Nolan Ryan Rookie Card Guide (Yes, There is More Than One!)
The modern era has taught us that rookie card parallels are normal...but did you know even some vintage cards had different versions of an RC card? Of course, they are quite valuable too...
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Whenever I'm talking about any player from the modern era, the bulk of the post is focused on the hundreds of different variations and parallels that today's cards offer.
But with vintage cards, there wasn't much of that at all—Topps printed an annual set of "flagship." There wasn't Series 1, Update, Heritage, Archives, or Chrome; there were subsets, but no inserts.
Meaning, there was one Nolan Ryan rookie card, and that's it. Right?
Well, yes, but no.
Believe it or not, the different Nolan Ryan Rookie Cards include:
That's right, the 1968 Nolan Ryan rookie card had four versions: Topps, Milton Bradley, O-Pee-Chee, and Venezuelan Topps.
The alternate versions are comparatively harder to come by, particularly the Venezuelan. Although all four Ryan rookie cards share a similar overall design, there are subtle distinctions.
1. 1968 Topps Rookie Stars Nolan Ryan/Jerry Koosman #177
Starting with the classic "flagship" and true Nolan Ryan rookie card, the 1968 Topps #177, with Jerry Koosman. (I still think it’s wild that the true RC for Nolan Ryan was “shared” but at least Koosman was no slouch).
Besides that, this card is pure hobby perfection. I've been lucky enough to find one of these in a binder I purchased, and then stupid enough to sell it way too quickly. (In my defense, it was pretty beat up, but I should have treasured it for longer, while also grading it).
Cool thing about it was it was a small binder from eBay. I took a risk, and it paid off big time. This was one of a handful of really cool vintage:
Anyway, that's how special this card is—a PSA 1 (the worst grade a card can get) will sell for a few hundred bucks on eBay.
Here is what Market Movers says:
PSA 1 last sold for $402, and the 180-day average is $375. You can see in the image the population for a PSA 1 is 400+.
2. 1968 O-Pee-Chee Rookie Stars Nolan Ryan/Jerry Koosman #177
Now, over the years, Topps and O-Pee-Chee would establish an agreement to produce and market cards in Canada. For the collector, the differences between the cards were subtle, and it wasn't until Topps began putting the Topps logo on their cards that you could really tell the difference when looking at the front of the cards.
(Mainly because the O-Pee-Chee versions would have the Topps logo replaced with the O-Pee-Chee logo.)
In 1968 though, this was not the case, and looking at a 1968 Topps Nolan Ryan rookie card next to a 1968 O-Pee-Chee Nolan Ryan rookie card, you could hardly tell the difference.
Even when you flip the card over, the back has all of the standard text (in English) and even has the "T.C.G" initials at the bottom of the card.
But if you keep looking, just to the right of the "T.C.G" you won't see the familiar "PRINTED IN U.S.A" but instead "PTD. IN CANADA."
In terms of rarity, there have been 153 total O-Pee-Chee Ryan rookie ards graded, with the highest grade (without qualifiers) being a PSA 8 (of which there are 13).
Last sold on eBay was an SGC 4 which went for over $3,200 at auction.
3. 1968 Topps Milton Bradley Nolan Ryan/Jerry Koosman #177
Don't worry, if you want more of a visual challenge, the 1968 Topps "Milton Bradley" Nolan Ryan rookie card might be the one for you.
Complete with all of the same features, design, and logos of the regular 1968 Topps version, the Milton Bradley Ryan rookie is said to have a brighter back of the card.
Of course, "brighter" is a comparative adjective, which means if you don't have the cards next to each other, and say, only have the Milton Bradley on its own, it might be tough to tell which is which.
Beyond that, though, thanks to some great knowledge being shared via tweet from @WaxNolstagicInc, apparently if there is a smudge on the "T" of "Stars," it's a good (perfect?) indicator that the card is the Milton Bradley version.
Looking at the PSA population reports, believe it or not, over 550 copies have been graded—which is nearly 4x the amount of the O-Pee-Chee version. A raw copy just sold on eBay 8/17 for over $1,000.
4. 1968 Venezuela Topps Nolan Ryan/Jerry Koosman #177
So far we have covered the United States, Canada, and, well, baseball card games. Last, we will go down south to talk about Topps Venezuelan.
Jumping straight to the good stuff—look for the distinguishable "gray stock" and orange background, and even more obvious, the "Hecho en Venezulela - C. A. Litoven" on the bottom (of most 1968 cards).
Of all of the Nolan Ryan rookie cards, the Venezuela Topps looks to be the most rare, with only 30 graded ever (with a PSA 5 being the highest grade). And to give you an idea of how this rarity translates to value...
A true baseball card classic to own (in any form!)