In celebration of the 65th anniversary of Topps baseball cards, my collection is going to be the subject of this year-long series.
Shortly after starting my obsession in 1971, the goal was to have at least one Topps card from every year.
Although the 1952 set is considered to be the first released by Topps, the company issued two series that was a part of the game a year earlier.
This is the final installment of this series. The 1980 Topps set was the first complete one in my collection. It didn’t take long to figure out that the Rickey Henderson rookie would the best card in the set.
The Oakland A’s had their worst season since moving to California with a 54-108 record. As of today, it’s still at the bottom of the list.
But the 1979 season marked the debut of Henderson. He had 33 stolen bases with a .274 batting average. His only homer of the season was the first of a major league record 81 lead-off long balls in his career.
In 1980, the A’s turned their fortunes around finishing in second place in the American League West with an 83-79 record.
Henderson’s career literally took off under new manager Billy Martin. He would steal 100 bases in his first full year and hit .303 as he became an all-star.
September was the best month for Henderson as he swiped 31 bases. He had two of his three games with four steals during that time.
At the age of 21, Henderson ended the year with nine homers. He added a second lead-off blast, but he also hit his only inside-the-park homer against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park off Ken Kravec on July 6.
All-Time Great
Henderson’s assault on the major league record book began early in his 25-year career as he set the all-time single season mark for stolen bases with 130 in 1982. Lou Brock had 118 with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1974.
Inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009, Henderson is the all-time leader in steals with 1,406 and runs scored with 2,295. On the down side, he also holds the mark for being caught stealing with 335.
A 10-time all-star, Henderson was the AL Most Valuable Player with the A’s in 1990. He led the AL in steals a dozen times. He won a Gold Glove Award in 1981, while earning three Silver Sluggers.
In addition to playing four different times for the A’s, Henderson spent time with the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres, Anaheim Angels, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Post-Season
Henderson was a part of two World Series winners in 1989 with the A’s and 1993 with the Blue Jays. In 1989, he was the MVP in the AL Championship Series. In five games against the Blue Jays, he batted .474 with two homers, five RBI, seven walks and eight stolen bases.
Appearing in 60 post-season games with the A’s, Blue Jays, Padres, Mets and Mariners, he stole 33 bases, hit five homers and knocked in 20 runs with a .284 batting average.