in 1980 where he compiled a .282 BA over the next 3+ seasons. He elected to become a free agent after spending six campaigns in the Giants organization without a call to the big leagues and inked a deal with the Reds in October 1983. Runnells clubbed 6 long balls as the second-sacker for the Wichita Lugnuts (AA) in ‘84, tying his career total through his first 7 seasons. The following year in his age-30 campaign, Runnells compiled a .290 BA and slugged a career-high .403 with the Denver Zephyrs to finally merit a promotion to the big leagues. He debuted as a pinch-hitter against Fernando Valenzuela in the seventh inning of a contest on August 10, 1985 with the Reds trailing the Dodgers, 2-1, and was retired on a pop-up to shortstop Mariano Duncan. Player/manager Pete Rose inserted Runnells into the starting lineup the next day as the second baseman, batting second. After grounding out to third base twice, Runnells registered his first MLB safety against Los Angeles’ starting pitcher Jerry Reuss in the seventh frame. Reuss yielded consecutive hits to Gary Redus and Runnells with one out in the ninth but he induced Dave “Cobra” Parker to ground into a fielder’s choice and whiffed Buddy Bell to preserve a 4-0 shutout. A combined 0-for-8 in the next two games versus the Padres convinced Rose to return Runnells to the bench for the foreseeable future and the utility infielder appeared as a pinch-hitter or defensive replacement 11 times through early September, going hitless in five at-bats. The Reds faced the Cubs on September 8, 1985 and Rose either tied or surpassed Ty Cobb for most career hits (due to an accounting error in the historical records). Runnells rapped his first base knock in nearly a month when he batted for the pitcher in the sixth inning of the match, which was suspended by darkness after 9 innings (Wrigley Field did not have lights installed yet). Two weeks later, Ted Power yielded a pair of unearned runs to Atlanta after third baseman Wade Rowdon committed errors on consecutive plays in the top of the eleventh inning. Runnells batted for Power in the bottom of the frame and ripped a double against Atlanta reliever Rick Camp for his first extra-base hit in the big leagues. He advanced to third on a fly ball to center off the bat of Ron Oester but got stranded there when Nick Esasky whiffed for the final out. Runnells delivered two safeties in nine October at-bats to finish the season with a .200 BA (7-for-35) with 3 runs scored. Starting the ‘86 back in the minors, Runnells received another cup of coffee when he spent nearly a month in the Majors from mid-May to early June. His lone knock in 11 at-bats and final hit as a big leaguer occurred on May 24, 1986 against Pittsburgh left-hander Pat Clements. Entering in the seventh inning as a defensive replacement for the second baseman (Oester), Runnells laced a double leading off the top of the ninth. In his final MLB plate appearance, the utilityman rapped into a double play with Giants’ reliever Juan Berenguer on the mound. The final verdict on Runnells in the Majors – 8-for-46 (.174 BA) in 40 games. Defensively he did not commit any errors while spending the majority of his innings at shortstop. He posted a .228 BA with Denver (AAA) in ‘86 to close out his professional career. Runnells managed the Expos to a record of 68-81 (.456 WPCT) from 1991 to 1992.  

