Between them, they won 13 batting titles, 22 Silver Slugger Awards, 16 Gold Gloves and were selected to 37 All-Star games.
And for their long lists of accomplishments, Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs and Ryne Sandberg have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. So it's easy to understand why their rookies are often the first cards mentioned when hobbyists discuss the 1983 Topps Baseball set.
"In general, people don't seem to think about this set very much, other than those big three rookies," said Rick Seuferer, who has amassed the No. 4 Current Finest, 1983 Topps Baseball set on the PSA Set Registry.
But while those three rookies are often the focal point, Seuferer would tell you that there are plenty of other reasons to appreciate this 792-card issue. Employing a design that's widely considered an upgrade over Topps's three previous 1980s baseball sets, the white-bordered fronts of the standard-sized, player cards present two photos: a large action shot and a smaller headshot. The headshot is showcased alongside the player name, position and team name near the bottom.
"I like the whole presentation of the cards," said Joe Keller, who's attempting to complete his No. 3 Current Finest registry set entirely in PSA GEM-MT 10. "It's definitely my favorite set of the 1980s."
Sonny Hall, whose No. 1 registry set was named PSA's "Best Modern Set of the Year" in 2012, also likes the design.
"It's the nicest looking set of the 1980s by a mile," he said.
The horizontal backs on the regular player cards showcase black text on a predominately orange background. The card number is indicated at the top, to the left of the player's name and above the player's vitals (e.g., Height, Weight, Bats, Throws, etc.). Yearly statistics and biographical information ensue, followed by a "1982 Highlights" section on some cards.
The "Future Stars" and "In Action" cards, which were featured in the 1982 set, were discontinued for this series. Manager cards returned and the "In Action" singles were replaced by "Super Veteran" cards that offered a current photo of a well-established player, as well as a photo from their rookie season. These cards were positioned right after their respective regular cards.
"The great thing about the Super Veteran cards is that, in many cases, they give you an extra Hall of Fame card in the set," said Seuferer.
This set also houses a number of subsets, including Record Breakers (#1 to #6), American and National League All-Stars (#386 to #407) and League Leaders (#701 to #708). Similar to the 1982 set, team leader cards - shining the spotlight on each club's leader in batting average and ERA - are sprinkled throughout the set.
The 1983 Topps cards were distributed in 15-card/30-cent wax packs with gum. They were also available in 28-card/49-cent cellos, 36-card grocery rack packs and 51-card regular racks. Five hundred-card vending boxes were also produced.
Factory sets were also reportedly sold exclusively by J.C. Penney in their Christmas catalog for $15.99. These were issued in plain brown boxes and rarely surface in the hobby today.
Of course, the first cards that collectors look for when they crack open these 1983 Topps products now are the Gwynn, Boggs and Sandberg rookies.
"I've never participated in the rookie phenomenon, as I'm interested in the entire set, but those three cards, generally speaking, are difficult to get in high grade," said Hall, who has opened numerous boxes and is assembling his set for his son, Mark.
According to the PSA Population Report, the Gwynn rookie (#482) is the most elusive in PSA 10. Almost double as many Gwynn cards have been submitted (over 17,800) as either the Boggs or Sandberg rookies, and less than two percent of them have been deemed PSA 10s.
"The centering on the Gwynn tends to be off a little bit more than the others," noted Seuferer. "His card in [PSA 10] basically went from $300 to over $500 overnight after he passed away [on June 16, 2014]."
The Gwynn is the last card on the right in the second row of a print sheet, an edge-sheet position that generally makes cards more susceptible to miscuts.
The Boggs rookie (#498) is slightly easier than the Gwynn to find in pristine form. Of the 9,690 submitted, there have been 219 PSA 10s (2.3% of submissions). In recent months, the price for PSA 10 Boggs rookies has climbed.
With 3.7% of the Sandberg submissions being deemed PSA 10s, this card (#83) is the easiest of the three Cooperstowner rookies to track down in flawless form. It's also interesting to note that Sandberg appears on a second card in the set. If you look closely at Reggie Smith's single (#282), you'll see Sandberg ducking back into first base on a pick-off attempt.
On top of the three Hall of Famers, this set also boasts the Topps cardboard debuts of several other successful players, including Willie McGee (#49), Eric Show (#68), Jim Eisenreich (#197), Mike Moore (#209), Storm Davis (#268), Dave Dravecky (#384), Gary Gaetti (#431), Wally Backman (#444) and Frank Viola (#586).
Of these secondary rookies, the Gaetti generally commands the most interest. There are just 27 PSA 10s and one fetched $179.99 on eBay in June 2014.
"The Gaetti has gotten more expensive," noted Seuferer. "That card is a little bit harder to find centered, but Twins fans are very passionate and that was a very good time for them, with Gaetti [on the team] and then [Kent] Hrbek and [Kirby] Puckett a few years later. Twins fans are still collecting the three of them from that era. Even Tom Brunansky goes for more money because he was so popular in Minnesota. The same thing for the Viola rookie - it goes for a little bit of a premium as well."
By our count, 44 Hall of Famers are featured on non-rookie cards in this issue, and thanks to the All-Star and Super Veteran cards, many are highlighted on multiple singles. Among the most coveted Cooperstowners are Cal Ripken (#163), Rickey Henderson (#180), Mike Schmidt (#300), Nolan Ryan (#360) and George Brett (#600). The set also houses the last basic set Topps cards of Johnny Bench (#60) and Carl Yastrzemski (#550).
Hall points out that the Henderson All-Star card (#391) has just three PSA 10s. This card is located on the far-right edge of the top row of a print sheet. This would explain why many of these cards have centering issues.
But some of the common cards in this series are even more difficult to track down in top condition. The Denny Walling (#692) is the only card in this series that has yet to have a PSA 10 example, while four other singles - Bob Lillis (#66), Doug Flynn (#169), Brian Giles (#548) and Bob Grich (#790) - have just one PSA 10.
The Walling was not on the sheet that was uncovered during the research for this article, but this card is frequently found off-center both top-to-bottom and left-to-right. Of the aforementioned cards with just one PSA 10 example, the Lillis is the only one that was on the sheet. Not surprisingly, it's located in the bottom-left corner.
Competition for these low population cards can get fierce. The sole PSA 10 Flynn, for example, fetched $162.49 on eBay in December 2014.
Centering is generally the biggest condition issue on these cards. Keller adds that the cardboard is also somewhat softer than other issues which make the cards susceptible to creases and bends.
"It's starting to get really pricey to find the last cards that I need," said Keller. "The competition has increased without a doubt. Within the last year and a half, it's been crazy. I used to be able to go on eBay and get those [PSA 10 commons] for $10 or $15 a card. Now it's up to $29 to $35."
Hall has also noticed more people collecting this set.
"The interest has been peaking," he said. "You can't find packs at a low price anymore. I've noticed a major upswing in the price on the Boggs and in particular on the Gwynn."
With 47 sets registered, this is already one of the most popular 1980s baseball sets, but its trio of Hall of Famer rookies will likely ensure that it will always have a decent-sized following.
"These cards weren't over-over produced; that started in about 1986," said Seuferer. "There are still plenty of cards around, but to get a high-end set is a challenge. It's never going to be an easy set to complete [in high-grade]...but I think it will always be a collected set because of the rookies and the veterans."