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A rookie card is a
trading card A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other t ...
that is the first to feature an athlete after that athlete has participated in the highest level of competition within their sport.
Collectors Collector(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Collector (2011 film), ''Collector'' (2011 film), an Indian Malayalam film * Collector (2016 film), ''Collector'' (2016 film), a Russian film * Collectors (film), ''Collectors'' (film), a 2020 So ...
may value these first appearances more than subsequent card issues. Athletes are often commemorated on trading cards which are highly collected based on the popularity of the athlete. Prices for rookie cards fluctuate based on consumer interest, supply and demand and other factors, but can surpass thousands of dollars. In MLB 2023-2024 season, each player making their debut this season will wear a patch on their jersey. At the end of the game, these patches will be certified and then integrated into their rookie cards in upcoming Topps sets.


Definition

A rookie card is not necessarily always produced during a player's
rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...
season because there could have been cards that fit the definition printed in previous years. It is generally agreed that to be a true rookie card, the card must be counted as part of a product's base set. Thus, limited quantity insert cards of any type are generally not considered to be rookie cards.http://sportscards.about.com/
/ref> In 2006
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
instituted a set of guidelines which dictated what cards could and could not bear the official MLB rookie card logo. Despite these guidelines, many collectors still regard a player's "true" rookie card as being their first officially licensed prospect card.


Debate

Debate within the
hobby A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing other ...
exists, as some collectors and pundits believe that an athlete's first appearance on any trading card qualifies as his rookie card. Others believe that a rookie card is the first licensed issue from a major manufacturer that is widely distributed. There can be more than one rookie card for a player. This debate was exemplified when in 2001,
Upper Deck The Upper Deck Company, LLC (colloquially as Upper Deck and Upper Deck Authenticated, Ltd. in the UK) is a private company primarily known for producing trading cards. It was founded in 1988. Its headquarters are in Carlsbad, California, United ...
, a trading card company, created a set of golf cards which featured
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
. However, Woods already had many cards from other manufacturers such as
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
which included a young Tiger in a 1996 edition of their Sports Illustrated for Kids periodical, which routinely contains trading cards of various athletes. SI Kids cards have perforated edges and are normally unlicensed by the athlete. Hobby publication Beckett gave the 2001 Upper Deck Golf card a rookie card designation despite its arrival five years after the SI Kids release, sparking controversy. The market, it appears, gives far greater credence and value to the 1996 Sports Illustrated for Kids release which sells for exponentially more. As it remains, there is no formal definition of a "rookie card," though some players do have cards that are considered "rookies" by all.


Famous rookie cards

Most of the top most expensive sports cards are rookie cards. Among those are the famous
T206 Honus Wagner The T206 Honus Wagner baseball card depicts the Pittsburgh Pirates' Honus Wagner, known as "The Flying Dutchman", a dead-ball era baseball player who is widely considered to be one of the best players of all time. The card was designed and issu ...
issued by
American Tobacco The American Tobacco Company was a tobacco company founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter, Goodwin & Company, and Kinney Brothers. The company was one of the or ...
, or 1952
Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures trading cards and other collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of Baseball card, baseball and other sports and Non-sports tradi ...
Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Mick" and "the Commerce Comet", was an American professional baseball player who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...
, although the 1951 Bowman card was the ''actual'' rookie year card. Nonetheless, in August 2022, a 1952
Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures trading cards and other collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of Baseball card, baseball and other sports and Non-sports tradi ...
Mickey Mantle baseball card in mint condition (SGC Mint+ 9.5) sold for a record $12.6 million. It was originally purchased for $50,000 in 1991. The previous record for a sports card was $7.25 million, made by a 1909
T206 Honus Wagner The T206 Honus Wagner baseball card depicts the Pittsburgh Pirates' Honus Wagner, known as "The Flying Dutchman", a dead-ball era baseball player who is widely considered to be one of the best players of all time. The card was designed and issu ...
card designed by the
American Tobacco Company The American Tobacco Company was a tobacco company founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter, Goodwin & Company, and Kinney Brothers. The company was one of the or ...
.


1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey, Jr.

In the 1989 Upper Deck baseball set, Ken Griffey, Jr. was selected to be featured on card number one. At press time, Griffey had not yet played a major league game, so Upper Deck used an image of Griffey in a San Bernardino Spirit uniform.Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession, p.168, Dave Jamieson, 2010, Atlantic Monthly Press, imprint of Grove/Atlantic Inc., New York, NY, Competitors such as Score and Topps neglected to include a card of Griffey in its 1989 base set, but later included him in their traded issues. Such neglect helped Upper Deck gain exposure due to the popularity of Griffey in the 1989 MLB season. Donruss and Fleer included Griffey rookie cards in their respective base sets, but they were never as popular as the Upper Deck issue. Also an afterthought was Griffey's 1989 Bowman Rookie Card. Despite the popularity of the Griffey card, it was not a scarce card. The card was situated in the top left hand corner of the uncut sheets and was more liable to be cut poorly or have its corners dinged. Company policy was that if a customer found a damaged card in its package, the company would replace it. Many Griffey cards were returned and the result was that Upper Deck printed many uncut sheets (sheets consisting of 100 cards) of just Ken Griffey, Jr. According to Professional Sports Authenticator, the Ken Griffey, Jr. would become the most graded card of all time with the company. PSA graded over 50,000 of the cards. The Beckett Grading card service has evaluated over 25,000 of the Ken Griffey, Jr. rookie cards.


1986–87 Fleer Michael Jordan Rookie card

Michael Jordan Rookie Card, graded as a 9 by PSA, was sold for USD12,500 on April 24 2020.


References


External links


Panini Group

Panini America

Topps

Upper Deck

Futera

Wizards of the Coast

Leaf

Tristar

ChasingMajors.com

Beckett
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rookie Card Trading cards