Distinctive design, memorable rookies make 1985 Topps Baseball one of most popular sets of 1980s
The inauguration of President Ronald Reagan’s second term, the Live Aid concerts, and the release of the Sony Discman. These are all memorable events from the year 1985.
Among collectors, the 1985 Topps flagship baseball set also remains one of the most beloved things from that year and one of the decade’s most iconic card sets.
Known for its distinctive design and memorable rookie cards, the series reflects both the trends of the time and the growing popularity of sports cards as collectibles.
1985 Topps Baseball was released during a period of burgeoning interest in baseball cards, which would reach its peak just a few years later. Indeed, collecting cards during the 1980s was becoming a mainstream hobby, and the 1985 set helped to solidify Topps’ reputation.
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While the set itself isn’t among the most valuable, it remains a cornerstone for those who grew up during that era. Whether it’s the nostalgia of Gen Xers who pulled their first pack from a wax box or the hunt for key rookies, the 1985 Topps set still holds a special place in baseball card history.
That year’s design was relatively simple, yet appealing. The cards—a combination of action shots and posed portraits—gave the set a dynamic feel. The set featured 792 cards. It featured cards highlighting players from the U.S. Olympic team, Draft Picks, Record Breakers, and Father-Son duos.
McGWIRE, TOP ROOKIES
It is one particular Team USA card—honoring the 1984 USA Baseball Olympic team—that is among the most recognizable four decades later. The Mark McGwire card, which some consider his rookie, rose in value in 1998 during his home run chase against Sammy Sosa, but dropped in value in the ensuing years. Nonetheless, it is still one of the most iconic baseball cards of the modern era.
The McGwire debut card was part of a subset that focused on the Olympic team that captured the silver medal at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. It was the first time Topps had featured Olympic players in a set. It remains very popular. For example, over 63,000 have been submitted to PSA for grading. Of those, just 307 have been graded a 10.
The set also features other top rookies, including Roger Clemens and Kirby Puckett. Both had been included in 1984 Fleer Update, but this set marked their first Topps flagship rookie cards.
Other notable rookies included New York Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden, who won the National League Cy Young Award that season, Kansas City Royals hurler Bret Saberhagen, 1988 NL Cy Young winner Orel Hershiser, and former Cincinnati Reds slugger Eric Davis.
While the set packs plenty of nostalgia and top prospects from that season, it lacks a healthy amount of Hall of Famers who had rookie cards in the set. Both McGwire and Clemens have been left out of the hall over their alleged connection to performance-enhancing drugs. Gooden, one of the biggest pitching prospects of that decade, flamed out in the ensuing years given his own drug habit that burned out his career before a strong start.
Both Davis and Puckett had long careers, but hampered by injuries. Davis suffered, most notably, a lacerated kidney sustained while diving for a ball in Game 4 of the 1990 World Series, which required surgery and ultimately altered his career trajectory.
Puckett’s career was tragically cut short after he was hit by a pitch thrown by Cleveland Indians hurler Dennis Martinez in his final at-bat of the 1995 season, shattering his jaw. The Minnesota Twins slugger later developed glaucoma, leading to vision loss and his retirement. Puckett was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001, but died five years later at age 45 following a stroke.
NOTABLE ERROR
Like many sets from the 1980s, this one has a notable error card. The card in question—No. 497—features California Angels centerfielder Gary Pettis. However, it isn’t Pettis who is pictured on the front, but his younger brother Lynn.
“When I was playing with the Angels, one of the other players on my team had a son,” Pettis told MLB.com in 2018. “My brother would come out to the ballpark on Sundays, and they’d dress up in uniforms and they’d go out on the field and shag fly balls and run around. I guess this happened to be one Sunday where they were taking the pictures for the Topps baseball cards. I had no idea that was going on that day.”
Pettis said his brother “was out on the field at the time, and he was as big as I was at 14 years old. I guess he was around the dugout and sitting around and the guy walked up and said, ‘Hey, let me take your picture.’”
“The guy” in question was photographer Owen C. Shaw, one of several employed by Topps at the time.
In June 1985, then-Topps spokesman Norman Liss, responding to a query about the error, told USA Today it had been a prank orchestrated up by Gary Pettis.
“It’s one of those practical jokes ballplayers have been playing for years,” Liss told the newspaper.
In his 2018 interview, however, Gary Pettis made no mention of a joke.
“[Lynn] posed for the picture,” he said. “I’m sure he had no idea it was going to end up on a baseball card.”
Clemente Lisi