Jack Clark's 1977 Topps Rookie Cards Continues To Rise In Value
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When it comes to baseball in the late 1970s and early 1980’s, there’s only a handful of names that stand out when it comes to hitting consistency and one of those is none other than Jack Clark. Clark, who was nicknamed “Jack the Ripper” was known for his potent bat and leadership during stints with the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, and Boston Red Sox. His official rookie card comes from the 1977 Topps Baseball set and features Clark alongside Ruppert Jones (Seattle Mariners), Lee Mazzilli (New York Mets), and Dan Thomas (Milwaukee Brewers).
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The 1977 Topps card marks Clark’s first appearance in a Topps baseball set, solidifying it as his true rookie card by most hobby standards. While there are a number of minor league issues, such as the 1977 TCMA Phoenix Giants card and 1978 SSPC team releases, neither are recognized by the hobby community. The 1977 Topps set is known for its vibrant design and a rookie class that includes the likes of Andre Dawson, Denny Martinez and Tony Armas, making it a highly sought-after collection for both collectors and enthusiasts of the late 1970’s.
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From a pricing perspective, we can see that the raw version of this card was selling for roughly $1.50 back in January 2022, whereas a recent sale had the exact same card in raw form selling for $14 via eBay on April 13th of this year. With that said the PSA 10 version of this card was selling for roughly $200 back in March of 2022, whereas a recent sale had the exact same card in PSA 10 form sold for $1,247 via eBay. For those of you tracking the jumps in value at home, the raw card increased 9.33x and the PSA 10 increased 6.23x respectively over a 3-year period.
So whether you enjoy the glory days of candlestick park, or are trying your best to complete the 1977 Topps set, Jack Clark’s rookie card stands out as a vivid reminder of how powerful a consistent bat can be when playing the game of baseball at the major league level.
Passionate sports card collector and writer based in Queens, NY. Lifelong fan of the New York Mets, Jets, and Rangers. Covering sports cards and collectibles with deep industry knowledge and enthusiasm, while bringing a fresh perspective to the ever-evolving hobby world on http://SI.com/collectibles.
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