Being inducted into the Hall of Fame is the ultimate recognition of a player’s career as one of the best ever. It also puts their rookie cards into a new category that is likely to see sustained demand long-term, with solid prices and gradual increases as part of that equation.
Hall of Fame rookie cards are the blue-chip investments of the hobby. Not flashy, not likely to triple in value tomorrow, but steady and safe (in relative terms).
Shop for the 1974 Topps Dave Parker rookie card on eBay
While some players are sure-thing future Hall of Famers, like spoiler alert, 2025 candidate Ichiro Suzuki. Others, like today’s subject, take a bit longer to have their greatness recognized. That doesn’t make their careers worth celebrating, or their cards any less worth chasing.
Yes, it took Dave Parker far too long to be elected to the Hall of Fame. But he’ll be inducted come July and his cards are already seeing a bump. But who is Parker? What is his rookie card? And should you be adding a Dave Parker rookie card to your collection?
Dave Parker, nicknamed “The Cobra”, played major league baseball from 1973 through 1991. After starting his career with 10 years with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he went on to play with the Reds, A’s, Brewers, Angels, and Blue Jays.
After two partial seasons of breaking into the big leagues, Parker burst onto the scene as a 24-year-old in 1975. He led the league in slugging percentage and finished third in the MVP race. Two years later, he won his first of back-to-back batting titles.
That second batting title came in his monster 1978 season, which saw him lead the league in several categories and win the NL MVP award. In 1979, Parker helped lead the Pirates to a World Championship.
Injuries slowed Parker in the early 1980s before he put up strong back-to-back seasons in 1985 and 1985 when he finished 2nd and 5th in the MVP voting. He had a few more solid seasons, including helping to lead the Oakland A’s to back-to-back World Series, including their 1989 Championship.
For his career, Dave Parker put up a line of .290/.339/.471, good for an OPS of .810 and 121 OPS+. He hit 339 home runs in his career and compiled a 40.1 WAR. He was an All-Star 7 times, won 3 Silver Sluggers, 3 Gold Gloves, 2 Batting Titles, and an MVP award.
Interestingly, while Parker had 2,700 hits, which suggests a long and successful career, WAR didn’t love him later in his career. In just the five seasons from 1975-1979, though, he was worth 31.1 WAR. So, he’s got an impressive peak, as well.
Shop for the 1974 Topps Dave Parker rookie card on eBay
Parker was a popular player during his playing days but was not without controversy. In the late 1970s, he was briefly the highest-paid player in the sport, which rubbed some fans the wrong way (free agency was still new then).
He was also involved in the Pittsburgh Drug Trials, when he and many other players were revealed to have used cocaine regularly in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The steroid controversy of its time, the Drug Trials may be part of what has kept Parker out of the Hall of Fame historically. At least one other player named in the trials, Tim Raines, has since been elected to the Hall.
Parker struggled on the Hall of Fame ballot. From 1997 to 2011, he appeared on the BBWAA ballot, peaking at only 24.5%, well below the 75% required for induction. Since then, he has appeared on Veteran’s ballots in 2014, 2018, and 2020, never making it over the hump.
But in late 2024, Parker appeared on the Classic Baseball Era ballot with several other interesting players including Dick Allen and Luis Tiant, and was elected with 87.5% of the vote.
Changing attitudes, along with the extra contemplation that time provides, helped voters understand that Parker’s combination of peak and longevity meant a Hall of Famer, despite a low WAR total for a Hall of Famer.
While Dick Allen’s election came too late for him to be present (Allen died in 2020), Parker, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, is still with us and should be at the induction ceremony in Cooperstown.
Shop for the 1974 Topps Dave Parker rookie card on eBay
Dave Parker’s rookie cards are in 1974 products, including the iconic 1974 Topps set. Parker’s #252 rookie card gives the set a second Hall of Fame rookie card, following another Dave, Dave Winfield.
The 1974 Topps Dave Parker #252 rookie card has been graded almost 3,500 times by PSA. There are 8 total PSA 10s and 245 PSA 9s. No PSA 10 copy has been sold since 2017. A couple of PSA 9s sold a few weeks before the Hall of Fame announcement for between $700 and $1,000.
In a PSA 8 slab, of which there are 1,169 examples, the 1974 Topps Dave Parker RC is currently selling for around $350-370. That’s up for $120-200 just a couple of years ago, so the HOF bump, at least temporarily, is in full effect.
An interesting alternative is the 1974 O-Pee-Chee Dave Parker, also #252 in the set. It has been graded only 38 times by PSA, with no PSA 10s, one PSA 9, and only four PSA 8s.
I was expecting to tell you the 8s sell for several times more than the Topps copy, but that’s not the case for the few available. That feels odd, and if you can find a comparable OPC copy to what you’re looking at in a Topps, it’s worth considering.
Shop for the 1974 Topps Dave Parker rookie card on eBay
| Card | Total PSA Pop | Recent Sale Pop | Recent Sale Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 Topps Dave Parker #252 | 3,484 | PSA 8 = 1,169 | PSA 8 = $325-370 |
| 1974 O-Pee-Chee Dave Parker #252 | 38 | PSA 8 = 4 | PSA 8 = $300-350 |
So, Dave Parker is taking his rightful place in Baseball’s Hall of Fame. His rookie card, in the classic 1974 Topps set, is having a moment, with a bump in price that is likely to stabilize post-induction at a new high-water mark for the card.
Is now the time to buy a Dave Parker rookie card? Probably not. Best to wait for the temporary part of the bump to subside before picking one up. But if you already have a Parker rookie card, enjoy the gains, and let’s celebrate the Cobra’s big moment.
What’s your take on Parker’s Hall of Fame election? Do you own his rookie card? Covet it? What’s your favorite Parker card? Tell us what’s on your mind at CardLines on Twitter.
Shop for the 1974 Topps Dave Parker rookie card on eBay
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