Sports trading cards go as far back as the 1860s and became very popular in the early 1900s. Baseball cards were the pioneer product as baseball became a professional sport, a sporting goods company road that wave and printed the first baseball cards that came with candy or tobacco products.
As the decades passed and some of the early cards became very valuable, the introduction of price guides and the internet has helped many collectors find precious cards and also sell them at a very high price.
Some sports trading cards are worth well over 3 million dollars, with the famous Fleer Michael Jordan rookie card not even cracking the top 20 most valuable cards! Want to know who made the cut? Take a look at the most valuable sports trading cards on the market.
20. 1952 Topps Willie Mays - $509,217
In May of 2016, the Topps 1952 Willie Mays card was auctioned off at $509, 217, the card itself was the first Topps card to feature Willie Mays. While not his rookie card it is still very valuable as he would join the U.S. Army in May of that year.
Mays was a 24-time All-Star, 2-time National League MVP, the 1952 batting champion, and a four-time stolen base leader. He only won one World Series in 1954 with the San Francisco Giants.
19. 1955 Topps Roberto Clemente - $509,217
The adjusted price for the Roberto Clemente 1955 Topps card is $509,217. The card is presented in a horizontal image, rare in Baseball cards, and it is extremely valuable due to it being Clemente’s rookie card.
Clemente was a two-time World Series winner,15-time All-Star, 12-time Golden Glove award winner, and a four-time National League batting champion. His career was cut short at age 38 when he died in a plane crash en route to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
18. 1909-1911 T206 Ty Cobb - $520,323
In reality, the Ty Cobb card is a set of 4 cards, and some of the most desired collectors cards on the planet. The cards come with two different portraits and are valued at well over half a million dollars.
Cobb himself was an MVP, 12-time batting champion, 6-time stolen base leader, and MLB all century team. In 1994 his life was portrayed on the big screen by Tommy Lee Jones in the movie Cobb.
17. 1969/70 Topps Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - $534, 678
In reality, the card has Kareem’s given name of Lew Alcindor, and it is the only rookie card of the best offensive player in NBA history. The card was auctioned in 2016 and today has a value of $534,678.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, was towering at 7' 2", he won six NBA titles with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. He is a six-time NBA MVP, two-time NBA Finals MVP, and 19-time All-Star.
16. 1910 Old Mill Shoeless Joe Jackson - $600,000
One of the rarest baseball cards in the world, and only a handful were made during his playing days. Shoeless Joe Jackson is featured as a member of the New Orleans Pelicans, a minor league team.
Jackson won one World Series with the Chicago White Sox, but he was also involved in the Black Sox scandal after the 1919 World Series where he, along with seven other teammates were accused of accepting bribes to throw the series. In 1920 he was acquitted of the allegations.
15. 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth - $640,343
Another rarity the card features Ruth as a pitcher and the reverse has a schedule for the team that season. At the time the Baltimore News made two sets of the two local teams, the Orioles and the Terrapins of the Federal League.
Babe Ruth is considered by many the greatest Baseball player to ever play. He won seven World Series, a twelve-time home run leader, and a 94 win pitcher. The Babe did it all!
14. 1968 Topps Jerry Koosman/Nolan Ryan - $652,352
Two great pitchers on one baseball card have made this card so valuable. For Ryan, it was his rookie card and it is one of the most sought after cards in this collection. The card has been printed numerous times but the one pictured is the true original print.
Nolan Ryan was a monster on the mound. He recorded well over 5,000 strikeouts, he was an 8-time All-Star, two time National League ERA leader, and a one time World Series champion.
13. 1909-1911 T206 Sherry Magee - $671,983
The T206 set is extremely valuable and is considered the most important card set by collectors. It is considered one of the “The Big Three” in the world of baseball cards.
Sherry Magee hit over 2,000 hits, 83 home runs, and won the World Series with the Cincinnati Reds. In 1911, Magee punched an umpire in a dispute over a third strike call, knocking him unconscious. He was suspended for 36 games.
12. 1909 American Caramel Shoeless Joe Jackson - $710,719
To many collectors this is Shoeless Joe Jackson’s rookie card, the card came with hard caramel candy treats. Jackson got his nickname when he removed his cleats after suffering a painful blister during a game. He walked to the plate without his shoes.
In the movie Field of Dreams, Jackson is portrayed by Ray Liotta, the film is about an Iowa farmer who hears a mysterious voice telling him to build a baseball field on his farm so various baseball players of the past can play once again.
11. 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle - $763,616
The card is the only recognized rookie card of Mickey Mantle. It was auctioned off in 2018 and sold for more than $700,000. The card is known to have many print lines and wax stains.
