Pete Rose cards still in high demand, expected to soar after death of MLB legend

In the course of 24 illustrious seasons, Peter Edward Rose was a model of hitting consistency, breaking Ty Cobb’s 57-year-old record for hits along the way.

He did it with neither blazing speed nor towering, Ruthian homers. Rather, Rose took the old-school approach summed up by Wee Willie Keeler: “Hit ’em where they ain’t.”

Rose did just that more than any other man in history, producing 4,256 hits in 14,053 at-bats for a career .303 average. As mind-boggling as his hits total remains, Rose’s power and speed numbers were unspectacular. He averaged only 6.67 homers (based on 160 lifetime dingers) and 8.25 stolen bases (198 career steals) per season.

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Rose’s game was all about contact, which is why he averaged only 47 strikeouts per year. And no, he wasn’t merely a singles hitter. Man, he could split those gaps! Great trivia factoid: Rose’s 746 doubles ranks second all-time behind only Tris Speaker.

When you reach base as often as Rose did, good things happen, as reflected by his 2,165 runs (sixth all-time) and 1,314 RBI.

Beyond the numbers, Pete Rose was simply fun to watch—a bundle of raw energy with an all-out, take-no-prisoners approach.

That aggressiveness was never more apparent than in the 1970 All-Star Game, when he bowled over Ray Fosse and wrecked the young catcher’s shoulder. It changed the course of Fosse‘s career; he never reached the promise that led to his first All-Star game. But that’s how Rose played every minute of every game—even exhibition games.

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Later, as a manager, the competitive fire burned on. Rose watchers believe it drove him into the problem that resulted in his lifetime ban from baseball: gambling.

It was in 1989 that he agreed to a ban from baseball. He believed it would be for a short period of time, but it became a life sentence.

After being banned for betting dozens of times on MLB games (always on his own team, by the way), Rose spent the rest of his life lobbying for reinstatement. But unlike the many clutch hits he had on the diamond, Rose whiffed in his efforts to get back into baseball’s good graces. So on Sept. 30, he went to his grave having been stripped of the chance for induction into baseball’s Hall of Fame.

Rose’s predicament may have affected his standing in the memorabilia hobby—for a short period of time. For at least several years after he left the game, values of his cards and autographs seemed lower than they should have been, considering his prolific hitting.

His banishment, though, was only part of any softness in his memorabilia values. Remember that collectors tend to gravitate toward home run hitters, so Rose was always in the shadow of the Babe Ruths and Mickey Mantles of the world.

That said, it didn’t take long for the tide to turn. Every time MLB batted down Rose’s appeals for reinstatement, fans and collectors sympathized a little more.

Over the past 10 or 15 years, we’ve seen prices paid for his vintage cards begin to skyrocket. It’s particularly true of Rose’s colorful and attractive 1960s-era cards. Let’s take a look.

• His 1963 Topps card is the holy grail among the hundreds of different Rose issues out there. The “Rookie Stars” issue also features mug shots of Ken McMullen, Al Weis, and Pedro Gonzalez. In Mint condition, it soars.

An exceedingly rare PSA 10 example at Heritage Auctions brought $717,000 in a 2016 sale. That price marked an amazing spike. Just four years prior, in 2012, the exact same card sold for $157,366 at SCP Auctions. It was originally from the Dmitri Young Collection.

Even 9-grade Rose rookies are selling for six-figure prices. For example, a PSA 9 specimen brought $150,000 at a 2021 Robert Edward Auctions event.

As always, compromise on condition if you’re looking to add a Rose rookie at a friendlier price. Specimens graded 8 can be had for less than $10,000 and 7-grade examples for less than $5,000. To get down below $1,000, you’ll have to settle for Rose rookies graded 2 or 1.

• Topps’ 1964 set includes Rose’s first full player card. It features a head shot accompanied by the classic “All-Star Rookie” trophy emblem. The reverse of that card reveals Rose was fresh off a hot rookie campaign; 1963 was the year he began his assault on Cobb’s all-time hit record. Rose, as a 22-year-old second baseman, batted .273 with 170 hits and 101 runs.

Rose’s 1964 card has been on the rise. In 2022, Mile High Card Co. sold a PSA 9 specimen for $63,872. Two years later, Memory Lane sold a PSA 9 for a price that was far lower but still impressive: $26,360. Two other PSA 9 examples sold in recent years for $35,000 and $25,109.