Carlos Ponce (#595) – Signed by the Brewers as an amateur free agent from Puerto Rico in January 1980, Ponce immediately impressed his new employers when he produced a .347 BA and slugged .552 in 69 contests with the Butte Copper Kings (Rookie). Playing first base almost exclusively as a minor leaguer, he clubbed 15 long balls and swiped 23 bags in 29 attempts as a sophomore with the Burlington Bees (A) and then drilled 31 doubles along with 13 triples for the Stockton Ports (A) in ‘82. Ponce busted out in ‘83 with the El Paso Diablos (AA), pacing the circuit with 50 two-baggers and finishing third with a .348 BA while slugging .591 with 21 blasts, 111 RBI and 16 steals. He toiled in Vancouver (AAA) for two years waiting for an opportunity with the Brew Crew and managed to hit .320 in his second season as a member of the Canadians. Milwaukee finally called him up to the Majors in the middle of August 1985. Batting against ace reliever Willie Hernandez as a pinch-hitter in his first MLB action, Ponce flew out to right field with two outs in the ninth inning as the Brewers lost, 4-3, on August 14, 1985. He took an 0-for-4 in the next two games before scratching out a pair of singles against Gene Nelson and Dan Spillner in a 12-5 drubbing by the White Sox. Ponce pummeled his lone MLB long ball off southpaw Britt Burns the following afternoon. Trailing the Tribe 10-2 after five frames on August 23, 1985, Milwaukee manager George Bamberger inserted Ponce as a defensive replacement for first baseman Cecil Cooper and he responded with a two-run double off reliever Vern Ruhle to raise his BA to .250. The skipper rewarded him with 5 starting assignments over the next week but Ponce scuffled at the dish with only one safety in 18 at-bats, dropping his average nearly 100 points to .158. He sat for the next ten days before starting in left field against the eventual World Series champions on September 8, 1985, delivering two hits and a walk in a 13-11 loss to the Royals. Ponce saw action only twice in the next two and a half weeks before Bamberger penciled him into the lineup against Baltimore left-hander Mike Flanagan. Playing first base and batting fifth, he rapped a two-base knock in four trips to the plate as Jaime Cocanower shut out the Orioles, 3-0. Right below the “Mendoza Line” with two weeks remaining in the season, Ponce laced one base hit in his final 15 at-bats, a single against Yankees’ ace Ron Guidry in a 3-0 defeat on October 3, 1985. He concluded his rookie year with 10 hits in 62 at-bats (.161 BA), one home run and 5 RBI. Ponce continued his baseball career overseas, spending the next half-decade with the Yokohama Taiyo Whales of the Japan Central League. He flourished at the dish, compiling a .299 BA and slugging .562 from 1986 to 1989 as he supplied 30 doubles, 30 dingers and 97 ribbies per year. 

Did You Know?

Donruss included interesting facts about some of the players on the bottom section of the card backs. 

“Oil Can” Boyd (#50) – “Picked up his unusual nickname in college where beer was called ‘oil’.”

Pete Rose (#62) – “Loves his Wheaties.”

Dwight Gooden (#75) – “NL Cy Young winner last year.. Joined Herb Score as only 2 pitchers in history to achieve 200 strikeouts in each of 1st 2 major league seasons.”

Pat Tabler (#129) – “Has phenomenal 22 for 35 (.659) career average in bases-loaded situations with 54 RBI.”

Tim Raines (#177) – “Is first player in major league history to steal 70 or more bases 5 straight seasons.” 

Vince Coleman (#181) – “Stole 7 bases in 1 game at Johnson City in ‘82.”

Marty Barrett (#294) – “A slick practitioner of the ‘hidden ball’ trick, he pulled it off twice last year vs. Angels.”

Dale Berra (#295) – “Set major lg. record by reaching 1B via catcher’s interference 7 times in ‘83.”

Joel Skinner (#330) – “White Sox took him over 2,000 other players as the first selection ever in the free agent compensation pool.”

Jackie Gutierrez (#335) – “His father competed for Colombia in 1936 Berlin Olympics as a javelin thrower.”

Tom Browning (#384) – “Became 1st major league rookie to win 20 game ssince ‘54 last season.”

Davey Lopes (#388) – “Became the oldest man in history to eclipse 40 stolen bases in a season last year.”

Len Matuszek (#494) – “Made baseball history 6/1/84 when, vs. Cubs, became only 8th player ever to play entire major league game at 1B without making a putout.”

Phil Niekro (#580) – “Oldest pitcher in history to win 15 games in a season.”

Ray Knight (#597) – “Is married to pro golf star Nancy Lopez.”

Mookie Wilson (#604) – “Nicknamed ‘Mookie’ by his grandmother.”

Errors

The 1986 Donruss set does not contain any significant error variations.

Rookie Cards

In addition to the aforementioned Jose Canseco “Rated Rookie” card, Toronto teammates Cecil Fielder and Fred McGriff made their cardboard debuts in the ‘86 Donruss set along with Vince Coleman, Kal Daniels, Darren Daulton, Lenny Dykstra, Andrés Galarraga, Ozzie Guillen and Paul O’Neill. 

