The 1988 Topps Baseball set is renowned for being one of Topps’ blandest sets of the era. However, it’s simple, “classic,” and straightforward design features a lot of great action photography.
Released at the dawn of the junk wax era, the 1988 Topps Baseball card set, like most sets of the time, was subject to several errors during printing. As a result, there’s a considerable number of 1988 Topps error cards.
These errors range from simple misprints, such as misspelling a player’s name or listing incorrect statistics, to more significant errors, such as cards printed with wrong player photographs.
This article shall take a close look at the 1988 Topps error cards, examining the notable cards, their value, and their significance to collectors.
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1988 Topps set
The 1988 Topps baseball card set consisted of 792 baseball cards. Its design was one of the company’s simplest. Large player photos have a thin-colored frame, which gives way to a white border. The player’s name is in block letters in a diagonal strip at the bottom-right of the card.
The team’s name stands out at the top of the card, hovering behind the player’s image. Card backs are orange and have complete player stats. Many cards also have a caption called “This Way to the Clubhouse,” which explains how the player came to join the pictured team.
Beyond the impressive lineup of players, the 1988 Topps Baseball card set features a few attractive subsets and inserts. These include:
Record Breakers (1-7)
All-Stars (386-407)
Turn Back the Clock (661-665)
Team Leaders (scattered throughout the set).
The manager cards also double as team checklists. Key rookies in the set included: Ellis Burks, Ken Caminiti, Tom Glavine, and Matt Williams.
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1988 Topps Baseball card errrors
Like most junk wax cards, the 1988 Topps set is notorious for containing a relatively high number of error cards. One reason for the high number of error cards in the 1988 Topps set is the sheer volume of cards produced.
This allowed mistakes to easily go unnoticed during the production process. This large production volume also led to a more hurried printing process, ultimately leading to even more errors.
The error cards in this set range from simple misprints, such as misspelling a player’s name to more significant errors, such as cards printed with wrong player photographs.
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Notable 1988 Topps error cards
1988 Topps Mark McGwire error card – #3 Record Breaker
Though his reputation has fallen off a bit today, Mark McGwire was undoubtedly one of the game’s most exciting players during his era. At first glance, one would miss the error on this card. However, early copies of card #3 have a white “triangle” next to Mark McGwire’s left foot and were quickly corrected.
McGwire’s trading cards command great demand even today. Hence, this card is one of this set’s most valuable cards. Depending on the card’s condition, its value ranges from $3 to $300.
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1988 Topps Bo Jackson #750
Bo Jackson was one of the most famous athletes in the world during the late 1980s. Famous for playing both football and baseball, this two-sport superstar is one of the most collected cards in the hobby. The Y in the Royals is streaked with white in most Bo Jackson 1988 Topps card.
This “error” is insignificant enough to be overlooked. However, this is one of those cases where the value of a baseball error card is primarily due to the player depicted rather than the error itself.
Bo’s reputation has ensured this card is worth quite a lot, with prices ranging from $1 to $15.
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1988 Topps Keith Comstock #778 with white Padres letters
Keith Comstock is more famous for his “a ball to the crotch” trading card than any exploit on the pitch. This error card is one of the most popular from the 1988 Topps set. In the most common version of this error card, Keith Comstock’s team name (PADRES) is shown in white lettering rather than blue.
There’s also a third variety with Keith’s name printed in yellow rather than white. The third variety is the rarest of the lot and can sell for impressive figures. The value of the White Padre variation ranges from $1 to $5.
1988 Topps Eddie Murray #4
Hall of Famer Steady Eddie had more runs batted in the 1980s than any other player. He was Baltimore Orioles’ first baseman and designated hitter. Murphy ranks fourth in team history in both games played and hits.
Early copies of his 1988 Topps card have a block of text on the front that’s missing on other Record Breakers subset cards. Topps quickly corrected this, increasing the value for copies with the caption in the box on the front.
1988 Topps Al Leiter #18
The Mets announcement that Al Leiter would be inducted into their Hall of Fame has boosted the value of his trading cards. Born into a baseball-oriented family, Leiter was drafted by New York Yankees in the 1984 MLB draft and made his MLB debut as the starting pitcher for the Yankees on September 15, 1987.
By the time his 1988 Topps card was released, fans familiar with how he looked were left surprised. Earlier copies of his 1988 Topps card had a photo of Steve George instead of Al Leiter.
Of course, Topps quickly issued a corrected version of the card. While this is quite a significant error, it is not valued much. The value of this card ranges from $1 to $5, depending on the card’s condition.