Mickey Mantle is a Yankee icon, he was a 20-time All-Star, seven-time World Champion, three-time American League MVP, and 1956 triple crown winner. His number 7 jersey was retired by the Yankees.
10. 1963 Topps Pedro González / Ken McMullen / Pete Rose / Al Weis - $763,826
This card is the official rookie card of Pete Rose. The card was sold in 2016 by Heritage Auction for $717,000. In the 1980s many counterfeit cards appeared during the collector's boom of the 80s.
Rose himself is one of Baseball's most infamous players, while he had a great career he was banned from the game when accusations arose that he gambled on baseball games while he played for and managed the Reds.
9. 1916 M101-5 Sporting News Babe Ruth - $763,826
The Babe is once again on this list as his rookie card is worth well over $750,000. In this case, Ruth is pitching as a Boston Red Sox right before his move to the New York Yankees. The card is unique because it features a blank back.
Ruth pitched 107 complete games, he had 17 shutouts and a career ERA of 2.28. In World Series play he went 3-0 on the mound and he was moved to the outfield in 1918.
8. 1909–11 T206 Eddie Plank - $779,548
The second most important card of the T206 set and the only one of this hall of fame pitcher. In 2012, it was sold for $700,000 and it is a card that is very difficult to find, although the reasons are unknown.
Plank was one of the best left-handed pitchers at the time, he had 327 career wins and was the all-time leader in wins for a left-hander until the early 1960s. Plank won 20 or more games on eight separate occasions and has the most shutouts for a left-hander at 69.
7. 2003–04 Upper Deck LeBron James / Michael Jordan - $900,000
Two of basketball’s biggest icons on one card. LeBron James and Michael Jordan. The card is one of the highest amounts paid for a modern trading card.
Jordan and James need no introduction, they are considered two of the greatest NBA players of all time. Today the debate rages on as to who is the greatest between the two.
6. 2009 Bowman Mike Trout Red Refractor - $922,500
Mike Trout began his career in 2009, and this modern-day MLB slugger’s card sold for just under 1 million dollars. At the moment he is an 8-time All-Star, 3-time AL MVP, 2014 RBI AL leader, and got into the 30-30 club in 2012.
Trout is considered the best player of his generation, he has obtained an array of individual awards and his card is rumored to be sold for over $3 million dollars in the future.
5. 2003–04 Upper Deck LeBron James - $1,845,000
LeBron James rookie card is one of the most valuable trading cards in the world. The four-time NBA champion’s card sold for over 1.8 million dollars in 2020. It’s hard not to think LeBron's rookie card wouldn’t go at a high value. He is the best basketball player of his generation.
LeBron is more than a basketball player, he has turned into an icon, an actor, a brand, a social activist. LeBron James is one of the most successful athletes of this century.
4. 2013–14 Panini Giannis Antetokounmpo - $1,857,300
Giannis Antetokounmpo has done a lot in his career, a two- time NBA MVP, a 4-time All-Star, 2020 Defensive player of the year. Giannis Antetokounmpo looks like the next big player of the NBA.
The Panini rookie card sold for over 1.8 million dollars in a 2020 auction and broke the record for a Basketball card set by LeBron James rookie card only a few months earlier.
3. 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle - $2,932,287
Mickey Mantle’s 1952 Topps card is the most important baseball card in the industry of trading cards according to some. While not his rookie card the 1952 Topps card is one of the most sought-after cards in the world.
The card was sold by retired NFL player Evan Mathis. It went for just under three million dollars, it set the record for the sale of a post-war card.
2. 1909–11 T206 Honus Wagner - $3,323,760
Considered the most important baseball card of them all, the Honus Wagner card was owned by NHL great Wayne Gretzky and it was sold at $2,800,000 in 2007. It is a rare baseball card, although the reasons are not known, some believe it is due to the promotion of tobacco use to children during its time.
In 2016 it was auctioned off at 3.3 million dollars and it is believed that only 50 to 200 cards were ever produced. Wagner himself was an 8-time NL batting champion, a 5-time NL RBI leader, and a 5-time NL stolen base leader. He won 1 World Series in 1909.
1. 2009 Bowman Mike Trout Superfractor - $3,936,000
The most expensive and most valuable trading card in the world belongs to Mike Trout and Bowman. The 2009 Bowman Chrome Draft Mike Trout Superfractor Autograph went for just under four million dollars. The card was sold by gambling consultant David "Vegas Dave" Oancea.
Trout has spent his whole career with the Los Angeles Angels, and has already hit over 300 home runs, 1,000 hits, and has a batting average of .304.
