Manufacturer: Topps
Set Size: 726 Cards
Card Size: 2-1/2” x 3-1/2”
Set Notes: 1981 Topps is most recognizable for the hat icon at the bottom of the cards. It contains the team and position of each player plus features team colors. Also included on front are a large player photo and color boarder. Backs have player stats, information and cartoon in red and black inks. It can be difficult to find well centered cards from this set making some of the big rookies worth hefty sums for Mint Gem examples.
Key Rookies From 1981 Topps: 302 – Fernando Valenzuela | 315 – Kirk Gibson | 347 – Harold Baines
Pricing chart includes raw card price & some graded card value estimates.
These values are collated from a variety of resources including recently sold listings, sales averages and a variety of other sports card pricing data sources. Please see full disclaimer on “Terms Page” for more information.
(Rookiecardprices.com only shows values for regular base set cards. No prices are shown for errors, parallels, subsets, misprints or other cards unless noted.)
DISCLAIMER: This data is not intended as financial advice and should not be used as such. Please do your own research before making any investment or selling/buying decisions.
(–) : No Pricing Data Available | ($) USD Price Value | (¢) USD Price Under $1
1981 Topps Rookie Card Price Guide
| Rookie | Card # | Raw | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Charboneau | 13 | $1 | $10 | $30 | $400 |
| John Tudor | 14 | $1 | $15 | $45 | - |
| Win Remmerswaal | 38 | $1 | - | $25 | $65 |
| Rangers Future Stars - Babcock / Butcher / Gleaton | 41 | $1 | $5 | $12 | $30 |
| Joe Pettini | 62 | $1 | $10 | $20 | $300 |
| Royals Future Stars - Castillo / Ireland / Jones | 66 | 50¢ | - | $10 | $35 |
| Barry Evans | 72 | 50¢ | - | $10 | - |
| Dave Stapleton | 81 | 50¢ | $10 | $18 | $100 |
| Astros Future Stars - Heep / Knicely / Sprowl | 82 | $1 | - | $30 | |
| Joe Lefebvre | 88 | 50¢ | $15 | $40 | - |
| A's Future Stars - Beard / Camacho / Dempsey | 96 | 75¢ | $12 | - | $200 |
| White Sox Future Stars - Kuntz / Mullins / Sutherland | 112 | $1 | $27 | $65 | $165 |
| Charlie Leibrandt | 126 | 75¢ | $15 | $25 | $60 |
| Keith Moreland | 131 | $1 | $12 | $20 | $200 |
| Jeff Cox | 133 | 50¢ | $10 | $20 | - |
| Richard Dotson | 138 | $2 | - | $18 | $90 |
| Doug Corbett | 162 | $1 | $10 | $20 | $120 |
| LaMarr Hoyt | 164 | $1 | - | $15 | $320 |
| Rick Peters | 177 | 50¢ | - | - | $380 |
| Braves Future Stars - Harper / Miller / Ramirez | 192 | $1 | $15 | $18 | $120 |
| Rod Scurry | 194 | 50¢ | $10 | - | $565 |
| Rich Murray | 195 | 50¢ | - | $20 | - |
| Jerry Dybzinski | 198 | 25¢ | - | - | - |
| Al Holland | 213 | 75¢ | - | - | $80 |
| Angels Future Stars - Botting / Dorsey / Harris | 214 | 75¢ | $10 | $56 | - |
| Roy Lee Jackson | 223 | 25¢ | - | $20 | $36 |
| Fred Martinez | 227 | 50¢ | - | $10 | $90 |
| Sal Butera | 243 | $1 | $10 | $20 | $155 |
| Cardinals Future Stars - Landrum / Olmsted / Rincon | 244 | 50¢ | - | $15 | $50 |
| Joe Price | 258 | 50¢ | - | $15 | $120 |
| Mets Future Stars - Berenguer / Brooks / Wilson | 259 | $2 | $10 | $15 | $140 |
| Mariners Future Stars - Anderson / Biercevicz / Craig | 282 | 50¢ | - | $20 | $80 |
| Charlie Lea | 293 | 50¢ | $10 | $15 | $80 |
| Dodgers Future Stars - Perconte / Scioscia / Valenzuela | 302 | $3 | $45 | $500 | - |
| Luis Salazar | 309 | $1 | - | - | $75 |
| Kirk Gibson | 315 | $3 | $35 | $305 | $10,000 |
| Leon Durham | 321 | $1 | $15 | $20 | $214 |
| Twins Future Stars - Engle / Johnston / Ward | 328 | 50¢ | - | $10 | $75 |
| Harold Baines | 347 | $3 | $22 | $115 | $4,650 |
| Glenn Hoffman | 349 | $1 | $9 | $35 | $335 |
| Padres Future Stars - Stablein / Stimac / Tellmann | 356 | 50¢ | - | - | $30 |
| Geoff Zahn | 363 | 50¢ | - | $10 | $45 |
| Mike Davis | 364 | 50¢ | $5 | $14 | $75 |
| Mike Ramsey | 366 | 50¢ | - | $12 | $40 |
| Cubs Future Stars - Lezcano / Macko / Martz | 381 | 50¢ | $10 | $12 | $40 |
| Paul Mirabella | 382 | 50¢ | - | $17 | $60 |
| Orioles Future Stars - Boddicker / Corey / Rayford | 399 | $1 | $20 | $30 | - |
