Reggie Jackson (born 1946) is best known as Mr. October, the clutch post season player for the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees. While he spent successful time with the Baltimore Orioles and California Angels, Jackson is well known for the three World Series victories with the Athletics from 1972 to 1974, as well as the back to back World Series wins with the Yankees in 1977 and 1978.
Lifetime, he had 2,584 hits, .262 batting average, 563 home runs, and 1,702 runs batted in. He was a 14 time All Star, an AL MVP, a 4 time AL home run leader, and an AL RBI leader, but he was at his best in October, winning two World Series MVP’s.
Born in Philadelphia, Jackson went to Cheltenham High School. He was exceptional in football, basketball, baseball, and track. He batted .550, as well as throwing several no hitters as a senior. Jackson was also a remarkable running back. Even notably racist teams that had banned black players, such as Alabama, Georgia, and Oklahoma, were begging Jackson to be the first black member of their football teams.
Jackson’s priority was to fulfill his father’s desire for a college education for Jackson, but he wanted to play football and baseball. Jackson left home for Arizona State University where he amazed coaches.
However, Jackson was simply too talented to stay in college. After only two years in college, Jackson was selected in the second overall pick of the 1966 MLB draft by the Kansas City Athletics. He was snubbed for the first pick of the New York Mets because he had a white girlfriend.
Jackson joined the Athletics during the 1968 season. Athletics fans saw Jackson at his best in the 1973 World Series, where he batted .310, was responsible for driving in the three Athletic runs in Game 6, and he hit a legendary two run homer in Game 7.
Making waves by signing with the ultra famous New York Yankees in 1977, Jackson did not disappoint. He continued to prove his nickname in the 1977 and 1978 post seasons which ended in World Series wins.
Finally, an underrated aspect of his career was his time spent with the California Angels from 1982-1986 to finish his career. Entering two decades of playing MLB, Jackson continued to show his skill. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner later said letting go of Jackson was the biggest mistake of his time as the owner.
After retiring, Jackson would stay in the public eye through his reporting work and various projects. Jackson became a consultant for the Yankees after a reconciliation with Steinbrenner.
A rare honor given to only four players in MLB history, Jackson has his number retired by two teams: the Athletics and the Yankees. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1993 on the first ballot with 93.6% of the vote, which equates to near universal acclaim. Though Jackson’s cards begin to creep into an era of overproduction for baseball cards, he still has some excellent representatives out there that do a good job at promoting his career.
1969 Topps Reggie Jackson Rookie Card
The 1969 Topps has 664 cards of standard size. There is a vibrant color photo on the front, the team name is printed with block lettering on
the bottom, and a colored-in circle has the player’s name and position. Reggie Jackson is the main key to this set.
There are plenty of graded cards on the secondary market. Reggie Jackson’s cards number over 6500 registered by just PSA. Mint condition cards are a bit scarce, and they sell for around $25,000. For $1,000 you can acquire at least a PSA 7.
1970 Topps Reggie Jackson
This set has 720 cards of standard size. The cards have a color photo on the front, and there is a thin white frame with a gray border. The player’s team name is printed at the top, and the player’s name is at the bottom. Reggie Jackson is at card number 140.
PSA on its own has over 2500 cards registered and accounted for. Mint condition cards go for around $1,000, and by the time you get to a respectable PSA 7, you can find a Reggie Jackson card for less than $100. This is an affordable sophomore showing.
Additionally, for this set, Jackson is on an AL Home Run Leaders card at #66 with Killebrew and Howard. The card goes for a couple hundred in Mint condition. Also, Jackson is on an AL RBI Leaders at #64 with Killebrew and Powell. That card goes for about $100 in Mint condition.
1971 Topps Reggie Jackson
The 1971 Topps has 752 cards of standard size. It is a nice looking set with a large picture of each player with a white frame and black border.
The dark border has been found to be susceptible to chipping.
There are over 1800 Reggie Jackson cards graded by PSA. Given the popularity of the set, the fame of Jackson, and the condition sensitivity of the set, Jackson’s card in Mint condition have sold for a few thousand. $1,000 will nab you a PSA 8.
1973 Topps
There are 660 cards in the set of standard size. It is an important set for Reggie Jackson because he was in the middle of the Athletics three peat. Plenty of these cards are preserved, and PSA has over 1500 cards of Reggie Jackson registered. Mint condition cards sell for about $500, and they quickly become more affordable at lower grades.
1977 Topps Reggie Jackson
There are 660 cards of standard size in this set. Reggie Jackson’s card is significant because it is his first time in a Yankees uniform. There are over 1000 Reggie Jackson cards registered by PSA. His Mint condition card sells for a couple hundred, and the lower grades quickly become very cheap. This is a great card for a fan of the Yankees and Jackson.
Conclusion
Reggie Jackson is one of the best and most significant players for two separate teams for the twentieth century. He was an absolute star, an absolute stud. He deserves every bit of recognition and award that he has gotten.
Don’t forget that he is still alive and kicking. It may be time to buy some of his cards before he passes and all of the bandwagon fans jump on to drive the prices up. At the end of the day, there are a number of great Jackson cards to buy.