As the 1960s wore on, Topps continued giving us aesthetically appealing Rose cards.

• Topps’ 1965 Rose card captures him in his compact right-handed batting pose. He’s holding his bat horizontally behind his head and wearing one of those great old Cincinnati Reds uniforms with white vest over a bright red long-sleeve shirt. The background gives us a glimpse of Crosley Field’s distinctive 58-foot scoreboard, with its Art Deco-inspired clock.

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A 1965 Topps Rose card in 9 condition was a $3,000 to $5,000 item throughout the 2010s. But in the hobby boom year of 2021, an eBay seller sold one for $15,000. It has seen a bit of regression since then; in early 2024, Heritage sold a PSA 9 for $11,000.

• In 1966, Topps used a similar photo: a right-handed-hitting Rose in a spring training setting. That one is selling for a few thousand dollars. Recent examples include a PSA 9 that fetched $4,320 in 2023 and another PSA 9 that attracted $5,040 in 2024.

• In 1967, Topps gave us Rose as a lefty hitter, again at spring training in a batting pose. The ’67 Rose can outsell the ’66. Examples: Heritage recently got $7,500 and $6,000 for PSA 9-graded ’67 Rose cards. Another sold on eBay for $4,960.

• For Topps’ 1968 set, Rose switched back to a right-handed hitting pose. PSA 9 examples of this classic-looking issue go for $3,000 to $5,000.

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While earlier Rose cards are rare in Gem-Mint 10 condition, the 1968 has shown up in perfect condition. One such example, a PSA 10, showed up at Heritage in 2022 and brought $26,100. Another PSA 10 sold for $22,200 at Heritage in 2024. Those sales represented a major jump from a 1968 PSA 10 Rose that got away for just $2,640 in 2017.

• Rose’s 1969 Topps card also can turn up in Gem-Mint condition—and deliver shocking prices. Case in point: Heritage sold a PSA 10-grade card of Rose for an astonishing $38,730 in March 2024. Compare that to the $14,514 paid on eBay in 2016 and the $12,400 paid at Huggins and Scott Auctions in 2017.

The ’69 Rose gives us a side-angle view of his lefty hitting stance, with batting cage in the backdrop.

As often happens, values of a player's cards start dropping as he gets later into his career. It’s no different for Rose. Yet he does have certain issues from his middle and later years that attract attention.

• Rose’s 1970 Topps card, with its plain grey border, has sold in Gem-Mint 10 condition for $2,500 and $5,760 in sales at Mile High and Heritage, respectively. Not bad.

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• But consider his 1971 Topps card, with those fragile black border borders. That one has been going crazy. You won’t find it in Gem-Mint condition, but if you see one graded 9, expect a five-figure price. A PSA 9 example sold for a healthy $25,424 in early 2024. Compare that to PSA 9 examples that brought $10,200 and $8,700 in 2021 and 2020.

• If you think that’s impressive, consider Rose’s 1972 Topps base card. A PSA 10 example offered at Heritage in 2022 sold for $66,000. Just two years prior, in 2020, Memory Lane auctioned a PSA 10 card from 1972 and got $9,200. Examples in 9 grade can be had for $1,000 to $2,500.

• Jumping ahead to 1975, Rose’s colorful Topps card has great eye appeal and thus draws big bidding. A Gem-Mint PSA 10 example fetched $16,048 on eBay in 2024. Beyond that high-water mark, we spotted PSA 10 examples selling for prices between $2,500 and $5,000 on eBay the past few years.

The ’75 card shows Rose in a lefty hitting pose, wearing the Reds’ white home uniform of the day and an “NL ALL STAR” emblem in the lower-right corner. The card’s bright yellow background on the top half plays perfectly with the fire-engine red background on the bottom.

• Likewise, Rose’s 1977 Topps, featuring an action shot of Pete playing third base for the Reds, can skyrocket. PSA 10 examples sold in 2023 and 2024 for $10,700 on eBay and $8,488 at Memory Lane.

• As the years roll on, more and more 10-grade Rose cards show up, but prices don’t necessarily follow. As such, you can find PSA 10 examples of his 1980 Topps card—his first with the Phillies—for $1,000 to $2,000. His 1981 card, also with the Phillies, can jump quite a bit higher: into the $3,000 to $6,000 range.

But Rose’s 1980s cards, including Topps as well as Fleer and Donruss (both of which started long-running baseball series in 1981), are important more for the subject and his growing numbers than for value. 

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