All 1988 Topps error cards
1988 Topps #3 Mark McGwire White area behind left foot 1988 Topps #4 Eddie Murray Caption in a box on the front1988 Topps #6 Nolan RyanYellow, white, or no line where the hand meets the border1988 Topps #18 Al Leiter Wrong picture. The photo is actually Steve George 1988 Topps #34 Ricky HortonA red line above “CARDINALS” on front1988 Topps #37 Ed RomeroYellow name1988 Topps #5 Baltimore Orioles Team LeadersSingle-toned back1988 Topps #179 Puleo CharlieE in Braves incomplete was corrected1988 Topps #190 Candy MaldonadoA white line at the lower left of the photo/border1988 Topps #211 Dipino FrankB in Cubs incomplete was corrected1988 Topps #229 Jeff MusselmanTwo different-sized white spots by trophy. There’s a variation with only one spot and one without any spot.1988 Topps #230 Pat TablerYellow or red dugout bench due to variations in printing1988 Topps #231 Pittsburgh PiratesYellow spot on Bonilla’s cap. Was corrected1988 Topps #260 Vince ColemanWrong date of birth. He was born in 1961, not 19601988 Topps #269 Ellis BurksThe name touches the trophy on the front, and the name moves away from the trophy1988 Topps #295 Bert Blyleven There’s a crack in the wall behind Bert. Earlier versions have the crack in black, while corrected versions have the crack airbrushed white.1988 Topps #330 Ed WhitsonGreen mark on thigh and mark airbrushed away1988 Topps #338 Brian HoltonWrong stats on the reverse side. ’87 ERA should be 3.89, not .3891988 Topps #348 Jim EisenreichLarge white scratch on his arm on the front. The line has been filled in with blue, red, green, or a combination of those colors. In total, there were six different versions of this card1988 Topps #374 Doc EdwardsPink, blue, or NO ink outside of the name triangle1988 Topps #381 California Angels TL featuring Wally Joyner1″ long vertical magenta slash down Joyner’s arm.1988 Topps #405 Dwight Gooden All-StarMissing blue ink at the top of R in STAR. The second variation is filled in with pale blue. The final version has solid blue and is the most common1988 Topps #416 Keith MorelandCUBS lettering at bat unfilled and filled-in blue1988 Topps #444 Cal Sr Two copyrights1988 Topps #447 Jeff MontgomeryTwo different-sized blotches over shoulder types1988 Topps #492 Doyle AlexanderWrong date of birth. September 4, not September 51988 Topps #493 Mike GreenwellRookie trophy printed over the lettering in his name or touching his name1988 Topps #497 Kevin MitchellGray, Green, and Blue colored jersey1988 Topps #500 Dawson AndreUnfilled “U” in CUBS on the front, Filled “U” in CUBS on front1988 Topps #528 Checklist 397-528 455 Steve Carlton COR: 455 Shawn Hillegas1988 Topps #544 Jim TraberBat tip in the top border1988 Topps #571 Mark WilliamsonBottom of ORIOLES yellow at hat1988 Topps #580 Mark McGwireDark green stripe in the top right border1988 Topps #619 Mike Dunne The black name on the front should be white1988 Topps 628 Dave HendersonBlack mark on lip and mark airbrushed1988 Topps #629 Kelly Downs1984 Statline shows as “4.”1988 Topps #637 Bell JayPurple on 2nd N in Indians is incomplete. Corrected. Many versions exist1988 Topps #640 Garry TempletonThe green border should be brown. Topps Tiffany is yellow. Also, the birthplace should be Lockney, not Lockey1988 Topps #658 Tim ConroyThe name is in white; it should be in black1988 Topps #663 Ron BlombergThree versions. Line in the right border, line through the name on the front, and line through both areas.1988 Topps #692 Mike BirkbeckWrong stats. Should be 0 saves in 84, rather than 21988 Topps #716 Lenn Sakata Incorrect date of birth, Born in ’54, not ’531988 Topps #725 Boddicker MikeBottom of “R” in ORIOLES colored white or yellow1988 Topps #739 Daryl BostonA green line along the bat1988 Topps #754 Mike Lacoss1/4 pink circle in the upper right of the photo1988 Topps #759 Athletics LeadersUER double copyrights1988 Topps #767 Jose LindYellow, white, or blue “shadow” behind the Topps logo on the front or without any shadow at all1988 Topps #778 Keith Comstock“Padres” in white or blue1988 Topps #786 Joe PriceOrange team name should be yellow1988 Topps #792 John TudorThe second A in “Cardinals” is incomplete198 Topps #NNO Glossy All-Stars Offer InsertMay have “Cards not included”, black arrow, a black arrow with some “cards not included” showing, or nothing at allSpecial thanks to the YouTube channel HungryMan97 for compiling quite a comprehensive list of the 1988 Topps error cards.
Value of 1988 Topps error cards
Even amongst junk wax era sets, the 1988 Topps baseball set is considered one of the more common and widely available. With millions of copies printed, even the rarest error card in this set is readily available in considerable amounts.
This has placed a very low ceiling on the value of 1988 Topps error cards. You won’t get any impressive return on interest investing in 1988 Topps error cards.
