He’s arguably one of the best to ever play third base in the majors, dazzling fans with his great glove work but also providing historically significant run production at the plate. Mike Schmidt also has another distinction: the last of the important vintage high number rookie cards. The long running concept that had Topps typically pushing out several different series as the baseball season went on came to an end around this time 50 years ago.
Schmidt’s 1973 Topps rookie card (#615) is one he humbly shares with Ron Cey (who had also appeared on a multi-player rookie card in ’72) and Dave Hilton but it was the young Phillies third baseman who became a superstar.
The Schmidt Story
Born in Dayton, Ohio, Schmidt was already getting noticed during his high school career. But he elected to stay close to home to play at a four-year school. Schmidt earned All-American status at Ohio University and led the Bobcats to a College World Series. That was enough to give scouts even more of a glimpse of what was to come.
After a terrific collegiate career, Schmidt was taken in the second round of the ’71 draft. He would make his major league debut by the end of 1972 when he belted the first of his 548 career home runs.
He would be in the majors to stay when the 1973 season opened but Topps was cautious, waiting until the final series to include Schmidt, who was handed the starting job after the Phils traded Don Money to Milwaukee.
Schmidt captured ten Gold Gloves and was an All Star in 12 of his 18 big league seasons. He spent his entire career in Philadelphia.
Cardboard Debut
His rookie card marked the end of Topps’ tradition of releasing its wax boxes in series. As usual, the final series was often released at a time when youngsters were heading back to school and summertime pursuits like collecting baseball cards sometimes fell by the wayside, meaning fewer sales. The last series typically arrived about the same time as Topps’ football cards, which also drew eyes away from the baseball packs.
Topps’ 5th series put a wrap on their 1973 baseball efforts, with 132 cards in each series.
Topps did produce some “all series” wax boxes in 1973, but most were distributed the way they had been since the 1950s–in multiple series.
While 1973 high numbers aren’t as difficult to find as others from sets in the same era, they’re often the ones missing from your favorite dealer’s stock. As a star and eventual Hall of Fame rookie in the last series, Schmidt’s card has always been the most valuable. While you can still own a mid-grade example for a fairly reasonable cost, prices for high quality examples have jumped in recent years.
While there were other stars in the multi-player rookie cards in ’73 including Dwight Evans, Gary Matthews, Bob Boone and Davey Lopes, Schmidt would turn out to be the only Hall of Famer.
Supply, Demand and Prices
Centering can be an issue with 1973 Topps high numbers. PSA has graded only six Schmidt rookies as Gem Mint 10. One sold for a record $234,000 in February 2021. PSA has rated 251 Schmidt rookies as Mint 9–not a huge number by any measure and prices reflect that. It’s interesting to note that since early 2021, no 10s have been added to the pop report and only one 9.
SGC has rated only one Schmidt rookie as a 10, with two 9.5s and 44 9s.
Interestingly, the 1973 O-Pee-Chee Schmidt rookie population, while much lower than Topps, does include six 10s and 44 9s. There are fewer than four dozen OPC Schmidts graded 9 by PSA but prices lag well behind the Topps version. When they are available at auction, a mint Schmidt rookie from the Canadian issue can still be had for under $4,000. A PSA 10 sold for $68,880 in October 2021.
Those Topps Schmidt rookies in the NM/MT 8 grade are more common than the those in the elite grades, of course, but prices are up quite a bit from where they’d been just a couple of years ago. NM 7 copies can still be had for under $500 which looks like a comparative bargain.
Of course, Topps would eventually return to the “series” concept but never again would they roll out five or more of them in a season, keeping collectors checking the drug store shelves to see if the “new cards” had arrived. If collectors had only known what was ahead for the new kid from Ohio, they would have gobbled up every box and pack.
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