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Sunday, March, 19, 2023
Bo Jackson Rookie Cards for savvy collectors
Below are the top 7 rookie cards featuring Bo Jackson, along with some extra memorabilia items.
Bo Jackson is one of the most legendary American sports figures of all time. Playing both in MLB and the NFL at the same time.
He spent 8 seasons in MLB with the Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox, and California Angels. And played 4 seasons in the NFL, all with the Oakland Raiders.
The high point of his career came in 1989 when he had his best statistical seasons in both baseball and football. He hit .256 with 32 home runs and 105 RBIs. Finishing 10th in MVP voting for the Royals, and then proceeded to rush for a career-high 950 yards and 4 touchdowns with the Raiders.
7. 1986 Donruss Highlights (Baseball) Card #43
Estimated PSA 10 Value – $50
Estimated PSA 9 Value – $20
The first of 2 Donruss rookie cards on this list. The #43 Highlights card displays a yellow and black striped border on its front.
The border outlines a rhombus-shaped, photo of Jackson from the chest upwards in full uniform. With a baseball stadium in the background.
The top left of the card contains the phrase “Donruss ’86” in white font on a small red strip. The bottom left of the picture contains a baseball graphic with the word “Highlights” written on it in dark yellow font.
The bottom of the card lists Jackson’s name along with the phrase “Longest HR in Royals Stadium” in white font on a red strip.
The back of the card contains a mustard yellow color hue covering most of its background. With a separate white border. It also contains a relatively lengthy player summary noting the 475-foot home run he hit off of Scott Moore on September 14, 1986.
6. 1986 Sportflics (Baseball) Card #40
Estimated PSA 10 Value – $100
Estimated PSA 9 Value – $27.50
A now-defunct sports collectible company. Sportflics produced baseball card sets in the 80s and 90s.
The #40 rookie card displays an outer, white border, and a 2nd, inner light blue border outlining a photo of Jackson in an at-bat during a live game.
There are at least 2 more variations of this card. One with a close up on Jackson’s face. The other showing him post swing which looks like a follow on shot from the card listed above.
Interestingly, no other information, graphics, or designs are listed on the front of the card. Making it as simple a design as a sports card can have.
A kind contributor from Clyde’s Stale Cards added further information on this type of lenticular card as can be seen in the comments section at the bottom of this post.
The back of the card makes up for the lack of info on the front by containing plenty of information about Bo Jackson, including his stats from the 1986 season.
It also contains a very lengthy player bio. Detailing all facets of Jackson’s career to date including collegiate accomplishments. Minor league achievements, and major league highlights during the 1986 season.
Sportflics may not have the cachet of a Topps or Donruss. But the card itself has a different overall design that makes it a nice change from typical sports cards of the 80s.
5. 1987 Topps Future Stars (Baseball) Card #170
Estimated PSA 10 Value – $125
Estimated PSA 9 Value – $22.50
Although 1986 was the first year that Jackson appeared in a Topps set. Many major memorabilia companies and collectors still consider the #170 1987 Future Stars card a rookie as well.
The card itself has a unique design on its front, with a wooden-panel border. The player photo shows Jackson in the outfield positioning himself under a fly ball.
The top left of the card displays the Royals team logo. The bottom left lists the Topps brand name, and the bottom center/right contains Jackson’s name in black font on a yellow strip.
Listed across the bottom of the player photo is the phrase “Future Stars” and a star graphic. All listed in a large rainbow-colored font. The rainbow-colored font doesn’t seem to mesh together at all with the wooden-panel border style and looks out of place in the overall design scheme.
The back of the card has a more traditional light yellow and white cardstock design. It lists Jackson’s major and minor league stats to date and a brief player summary with career highlights.
4. 1986 Donruss “The Rookies” (Baseball) Card #38
Estimated PSA 10 Value – $160
Estimated PSA 9 Value – $30
The #38 Donruss “The Rookie” rookie card displays a green and black striped border on its front.
The border outlines a rhombus-shaped, year-book style photo of Jackson in full uniform from the chest up.
The top left of the card, just above the photo, contains the phrase “Donruss ’86” in white font on a small red strip, while the bottom of the card lists Jackson’s name and position in white font on a red strip as well.
The phrase “The Rookies” is written in cursive red font along with a baseball graphic at the bottom left of the photo.
