Card Details:
Manufacturer: Topps
Year: 1980
Card Number: 482
Paper: Cardstock
Size: 2 1/2” x 3 1/2”
Card Status: Rookie
The Set:
The 1980 Topps Baseball Set contains a massive 726 total cards. Each of these cards has a full color photo that dominates the card front with the player’s name in all uppercase font directly above the photo along the top border. In the upper left-hand corner of the photo the player’s position can be found in a pennant; the player’s team can be found in a similar pennant in the bottom right corner. Each photo is surrounded by a thin, varying, color border and a facsimile autograph grades the photo as well.
When flipped to the reverse each card follows the typical Topps theme. Statistics, biographical information, and a cartoon with a snippet about the player can all be found.
This set is anchored by Carlton Fisk, Gary Carter, Johnny Bench, Eddie Murray, Ozzie Smith, George Brett and Reggie Jackson.
The Card:
Rickey Henderson’s 1980 Topps rookie card possess a vertical orientation. The photo is of him at Homeplate in a yellow Oakland A’s uniform. The position and team pennants follow the Athletics color theme of yellow and green, respectively. The color photo that dominates the front is surrounded by a thin blue border.
The back of his card carries a blue color theme to match the front photo’s border. The cartoon on the back depicts a 7-steal minor league game of Rickey’s, “Rickey had 7 stolen bases in one game at Modesto. May 26, 1977.”
This card tends to be extremely difficult to find well centered. Also, for some unexplained reason, the corners tend to be rather blunt from cutting and are susceptible to flaking which pull down grades when submitting. This card is also highly counterfeited, BUYER BEWARE.
The Player:
Bat: Right Throw: Left
Height: 5’10” Weight: 195lbs
Debut: 24 June 1979 Final: 19 September 2003
DOB: 25 December 1959 Death: N/A
Rickey Henderson put together a 25-year playing career and was one of the first players to habitually refer to themselves in the third person. In fact, when he was seeking a contract with the San Diego Padres the voicemail he left the General Manager went like this:
“Kevin this is Rickey. Call on behalf of Rickey. Rickey wants to play baseball.”
Over his career Henderson played for 9 different teams: Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres, Anaheim Angels, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and LA Dodgers.
During his playing time many sportswriters did not care for his personality; he tended to talk himself up because he felt underappreciated by the public. However, he is widely considered to be the greatest leadoff hitter of all time.
In 1979 Henderson became the youngest player to ever steal three bases in a single game, beating a record held by Ty Cobb. Unfortunately, for Rickey, he is no longer the youngest player to do so. Juan Soto took down the 40-year record during the 2018 campaign.
Henderson not only had speed, having stole 1,406 bases in his career earning himself the nick name “Man of Steal”; he also had pop in his bat. He ended his career with 297 Homeruns, 81 of which were to lead off a game, along with 510 doubles.
Rickey ended his career with 1,406 stolen bases, 3,055 hits, 2,295 runs scored, 2,190 walks, .401 OBP, 297 HR and a .297 BA. He is part of the Class of 2009 elected to the Hall of Fame.
Notable Achievements:
10x All-Star (1980, 1982-88, 1990-91)
AL MVP (1990)
1989 ALCS MVP (1989)
1x Gold Glove (1981)
3x AL Silver Slugger (1981, 1985 & 1991)
NL Comeback Player of the Year (1999)
AL OBP Leader (1990)
AL OPS Leader (1990)
5x AL Runs Scored Leader (1981, 1985-86, 1989-90)
AL Hits Leader (1981)
4x AL Base on Balls Leader (1982-83, 1989 & 1998)
12x Stolen Base Leader (1980-86, 1988-91, 1998)
20 HR Seasons: 4 (1985-86, 1990 & 1993)
100 Runs Scored Seasons: 13 (1980, 1982-86, 1988-91, 1993, 1996 & 1998)
50 Stolen Bases Seasons: 14 (1980-86, 1988-91, 1993, 1995 & 1998)
100 Stolen Bases Seasons: 3 (1980, 1982-83)
2x World Series Champion: 1989 (Oakland Athletics) & 1993 (Toronto Blue Jays)
5x Top-10 MVP Vote Getter (1980, 1981-82, 1985 & 1989)
Records Held
Career Runs: 2,295
Career Stolen Bases: 1,406
Single Season Stolen Bases: 130 (1982)
Career Stolen Base Attempts: 1,731
Single Season Stolen Base Attempts: 172 (1982)
Caught Stealing Career: 325
Single Season Caught Stealing: 42 (1982)
Career Walks (Right-Handed Batter): 2,190
Career Leadoff Homeruns: 81
Population and Sales:
According to PSA a total of 109,206 1980 Topps Baseball cards have passed through their grader’s hands. Of those, 22,632 or 20.7% of the total population are Rickey Henderson’s rookie card. Rickey’s card has 21,632 with full grades, 477 “+” or half grades, and 558 with qualifiers. Nearly 80% of the graded Henderson’s can be found in grades 7-9; 5,347 7s, 9,922 8s, and 2,008 9s grace the population report. PSA 10s are extremely rare with only 25 specimens earning the mark.
Sale prices are steadily rising. Per PSA, an authentic mark currently grabs around $37.96 and the last 10 to sell pulled in $180,100 on February 16, 2021 via PWCC Auctions on eBay. The current VCP on a PSA 7, like mine, is $275.96 with a high sale of $400 and a low of $185.73. I purchased mine back on July 22, 2020 for a measly $71, I’d say a 288.67% price increase in a short 7 months is a nice return!
Work Cited
1980 Topps Rickey Henderson | PSA CardFacts®. www.psacard.com/cardfacts/baseball-cards/1980-topps/rickey-henderson-482/37164/.
Glew, Kevin. Collecting Rickey's Cards - Henderson Headed for Cooperstown. www.psacard.com/articles/articleview/5581/collecting-rickeys-cards-henderson-headed-cooperstown.
Glew, Kevin. PSA Set Registry: 1980 Topps Baseball Cards -Tomorrow's ... www.psacard.com/articles/articleview/5490/psa-set-registry-1980-topps-baseball-cards-tomorrows-vintage.
“Rickey Henderson Stats.” Baseball, www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/henderi01.shtml.
“Rickey Henderson.” Baseball Hall of Fame, baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/henderson-rickey.
“Rickey Henderson.” Rickey Henderson - BR Bullpen, www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Rickey_Henderson.