However, while 1988 Topps error cards aren’t particularly valuable, they remain a popular collectible set amongst collectors. One reason for this is the nostalgic factor that this set embodies.
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1988 Topps Tiffany
Between 1984 and 1991, Topps offered collectors a relatively limited number of factory sets with improved production values. The secondary values of these Topps Tiffany cards are much stronger than their regular Topps counterparts.
1988 Topps Tiffany has the same error cards as the base set. However, with its incredibly low print run (25,000) for the junk wax era, Tiffany error cards are priced higher than error cards from the base set.
Generally, those more limited cards sell for about 8 – 10 times more than their base counterparts. One way to identify Tiffany cards is through the glossy coating on the front.
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1988 Topps Blackless
Another variation of the 1988 Topps set is the 1988 Topps Blackless. We can find several cards from the 1988 Topps without the black ink on the reverse of the cards.
According to Junk Wax Gems, which explores error cards from the junk wax era.
“Several cards from 1988 Topps can be found without the black ink on the reverse of their cards, because of this, these are not “blank backs,” which are more common flaws. In my time collecting, I have only seen about 3-dozen examples pop up. A handful of stars (Clemens, etc.) but otherwise all commons.”
While not especially valuable, these cards are an interesting variation and of interest to several collectors.
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1988 Topps Cloth Card
The 1988 Topps Cloth set is a 121-card set that parallels the regular 1988 Topps set. According to experts, it was an experimental/test set produced by Topps and never intended to reach the market.
However, it was backdoored into the collectors’ market albeit in a limited way. The set features color player head photos printed on a thin gauze fabric which supposedly expands into a sponge when submerged in water. The backs of the 1988 Topps Cloth cards are blank.
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Cards from the 1988 Topps Cloth sets are especially valuable, with cards selling for roughly $15 to $20. Some of them, such as Mark McGwire, Tom Glavine, and Ozzie Smith, can go for over $50 and even $200.
1988 Topps Cloth card checklist
Rick Aguilera
Andy Allanson
Tony Armas
Keith Atherton
Steve Balboni
Bill Bean
Steve Bedrosian
George Bell
Bruce Benedict
Dave Bergman
Mike Bielecki
Tim Birtsas
Bruce Bochy
Wade Boggs
Rod Booker
Oil Can Boyd
Tom Browning
Carmen Castillo
Rick Cerone
Jack Clark
Mark Clear
Roger Clemens
Pat Clements
Keith Comstock
Cecil Cooper
Joey Cora
Ed Correa
Mark Davidson
Mark Davis
Jeff Dedmon
Jim Dwyer
Doc Edwards
John Farrell
Mike Felder
Curt Ford
Bob Forsch
Damaso Garcia
Tom Glavine
Mark Grant
Tony Gwynn
Drew Hall
Jeff Hamilton
Mike Hart
Andy Hawkins
Ed Hearn
Tom Henke
Whitey Herzog
Shawn Hillegas
Kent Hrbek
Charles Hudson
Dave Johnson
Ron Karkovice
Pat Keedy
Jimmy Key
Steve Kiefer
Bob Kipper
Les Lancaster
Ken Landreaux
Craig Lefferts
Jim Leyland
Jose Lind
Gary Lucas
Frank Lucchesi
Barry Lyons
John Marzano
Gary Matthews
Don Mattingly
Len Matuszek
Kirk McCaskill
Fred McGriff
Mark McGwire
Joey Meyer
John Mitchell
Jeff Montgomery
Jack Morris
John Moses
Dale Murphy
Tom Nieto
Matt Nokes
Charlie O’Brien
Paul O’Neill
Ed Olwine
Steve Ontiveros
Pat Pacillo
Tom Pagnozzi
Jim Pankovits
Bill Pecota
Geno Petralli
Eric Plunk
Gus Polidor
Dennis Powell
Terry Puhl
Charlie Puleo
Shane Rawley
Rick Rodriguez
Gary Roenicke
Pete Rose
Lenn Sakata
Joe Sambito
Juan Samuel
Rafael Santana
Dan Schatzeder
Pat Sheridan
Tommy Shields
Nelson Simmons
Doug Sisk
Joel Skinner
Ozzie Smith
Chris Speier
Jim Sundberg
Don Sutton
Chuck Tanner
Mickey Tettleton
Tim Teufel
Gary Thurman
Alex Trevino
Mike Trujillo
Tim Wallach
Frank Williams
Dave Winfield
Butch Wynega
Bottomline of the 1988 Topps error cards
The 1988 Topps baseball card set is quite infamous among baseball collectors. While the bland design and massive print run have ensured its error cards are not as valuable as most sets, collectors still love several cards from the set.
Cards such as the Tom Glavine rookie card and cards from the Record Breakers subset are still valuable today. While its error cards might not be worth a premium, the 1988 Topps set is a significant part of baseball card collecting history. Some of these cards would make an excellent addition to any collector’s stash.
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