The back of the card displays a baby blue color scheme and a lengthy career highlights section, which makes sense, considering Jackson’s elite, two-sport athlete status.
Among other things, it noted that he won the Heisman Trophy for the 1985 college football season and was the #1 pick in the 1986 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
However, Jackson ultimately turned down a 5-year, 7-million dollar contract from Tampa Bay to play for the Kansas City Royals.
3. 1986 Topps Traded (Baseball) Card #50T
Estimated PSA 10 Value – $475
Estimated PSA 9 Value – $52.50
The Topps Traded series was a set of cards released after the initial set and featured veteran players in their new team uniforms who had been traded mid-season, along with top prospects and rookies.
This series was initially produced in 1976, before being reintroduced in 1981 and released most years through 1995.
The top quarter of the #50T rookie card featuring Jackson employs a black border/background, while the rest of the card, including the sides and bottom display a white border/background.
The Royals team name is listed in large blue font at the top of the card on the black border. The yearbook-style photo of Jackson pictures him from the chest up, in full uniform.
The top right of the card lists the Topps brand name, the bottom left lists Jackson’s position, and the bottom center lists his name.
The back of the card primarily displays a red and peach color hue. It also contains a brief player bio noting Jackson’s impressive collegiate accomplishments and lists a baseball trivia fact about George Brett.
2. 1988 Topps (Football) Card #327
Estimated PSA 10 Value – $1400
Estimated PSA 9 Value – $75
The lone football rookie card on this list. The #327 rookie card featuring Jackson is the crown jewel of the entire 1988 Topps football set.
It is arguably the most sought-after card featuring Jackson and carries a very high price in PSA 10 condition for a late 80s sports card.
The front of the card displays an outer, white border, with a 2nd, sky-blue inner border that outlines a photo of Jackson sitting on a practice field in his Raiders uniform.
The blue inner border is enlarged at the bottom of the card, and displays Jackson’s name and position in white font, along with an Oakland Raiders helmet graphic.
The phrase “Topps Super Rookie” is listed in red font on a separate white strip at the bottom of the player photo, just above the enlarged portion of the blue border.
The top left of the card lists the Topps brand name in black font, also on the player photo.
The back of the card displays a diverse blue color scheme and lists Jackson’s stats from the 1987 NFL season.
It also contains a player summary listing some of his career accomplishments to date and notes that he also plays for the Kansas City Royals.
1. 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany (Baseball) Card #50T
Estimated PSA 10 Value – $7500
Estimated PSA 9 Value – $1100
The most valuable Bo Jackson rookie card in the market today is the Tiffany version of the 1986 Topps Traded baseball card.
From 1984 to 1991, Topps produced separate, higher-quality sets of their regular baseball card sets. The two main differences between the sets were the glossier front and whiter cardstock on the back that the Topps Tiffany cards possessed.
Occasionally, other subtle changes were included, such as a small star or 2 on the back of the card near the bottom. However, the #50T Tiffany rookie card featuring Jackson only includes the glossier front and whiter back cardstock.
You will see from the base version listed above at #3 that on the rear of that card there are 2 small stars in the bottom left of the back of the card.
PSA 10 versions of this card are incredibly rare, with only 5 confirmed sales since 2019 according to sportscardspro.com.
Although $7,500 is probably the most accurate current valuation of this card in PSA 10 condition, the lack of availability of the card in this condition means that prices can sometimes be much higher. For example, in 2021, a PSA 10 version of this card sold for an astounding $30,000.
Bo Jackson Memorabilia Items
Jackson has no shortage of great memorabilia items featuring his likeness, many of them on sportsmemorabilia.com.
Full-size, autographed helmets usually sell from around $500 to $700, with some higher-end options selling for around $1000 to $1300.
Autographed mini helmets, a better option for budget collectors, sell for around $300. The best autographed helmet option is undoubtedly a Raiders helmet signed by both Jackson and hall-of-fame teammate Marcus Allen, retailing for $1,840.99.
Collectors who like the Jackson and Allen combination can also purchase an official NFL “The Duke” Wilson football autographed by both legends for $860.99.
Some of the most unique memorabilia items are several autographed photographs of Bo Jackson’s likeness in the 1989 Tecmo Bowl video game.
Two 16-inch by 20-inch options of this item retail for $2,208.99 and $3,116.99, while a smaller, 8-inch by 10-inch option sells for a more affordable $484.99.
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