Who was Baseballs most popular/fan fav. player in the 80's?

ThoseBackPages · Dec 25, 2010

Looking for someone that played 80%+ of the decade.

I'm thinking Ripken fits the bill.

who do you guys think? and if its not Ripken, back up your belief

JoshHamilton · Dec 25, 2010

Mattingly

Guest · Dec 25, 2010

I think what hurts the 1980s is that there were no real dynasties to speak of. What you should do is get yourself a circa 1990 Beckett and look up the base sets of the era and see which non-rookie cards sold with the highest premiums. That would give you a good idea of whom people who lived through the period thought of the players, rather than the musings of people who weren't even born in the 1980s.

Ripken might be the answer, but I really think it might have been the early 1990s as the streak became possible when he exploded. I wonder if Mike Schmidt might be the answer? Likeable guy (unlike Brett), fan friendly city like Philly, hit a lot of home runs which people love, and he brought Philly that much-needed World Series title at the start of the decade.

olerudfan · Dec 25, 2010

Fernando was a fan favorite for most of the 80s

James52411 · Dec 25, 2010

Mattingly was probably number one, though Dale Murphy was huge too. Nolan Ryan was very popular too.

011873 · Dec 25, 2010

No, wasnt Ripken for sure. His popularity exploded when streak mania took off and it hasnt ended.

My nods go to Mattingly, Murphy, Rose, Schmidt, Straw, Boggs, Brett.

I left out a few, like Gooden, Canseco, Eric Davis because they didnt play most of the decade.

A good way to get an idea is by checking out a late 80's Beckett and see which basic, non rookie/second year cards booked high.

Funny to write a "vintage" hot list and NOT mention Ryan, Ripken, Griffey or Thomas. Those guys dominated the next decade.

Ty Hope · Dec 25, 2010

When I think 80's I think of:
-Ricky Henderson
-Mike Schmidt
-George Brett
-Dale Murphy
-Daryl Strawberry
-Doc Gooden
-Wade Boggs
etc.

Mighty Bombjack · Dec 25, 2010

Pete Rose was HUGE in the mid-80s, but people might be trying to forget that nowadays.

blazers091 · Dec 25, 2010

bobby bonilla

G $MONEY$ · Dec 25, 2010

a couple not mentioned yet, Yount and Gary Carter

charliehustle · Dec 25, 2010

Canseco!

Guest · Dec 25, 2010

Mighty Bombjack said:
Pete Rose was HUGE in the mid-80s, but people might be trying to forget that nowadays.

I bet he regrets what he did.

rebelpawn · Dec 25, 2010

As someone who actually collected in the 80's, Henderson and Ryan were the biggest.
Dang I'm old....

archiebunkerjr · Dec 25, 2010

Kirk Gibson may not be on the top of the list but I would put him on the list. He's an a$$hole but Tigers fans loved him. And who can ever forget that World Series home run?

Captain Feathersword · Dec 25, 2010

Puckett was one that was pretty popular in the midwest (even outside of MN). Even though it was at the end of his career, Reggie Jackson was still pretty popular. So was Wade Boggs, Ryno, Mike Schmidt, Rickey and Ozzie Smith to name a few.

Pinbreaker · Dec 25, 2010

I would have to say Mattingly, Puckett, Clemens, Incaviglia, Sierra, Ryan, Brett, Yount, and Murphy..

The extended sets that Topps put out, made the 84XRC's super hot.. At one point those sets sold for over $400 due to the players that were in it.. I haven't looked at a price guide in awhile, so i'm not sure what they go for now..

Also, I can remember going for all the local Fleer sets that were made for Walgreen's, True-Value, Ben Franklin, etc..

Oh, and at the time I started to collect.. you could get a Mantle Bowman Rookie for about $400 - $500.. and we thought that was too high.. ::facepalm::

SamHell · Dec 25, 2010

The 80's were my player collecting days. It was pretty easy. Few inserts and very few oddball releases. The 9 slot plastic pages would get filled up with the base card from the 3 major companies. One page = 3 years. The most popular guys for me included Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken, Eric Davis, Kirby Puckett and Roger Clemens.

MaineMule · Dec 25, 2010

Two not mentioned-

Jack Morris was one of the top starting pitchers in the 80's
Tim Raines- if it were not for Rickey, he'd potentially be a HOFer

glewis22 · Dec 25, 2010

Was Ryne Sandberg mentioned, he was mega hot for a bit.

Card Magnet · Dec 25, 2010

JoshHamilton said:
Mattingly

I'm going to +1 this, although Nolan Ryan is a very close second, imo.

Welcome to our community

Be apart of something great, join today!

Who was Baseballs most popular/fan fav. player in the 80's?

New member

Well-known member

Guest

Guest

New member

New member

New member

New member

Active member

New member

New member

New member

Guest

Guest

Active member

New member

Member

Well-known member

New member

Active member

New member

New member

Similar threads

Log in