Manufacturer: Topps
Set Size: 792 Cards
Card Size: 2-1/2” x 3-1/2”
Set Notes: For the first time, Topps produced a whopping 792 cards for its 1982 baseball set. This record would hold for many years. 80s baseball card collectors can instantly recognize the 1982 design with its vertical stripe design that runs down the left side. This is considered a colorful set as each team has different colors for the stipes, team name and player name. Signature style font also is printed on top the photo. backs are olive green with blue text. Similar to other years Topps produced many rookie cards with (3) players including this years stand out rookie Cal Ripen Jr.
Key Rookies From 1982 Topps: 21 – Cal Ripken Jr. | 171 – Chili Davis | 452 – Lee Smith
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
1982 Topps Rookie Card Price Guide
| Rookie | Card # | Raw | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orioles Future Stars - Ripken \ Bonner \ Schneider | 21 | $15 | $45 | $155 | $3,050 |
| Cubs Future Stars - Howell \ Lezcano \ Waller | 51 | 75¢ | $7 | $11 | $45 |
| Rich Gedman | 59 | 50¢ | $7 | $13 | $50 |
| Yankees Future Stars - Balboni \ McGaffigan \ Robertson | 83 | $1 | - | $12 | $30 |
| Brad Havens | 92 | 75¢ | $10 | - | - |
| Expos Future Stars - Francona, \ Mills \ Smith | 118 | $1 | $12 | $40 | $400 |
| Joe Pittman | 119 | 25¢ | - | - | $360 |
| Ed Lynch | 121 | $1 | - | - | $175 |
| George Cappuzzello | 137 | 50¢ | - | - | $220 |
| Indians Future Stars - Bando \ Brennan \ Hayes | 141 | $1 | $18 | $22 | $50 |
| Fred Breining | 144 | 50¢ | $5 | - | - |
| Steve Crawford | 157 | 75¢ | - | $10 | $88 |
| Giants Future Stars - Davis \ Brenly \ Tufts | 171 | $1 | $12 | $26 | $290 |
| Tim Wallach | 191 | $1 | $20 | $25 | $225 |
| Blue Jays Future Stars - Barfield \ Milner \ Wells | 203 | 50¢ | $20 | $25 | $90 |
| Dave Stewart | 213 | $2 | $15 | $35 | $355 |
| Phillies Future Stars - Davis \ Dernier \ Virgil | 231 | $1 | $20 | $22 | $145 |
| John Martin | 236 | 75¢ | - | - | $30 |
| Rufino Linares | 244 | 75¢ | - | - | - |
| Jorge Bell | 254 | $2 | $10 | $50 | $225 |
| Tigers Rookies - Bailey \ Castillo \ Rucker | 261 | 75¢ | - | $25 | $40 |
| Rick Leach | 266 | $1 | $12 | $15 | $32 |
| Rickey Keeton | 268 | 50¢ | - | - | $50 |
| Bob Ojeda | 274 | 50¢ | $10 | $45 | - |
| Pirates Future Stars - Law \ Long \ Ray | 291 | $1 | $15 | $20 | $35 |
| Brewers Future Stars - DiPino \ Edwards \ Porter | 333 | 75¢ | - | $10 | $45 |
| Reds Future Stars - Brown \ Combe \ Householder | 351 | 50¢ | - | $10 | - |
| Jack O'Connor | 353 | 50¢ | $10 | - | - |
| Denny Lewallyn | 356 | 50¢ | - | - | $60 |
| Gene Nelson | 373 | 50¢ | $15 | - | $35 |
| Chris Welsh | 376 | 50¢ | - | - | $30 |
| Red Sox Future Stars - Hurst \ Schmidt \ Valdez | 381 | $1 | $10 | $12 | $150 |
| Danny Boone | 407 | 50¢ | - | $20 | - |
| Don Cooper | 409 | 75¢ | - | - | $85 |
| Rangers Future Stars - Butcher \ Johnson \ Schmidt | 418 | 75¢ | - | $10 | $32 |
| Dave Righetti | 439 | $2 | $15 | $35 | $85 |
| Astros Future Stars - Heep \ Smith \ Sprowl | 441 | 50¢ | - | $10 | $60 |
| Luis Aguayo | 449 | 50¢ | - | - | - |
| Lee Smith | 452 | $3 | $25 | $60 | $2,050 |
| Juan Bonilla | 464 | 75¢ | - | $22 | - |
| Royals Future Stars - Hammaker \ Jones \ Motley | 471 | 50¢ | $14 | - | $85 |
| Ray Searage | 478 | 50¢ | - | - | - |
| Braves Future Stars - Bedrosian \ Butler \ Owen | 502 | $1 | $20 | $60 | $475 |
| Jody Davis | 508 | 75¢ | $25 | $45 | $70 |
| Mark Brouhard | 517 | 50¢ | - | $15 | - |
| A's Future Stars - Bordi \ Budaska \ Moore | 531 | 25¢ | - | $20 | $32 |
| Cardinals Future Stars - Brummer \ DeLeon \ Roof | 561 | 50¢ | $10 | $30 | $40 |
