Instant PC: 10 Career-Defining Bo Jackson Baseball Cards
With so many different base cards, subsets, parallels, memorabilia cards and autographs, building out a collection for a single player can be overwhelming.
Luckily, the 10-Card Instant PC article series is here to help.
As of February, 2021, there are nearly 4,000 different Bo Jackson baseball cards, according to the Beckett database, and that’s not counting the football side of things.
So where does one begin putting together a Bo Jackson PC?
These ten cards serve as an excellent representation of his playing career and footprint on the hobby, making them a great place to start.
1. 1986 Topps Traded #50T Bo Jackson XRC
Beckett Value: $12
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The Kansas City Royals selected Jackson in the fourth round of the 1986 MLB draft and he made his MLB debut that same year as a September call-up. He hit .207 with a pair of home runs in 25 games of action, and that was enough for him to be included as an XRC in that year’s Topps Traded set.
2. 1987 Donruss #35 Bo Jackson RC
Beckett Value: $6
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Few things say Junk Wax nostalgia like the “Rated Rookie” symbol. There is no shortage of notable rookie cards in a 1987 Donruss set that includes Greg Maddux, Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro, Barry Larkin and several other 1990s standouts. Still, it’s tough to top the powder blue Jackson Rookie Card.
3. 1987 Topps #170 Bo Jackson RC
Beckett Value: $3
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With its wood-grain border and the multi-colored “Future Stars” logo, it’s tough to beat the 1987 Topps Rookie Card in terms of visual appeal. The card can be had for just a few bucks now, but it was a hot commodity when it first hit shelves.
4. 1990 Score #697 Bo Jackson FB/BB
Beckett Value: $5
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It may not be the most valuable, but this is Jackson’s most iconic card. Fresh off a starting spot in the 1989 MLB All-Star Game and a career-high 950 rushing yards for the Los Angeles Raiders on the gridiron, he was at the peak of his two-sport stardom heading into 1990.
5. 1990 Topps Glossy All-Stars #17 Bo Jackson
Beckett Value: $0.25
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It’s only fitting to have a card that commemorates Jackson’s memorable 1989 All-Star Game performance in the mix. In his lone All-Star appearance, he led off the bottom of the first inning with a towering home run off NL starter Rick Reuschel, and he finished 2-for-4 with two RBI to earn MVP honors.
6. 1991 Fleer Pro-Visions #5 Bo Jackson
Beckett Value: $0.75
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Who doesn’t love those 1990s Fleer Pro-Visions cards? The legendary subset was first included in 1991 Fleer products and Jackson was part of the inaugural class of players. His card is a bit more subtle than some of the others in the set, but the bionic arm is pretty cool.
7. 1991 Score #773 Bo Jackson “Bo Breaker”
Beckett Value: $0.10
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If the 1990 Score two-sport card is Jackson’s most iconic, this one is not far behind. The only thing that would make this card cooler is if they had captured the time he broke the bat over his helmet after striking out.
8. 1991 Topps Traded #58T Bo Jackson
Beckett Value: $0.25
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Shortly after suffering a career-ending hip injury on the football field, Jackson was released by the Royals. The White Sox signed him to a three-year, incentive-laden deal a few weeks later, and he played 108 games and hit 19 home runs for the South Siders over the life of that contract. His first Topps card in a White Sox uniform came in the 1991 Topps Traded set.
9. 1994 Topps Traded #90T Bo Jackson
Beckett Value: $0.50
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Following his time with the White Sox, Jackson signed a one-year deal with the Angels and posted a 117 OPS+ with 13 home runs and 43 RBI in 75 games during the strike-shortened 1994 season. He retired following that season at the age of 31. His first Angels card was against part of the Topps Traded release.
10. 2001 Topps #TK Bo Jackson/Deion Sanders Bat
Beckett Value: $60
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As the most prominent two-sport athletes in MLB history, Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders will forever be mentioned in the same breath. They appear on a handful of cards together, but it’s tough to top this relic card that was inserted 1:30,167 packs in 2001 Topps Series 2 packs.
That wasnt even worth writing about his cards are to cheap a man with that much going in his career is not appreciated
I can’t imagine how his 1987 Classic Green card with the football gear didn’t make the list. It’s the very definition of a cool card.