| Britt Burns | 412 | 50¢ | $10 | - | - |
| John Pacella | 414 | 75¢ | $8 | $20 | $95 |
| Yankees Future Stars - Lollar / Robinson / Werth | 424 | 75¢ | - | $20 | $35 |
| Gary Lucas | 436 | 50¢ | $8 | $15 | $32 |
| Indians Future Stars - Bando / Brennan / Wihtol | 451 | 75¢ | $8 | $15 | $35 |
| Jeff Reardon | 456 | $1 | $10 | $25 | $100 |
| Juan Eichelberger | 478 | 75¢ | - | $10 | $35 |
| Expos Future Stars - Raines / Ramos / Pate | 479 | $2 | $20 | $70 | $1,260 |
| Mike Griffin | 483 | 75¢ | $8 | $25 | - |
| Max Venable | 484 | 50¢ | - | $10 | $30 |
| Damaso Garcia | 488 | $1 | - | $15 | $125 |
| John Littlefield | 489 | 50¢ | $15 | $18 | $415 |
| Gordy Pladson | 491 | 50¢ | - | $20 | $35 |
| Bob Walk | 494 | $1 | $5 | $16 | $50 |
| Giants Future Stars - Bourjos / Hargesheimer / Rowland | 502 | 50¢ | - | $25 | - |
| George Riley | 514 | 50¢ | - | $15 | $30 |
| Phillies Future Stars - Bystrom / Loviglio / Wright | 526 | $1 | $10 | $20 | $350 |
| Jesus Figueroa | 533 | 50¢ | $8 | $15 | $150 |
| Dave Smith | 534 | 75¢ | - | $35 | - |
| Pirates Future Stars - Law / Pena / Perez | 551 | $1 | $8 | $25 | - |
| Mark Bomback | 567 | 50¢ | - | $15 | - |
| Al Williams | 569 | $1 | $6 | $10 | $125 |
| Blue Jays Future Stars - Leal / Milner / Schrom | 577 | 75¢ | - | - | $65 |
| Bill Gullickson | 578 | $1 | - | $15 | $25 |
| George Vukovich | 598 | 50¢ | - | $6 | $35 |
| Dennis Kinney | 599 | 50¢ | - | $15 | $70 |
| Reds Future Stars - Berenyi / Combe / Householder | 606 | 50¢ | $12 | - | $32 |
| Tigers Future Stars - Steffen / Ujdur / Weaver | 626 | 50¢ | - | $20 | $32 |
| Lloyd Moseby | 643 | $1 | $10 | $17 | $725 |
| Marvis Foley | 646 | 50¢ | - | $20 | - |
| Brewers Future Stars - Flinn / Romero / Yost | 659 | 50¢ | - | $25 | - |
| Jeff Jones | 687 | 75¢ | $10 | $12 | $165 |
| Red Sox Future Stars - Hurst / MacWhorter / Nichols | 689 | $1 | $14 | $20 | $80 |
| Steve Howe | 693 | 50¢ | $20 | $40 | - |
| Data Updated: June 2026 | |||||
Overview for 1981 Topps Baseball Cards
The 1981 Topps baseball card set is a significant one in the hobby, notable for a few key reasons. It marked a period of increased competition for Topps, as Fleer and Donruss also began producing baseball card sets that year. Despite this, Topps delivered a memorable and visually distinctive set that remains popular with collectors.
Size: The base set consists of 726 standard-sized cards (2-1/2″ by 3-1/2″).
Design: Each card features a color photo framed by a thin white border and a color-coded outline that corresponds to the player’s team colors. A distinctive element is the team cap graphic at the bottom, with the team name printed inside. This “cap set” design is one of the most recognizable of the decade.
Card Backs: The reverse of the cards emphasizes career statistics, often spanning multiple seasons. Topps also included miniature cartoons and brief biographical notes where space allowed, adding a touch of personality.
Due to the high quality of the cards and the significant rookie class, the 1990 Leaf set is firmly entrenched as a classic of the “junk wax” era and is still sought after by collectors today.
Notable Rookie Cards: While the 1981 Topps set doesn’t feature a generational rookie like the 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson, it does have several significant rookie cards, including:
Kirk Gibson (#315), Harold Baines (#347), Fernando Valenzuela (#302): Featured on a “Dodgers Future Stars” card alongside Mike Scioscia and Jack Perconte and Tim Raines (#479): Appears on an “Expos Future Stars” card with Roberto Ramos and Bobby Pate. He also has a solo card in the Topps Traded set.
The 1981 Topps sets are generally well-regarded by collectors. While common cards are not particularly valuable, high-grade examples of key rookie and star cards can fetch significant prices. The “Future Stars” cards can be particularly condition sensitive due to centering issues and rough-cut edges, making gem-mint (PSA 10) copies quite rare and valuable.
Popular Rookie Cards from 1981 Topps Baseball
