Celebrating Backward Day with Ken Griffey, Jr.'s Ten Best Backward Hat Cards
The fact that Friday is National Backward Day, (yes, that is a real "holiday" on calendars and in planners nationwide) we wanted to take the opportunity to go back and showcase a few of the best backward hat cards featuring the baseball icon who made it cool, the one and only Ken Griffey, Jr.
Ken Griffey Jr.'s Most Graded Cards and Their Prices
Griffey Junior is a one-of-a-kind, second-generation ball player who appeared to be destined for superstardom from birth. After being drafted number one overall by the Seattle Mariners in the 1987 MLB Draft out of Moeller High School in Cincinnati, it didn't take long for him to begin to fulfill his destiny and take his rightful place in the upper echelon of the sport and the sports card hobby.
The definition of a five-tool player, Griffey could do it all at the plate, on the bases, and in center field. He was an awe-inspiring, must-see ballplayer who made baseball fun to watch for an entire generation of kids...and adults.
The Most Impressive Ken Griffey Jr. Collection in the World
The boyish enthusiasm for a child's game shined bright in the big, beautiful, looping swing that deposited so many balls into the upper deck of the Kingdome and ballparks around the league. His deal with Nike made him mainstream, on par with, dare we say Michael Jordan and Bo Jackson. His video game franchise and the countless product placement and imagery all contributed to his insertion into popular culture and made Griffey the most impactful baseball player of his era. From candy bars to SI covers, the kid was the man. Ironically and iconically, the backward hat life was a key part of the Griffey painted portrait as much as any single article or item he ever touched.
We list our 10 favorite Griffey backward hat cards below. The good news is, if you don't agree, there are well over 100 in total to choose from, if you're looking to add to your own collection.
Follow along as we find our favorite cards of that super cool purple Mariners hat flipped to the back atop the dome of one of the greatest to ever step on the diamond.
1. 1991 Bleachers 23kt Gold
One of, if not the earliest card to feature Junior with his hat to the back was his 1991 Bleachers 23kt Gold card. In a photo captured during his brief time with the Bellingham Mariners, Griffey is pictured in his powder blue trucker hat with the snap back facing forward as an early fashion statement. There are 10,000 numbered copies of this card. These are more than affordable coming in around $20 raw or in PSA 9 form and relatively easy to find.
2. 1992 MTV Rock n' Jock Softball Challenge
I can assure you as a kid growing up in the late 80's and 90's, there were few things cooler than MTV. As a young sports fan, there was nothing cooler than MTV's Rock n' Jock Softball games (and eventually basketball, football and bowling, too). The Music Television channel mixed stars from the entertainment world with world class athletes from various sports in entertaining and unique exhibition sporting events. With all due respect to Dan Cortes and Bill Bellamy, "The Kid" was always the coolest cat on the diamond. With a print run of 20,000 copies, this card is every bit early 90's in its super bright colors and in your face design. It's well worth adding to your collection for just a few bucks.
3. 1992 Stadium Club Members Choice
For all the big smiles and fun-loving hat back moments Junior had, this is a great example of him fully dialed in and taking some cuts pregame. This is one of the earliest cards to feature him with a backward hat in full Seattle Mariners gear. Again, for a few quarters, you could add a nice copy of this to your collection.
4. 1992 Studio
The 1990's Donruss Studio run was one of my personal favorites stored away in my childhood memory bank. Some of the sharpest, cleanest and most artistically done cards, Studio always featured a nice, crisp, and professional portrait of the player and in later years, coupled with a cool action shot in the background. This version is prime Studio card example, showcasing Griffey with the M's hat back, blowing bubbles in the foreground, and ripping the cover off a baseball in the background. Don't sleep on the information found on all of the early Studio card backs as there are some eye-opening and fun-loving tidbits. Again, this card can be had for the change in your pocket and another fun addition to the hat back PC.
5. 1995 Pinnacle
This fun one might be my personal favorite on the list. Pinnacle perfectly captures Griffey's youthful exuberance (again) blowing a bubble with his hat cocked back in full Seattle Mariners uniform in front of what looks to be set up as his locker (check out some of the fun pieces hiding there). Griffey appears to be blowing a bubble larger than he can control and his wide-eyed surprise just tops this card off. The beautiful gold half baseball stitching and M's logo at the bottom makes it pop as only mid 1990's cards can do.
6. 1996 SP
We've found a number of cards that have Griffey's trademark fashion statement, but this may be one of the very few that have Ken pictured twice on the same card front. The cool portrait image in the lower right hand corner shows Griffey with his signature smile and a posed shot and hat back. Even cooler, the main image shows him in a post-game locker room celebration with bubbly flowing and a humongous smile on the his face. One would gather that this image was taken during the Mariners incredibly fun playoff run of 1995.
7. 1998 UD SP Authentic Chirography Autograph
No backward hat list would be complete without a little high end love and this stunning Upper Deck autograph featuring "The Kid" fills the spot in the lineup. Fans became very used to seeing Griffey in a light-hearted mood when the hat was turned to the back, but in this case, he looks very serious and even stoic. The beautiful UD photography, rich foil and bold on-card autograph, as only Upper Deck could do, makes this our MVP of the list. This also is by far the most expensive card mentioned, but worth every penny. Expect to pay at least $1,500 for a mid grade copy.
8. 2021 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary
If you close your eyes and imagine Griffey, this might be the image your mind's eye presents. This beautiful chromium homage to the legendary 1952 Topps design captures "Junior" with his late 90s Mariners hat to the back in that classically cool white M's jersey. The Louisville Slugger is in his hands, gripped by those equally classic Franklin batting gloves with a determination in his eye that few could match. We even see the upper third of that signature batting stance. This piece can be found in countless parallel versions. Collectors can have a lot of fun tracking down the version they like best.
9. 2022 Topps Series 1 SP Photo Variation
We add another ultra-modern card to the shortlist when we head over to the 2022 Topps flagship product. The SP photo variations have become quite popular as collectors must know their stuff and dig through these gems buried in the offering. We select the one which shows an old school image of Griffey with his hat back and in the early stages of blowing yet another big bubble. This is a perfect post career capstone card to the iconic backward hat nature of "The Kid".
10. 1992 Upper Deck
For our tenth and final spot on the list, we turn it to the back, the back of the card that is. It would be difficult to overstate the multi-exposure beauty of the front of KGJ's 1992 Upper Deck card but for this piece we're going focus on the image on the back. Yes, it's one of the first card backs to feature "Junior" with his hat back. Collectors can't go wrong with Upper Deck Baseball, as this base card offers a high-end look and feel with top notch photographs and a two incredibly cool images of the best player in the game.
Tony Reid spent more than a decade covering combat sports at the highest level. He has written hundreds of articles and conducted hundreds of interviews about sports collectibles for such publications as Beckett, Sports Collectors Digest, and Sports Collectors Daily. Reid worked full time at a sports card shop in Central Pennsylvania for a number of years. A lifelong collector, Tony treasures his rookie card collection of star players in baseball, basketball, and football. If you want to discuss the greatness of Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson or Ken Griffey Jr., you can reach him at @tonyreidwrites on all social media platforms