Top 10 Frank Robinson Baseball Cards
As one of the most dynamic players to ever don a Major League Baseball uniform, Frank Robinson cards offer collectors a great reminder of the beloved player. At the end of his career, the talented right fielder ranked amongst the best players in league history in several important offensive categories, making him a shoo-in as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. This list covers some of the essential baseball cards for the legendary outfielder.
Frank Robinson’s career started on a high note in 1956 when he tied Wally Berger’s record for the most home runs hit by a rookie. This helped him win the National League Rookie of the Year with the Cincinnati Reds. At the end of the 1965 season, the Reds traded Robinson to the Orioles in one of the more lopsided deals in baseball history. Robinson’s career would last another decade with stops in Baltimore, in Los Angeles playing for both the Dodgers and Angels, and in Cleveland. Frank Robinson’s playing career ended in 1976.
At the time of his retirement, he was the only player to win an MVP award in both the American and National League, ranked fourth all-time in home runs, won a Triple Crown with the Orioles in 1966, and competed on two World Series-winning teams.
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Baseball card collectors’ first opportunity to add Frank Robinson cards to their collection came in 1957 when Topps issued a card of the Reds outfielder, along with a few oddball cards which are highly desirable with his tried-and-true fans. The vast majority of Frank Robinson cards issued as a player fell within the “Golden Age” of post-World War II baseball cards, which has resulted in the cards being both extremely popular and, at times, quite costly. As a player who appeared in fourteen All-Star Games over the course of his career, and won several important awards, Robinson was a frequent subject in baseball products.
Beyond his exceptional playing career, the run of Frank Robinson baseball cards was extended by his time as a manager. He served as a player-manager for the Indians during his final two seasons, but later returned in strictly a manager’s role for the Giants, Orioles, Expos, and Nationals. In all, Robinson played and managed for nearly 40 years, providing a wide range of cards for collectors to pursue. The following list of the top Frank Robinson cards identifies options ranging from his rookie cards through the end of his playing career and into his retirement.
Top 10 Frank Robinson Baseball Cards
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10. 1975 Topps Frank Robinson #580
1975 Topps was one of the most iconic releases of the era. The bold colored, two-toned borders were completely different than any other design utilized by the card giant up to that point. The reason the '75 set is notable on our list is because it contains the final Frank Robinson card from his active playing career. The portrait-style card of Robinson is also available in 1975 Topps Mini. Adding more choices, he appears on the Indians' team card as the manager, since he spent the season serving as the player-manager.
9. 1962 Topps National League Home Run Leaders Cepeda, Mays, Robinson #54
There are numerous Topps sets which feature League Leader cards. These combo cards can be cool for player collectors to track down, especially when the cards feature multiple players enshrined in Cooperstown. In the case of this 1962 Topps classic, the card features three Hall of Fame sluggers who led the National League in home runs during the 1961 season. Robinson was also featured on a similar card in the 1963 set along with Stan Musial, Hank Aaron, Tommy Davis, and Bill White.
8. 1967 Topps Baltimore Orioles "The Champs" Bauer, B. Robinson, F. Robinson #1
There was a lot for Frank Robinson to celebrate during the 1966 season: the Orioles won the first of their three World Series pennants, he took home the American League Triple Crown, and he won the American League MVP and World Series MVP awards. The first card in 1967 Topps celebrated the two stars of the 1966 World Series—Brooks Robinson and Frank Robinson—along with their manager, Hank Bauer. The two Robinsons were also featured on a 1968 Topps card titled "Bird Belters".
7. 1999 Upper Deck Piece of History 500 Club Frank Robinson
In 1999, Upper Deck issued a set of relic cards featuring the current members of the 500-Home Run Club. The cards were extremely well received and are still very popular, but expensive, collectibles. The majority of 500-Club relics produced by Upper Deck in 1999 had a print run of 350 cards. In addition, the living players also signed 20 copies, which are even more difficult, and expensive, to acquire. Robinson's 589 career home runs earned him a place in this relic set and his cards were placed in 1999 UD Ionix along with the autographed parallel.
While these don't pop up all that often, Robinson has many other relic cards.
6. 1966 Topps Frank Robinson #310
Frank Robinson was traded to the Orioles from the Reds in December of 1965 in exchange for pitcher Milt Pappas. As Susan Sarandon's character Annie Savoy said in Bull Durham, "...bad trades are part of baseball." Trading Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas still ranks as one of the all-time most lopsided trades in the history of Major League Baseball. While there were no traded or update sets at this point, 1966 Topps managed to change the team banner and player-name boxes to the green color scheme used for the Orioles cards. However, Robinson is still pictured in a road-gray Reds' uniform.
5. 1999 Upper Deck Century Legends Epic Signatures Frank Robinson
This was not the first certified autograph of Frank Robinson, but it is one of his most sought-after cards. The 1999 Century Legends autographs featured many of the players from the Sporting News "Greatest Players of the 20th Century" list. Needless to say, it was a strong checklist that has made the set very popular with autograph collectors. The Frank Robinson card shows him in an Orioles uniform with a beautiful on-card signature. There is also a hand-numbered "Century" parallel to this card that is limited to just 100 copies.
There are also many other Frank Robinson autographs issued over the years and prices are reasonable.
4. 1959 Home Run Derby Frank Robinson
1959 Home Run Derby is one of the hidden gems from the 1950s. The cards were handed out at American Motors Company dealers. The 20-card set features players from the Home Run Derby television series, including Frank Robinson. He appeared on two episodes of the show, beating Pirates slugger Dick Stuart and losing to Athletics outfielder Bob Cerv.
The Home Run Derby cards were not really popular as a car dealership giveaway. As a result, not many copies of these cards are in existence. However, the set does feature nine Hall of Fame players and the overall population of graded copies is extremely low. Collectors looking to add a copy of this card should be prepared to spend a pretty penny.
3. 1956 Kahn's Wieners Frank Robinson
The Kahn's Weiner sets were issued starting in 1955 and running through 1969. Based out of Cincinnati, the small releases were mostly made up of players from the Reds, Pirates and Indians. However, there are a few years that have players from other teams.
This is another release that can be tricky to track down and the degree of difficulty is often reflected in the price of the cards. The Kahn's Wieners cards were actually placed in the packages of hot dogs and some of the cards have a waxy finish to protect them. The 1956 Frank Robinson rookie is widely regarded as one of the best cards that the company issued and a must-own oddball from the 1950s.
2. 1957 Swift Meats Frank Robinson #16
Similar to Khan's Weiners, the Swift Meats Frank Robinson card was distributed in packages of hot dogs from the Chicago-based meat company. Each of the double-sided cards featured punch-out pieces that collectors could use to make a stand-up figure for a board game that went with the cards. The Frank Robinson rookie is one of the more popular cards along with Hank Aaron.
There is an obvious premium on the cards where the pieces have not been punched out and assembled for gameplay. However, collectors can still find nice copies of the figurines despite the age of the set. While this is not as rare as the Khan's Weiners rookie card, there are a lot of vintage collectors who have given the Swift Meats cards a near-cult following in recent years.
1. 1957 Topps Frank Robinson RC #35
Of the three Frank Robinson rookie cards on this list, the 1957 Topps card may be the easiest to find, but it has also been a favorite of collectors for years. 1957 Topps was a landmark set for several reasons, including the color photographs, full-career statistics on the backs of the cards, and it's 2-1/2" by 3-1/2" dimensions, which are now considered standard. The white-framed Robinson rookie card displays a nice posed photograph and is one of the most important rookie cards in the set along with Brooks Robinson and Don Drysdale.
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