Price Guide (Then and Now)

The “Beckett Baseball Card Monthly Price Guide” (November 1986 edition) lists the 1986 Donruss Baseball complete set for $30. Jose Canseco (#39, $7), Dwight Gooden (#75, $2.50) and Vince Coleman (#181, $2.50) held the highest individual values at the conclusion of the ‘86 season. Jose Canseco’s rookie card (#39, graded PSA 8) currently sells in the $25-$35 price range while Barry Bonds (1986 Donruss The Rookies #11, graded PSA 8) fetches anywhere from $10 to $25. 

Please add a comment below if you would like to share any memories from collecting the 1986 Donruss baseball card set or your experiences with card collecting in general!

Articles in the Series

The 1984 Donruss Baseball Set

The 1984 Fleer Baseball Set

The 1984 Topps Baseball Set

The 1985 Donruss Baseball Set

The 1985 Fleer Baseball Set

The 1985 Topps Baseball Set

The 1986 Donruss Baseball Set

The 1986 Fleer Baseball Set

The 1986 Topps Baseball Set

The 1987 Donruss Baseball Set

The 1987 Fleer Baseball Set

The 1987 Topps Baseball Set

The 1988 Donruss Baseball Set

References and Resources

Beckett, Dr. James, Rich Klein and Grant Sandground. Beckett Almanac of Baseball Cards and Collectibles. Dallas, TX: Beckett Publications, 1997. Print.

Beckett.com (requires subscription to view prices):

https://www.beckett.com/search/?term=1986+donruss&year_start=1986

http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides

http://www.baseballerrors.com/

Trading Card Database – Photo Gallery

https://www.tcdb.com/ViewSet.cfm/sid/105/1986-Donruss

About the Authors

Derek Bain is a New Jersey native with a passion for baseball, statistics, computers and video games who enjoys spending quality time with his family.

Tom Corby – Cousins with Derek, I am a history teacher at New Egypt High School. I have three kids, Addison, Jaclyn, and Mason and I’m happy that I get to coach them in their sports as well. In my spare time I enjoy reading, anything beach related, and fishing when time allows. 

Derek’s Books

“Hardball Architects – Volume 1 (American League Teams)”, published in July 2020, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. 

“Hardball Architects – Volume 2 (National League Teams)”, published in April 2022, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. 

“Hardball Architects” examines the trades, free agent acquisitions, draft picks and other transactions for the 30 Major League Baseball franchises, divided into a 2-volume set (American League and National League). All key moves are scrutinized for every team and Sabermetric principles are applied to the roster construction throughout the lifetime of the organization to encapsulate the hits and misses by front office executives.

“Hardball Retroactive”, published in June 2018, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. A cross-section of essays that I penned for Seamheads.com along with my Baseball Analytics blog spanning nearly a decade touching on subjects including “Taking the Extra Base”, “General Manager Scorecard”, “Worst Trades”, “BABIP By Location” and “Baseball Birthplaces and the Retro World Baseball Classic”. Rediscover your favorite hardball arcade and simulations in “Play Retro Baseball Video Games In Your Browser” or take a deep dive into every franchise’s minor league successes and failures in relation to their major league operations in “Minors vs. Majors”.

“Hardball Retrospective” is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. Supplemental Statistics, Charts and Graphs along with a discussion forum are offered at TuataraSoftware.com. In Hardball Retrospective, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original teams. Using a variety of advanced statistics and methods, I generated revised standings for each season based entirely on the performance of each team’s “original” players. I discuss every team’s “original” players and seasons at length along with organizational performance with respect to the Amateur Draft (or First-Year Player Draft), amateur free agent signings and other methods of player acquisition. Season standings, WAR and Win Shares totals for the “original” teams are compared against the real-time or “actual” team results to assess each franchise’s scouting, development and general management skills.

Don Daglow (Intellivision World Series Major League Baseball, Earl Weaver Baseball, Tony LaRussa Baseball) contributed the foreword for Hardball Retrospective. The foreword and preview of my book are accessible here. 

“Hardball Retrospective – Addendum 2014 to 2016” supplements my research for Hardball Retrospective, providing retroactive standings based on Wins Above Replacement (WAR) and Win Shares (WS) for each “original” team over the past three seasons (2014-2016). Team totals from 2010 – 2013 are included for reference purposes. “Addendum” is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com.