| Shooty Babitt | 578 | 50¢ | - | - | $125 |
| Rick Mahler | 579 | 50¢ | - | $17 | - |
| White Sox Future Stars - Loviglio \ Patterson \ Sutherland | 599 | $1 | - | $15 | $35 |
| Orlando Sanchez | 604 | $1 | - | - | $130 |
| Mets Future Stars - Gardenhire \ Leach \ Leary | 623 | $1 | $10 | $12 | $40 |
| Bryan Clark | 632 | 75¢ | - | $12 | - |
| Angels Future Stars - Brunansky \ Sanchez \ Sconiers | 653 | 75¢ | $10 | $30 | $40 |
| Keith Drumright | 673 | 50¢ | - | $20 | $100 |
| Dodgers Future Stars - Marshall \ Roenicke \ Sax | 681 | $2 | $12 | $30 | $215 |
| Mariners Future Stars - Edler \ Henderson \ Walton | 711 | 75¢ | $14 | $20 | $57 |
| Padres Future Stars - Armstrong \ Gwosdz \ Kuhaulua | 731 | 75¢ | - | $10 | $30 |
| Mike Witt | 744 | 50¢ | $15 | $50 | $65 |
| Twins Future Stars - Hrbek \ Faedo \ Launder | 766 | $2 | $12 | $32 | $380 |
| Kevin Hickey | 778 | 50¢ | $10 | $22 | - |
| Greg Harris | 783 | 50¢ | - | - | $150 |
| Data Updated: June 2026 | |||||
Overview of 1982 Topps Baseball Cards
The 1982 Topps baseball card set is a significant one in the history of the hobby, primarily due to one iconic rookie card and its place in Topps’ evolution.
Largest Set (at the time): The 1982 Topps set was the largest produced by Topps to date, featuring 792 cards. This increase from the previous year’s 726 cards.
Card Design: The card fronts feature a color photo of the player with a facsimile autograph. A distinctive design element is a pair of stripes running down the left side, often likened to hockey sticks, which open up at the bottom left to display the player’s position, name, and team. The card backs are green and include vital statistics and year-by-year player statistics.
Key Rookie Cards: The most significant card in the 1982 Topps set is the Cal Ripken Jr. rookie card (#21). This card is a “Future Stars” card, meaning it features Ripken alongside two other Orioles rookies, Bob Bonner and Jeff Schneider. Despite being a multi-player card, it remains highly sought after due to Ripken’s Hall of Fame career and “Iron Man” streak.
Other notable rookie cards in the set include:
- Lee Smith (#452)
- Dave Stewart (#213)
- Steve Sax (#681)
- Chili Davis (#171)
- Kent Hrbek (#766)
- Jorge Bell (#254 )
- Jody Davis (#508)
Variations and Error Cards: The most famous and significant error in the 1982 Topps set is the “Blackless” variation. Due to a printing error where the black ink plate was not used, some cards are missing the black borders around the player picture and, more notably, the player’s facsimile autograph on the front. These “Blackless” cards are scarce and can be quite valuable, especially for star players. They were unintentionally distributed due to a quality control issue at Topps at that time.
(Rookiecardprices.com only shows values for regular base set cards. No prices are shown for errors, parallels, subsets, misprints or other cards unless noted.)
Distribution: Cards were primarily distributed in 15-card wax packs and 51-card rack packs. Topps also released cello boxes and smaller grocery rack packs. The company actively promoted the set with the slogan “The Real One!” to distinguish itself from new competition from Donruss and Fleer.
1982 Topps Traded Set: Later in 1982, Topps released a 132-card “Traded” set. This set allowed Topps to feature players in their correct uniforms after off-season trades.
Overall, the 1982 Topps set is a classic for collectors, largely due to the iconic Cal Ripken Jr. rookie card and the interesting “Blackless” error variations.
Popular 1982 Topps Baseball Rookie Cards
