Larry Bird / Magic Johnson 1980-81 Topps Rookie Card (PSA 10)

Three players on one card

For 1980-81, Topps tried something new in sports cards. Every card in its basketball set carried three players, each on a mini card of its own, with perforations so a standard-size card could be torn into three small ones. The set ran to 176 cards showing 264 player panels, sold in packs that cost 25 cents.

The mini card idea did not catch on, and many kids did tear their cards apart. The card that matters most to collectors is the intact one that put Larry Bird (panel #34) on the left, Magic Johnson (#139) on the right and Julius Erving (#174) in the middle. Erving's panel is a scoring leader card, marking his 26.9 points per game for the Philadelphia 76ers in 1979-80.

Bird and Johnson appear in their rookie seasons. Bird won Rookie of the Year, and Johnson made the NBA All-Rookie Team.

Bird, Magic and the doctor

Their rivalry began in college. On March 26, 1979, Johnson's Michigan State beat Bird's undefeated Indiana State 75-64 for the NCAA title in Salt Lake City. Johnson led all scorers with 24 points and was named Most Outstanding Player; Bird had 19 points on 7-of-21 shooting and 13 rebounds. The game drew a 24.1 Nielsen rating, described as the highest for any basketball game in the United States as of 2017.

Boston had drafted Bird sixth overall in 1978; the Los Angeles Lakers took Johnson first overall in 1979. As rookies in 1979-80, Bird averaged 21.3 points and 10.4 rebounds over 82 games, while Johnson averaged 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists and won the 1980 championship and Finals MVP.

Over the 1980s they split the decade's glory. Johnson won five titles (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988) and three MVP awards (1987, 1989, 1990); Bird won three titles (1981, 1984, 1986) and three straight MVPs (1984-1986). Bird entered the Hall of Fame in 1998, Johnson in 2002. Erving, the established star in the middle panel, finished second in MVP voting in 1980.

1980

The card came out in a year of big American moments: the U.S. hockey team's Miracle on Ice in February, the eruption of Mount St. Helens in May, the launch of CNN in June and the arrival of Pac-Man in arcades. President Carter announced in March that the United States would boycott the Moscow Olympics, and in November Ronald Reagan defeated him.

In December 1980, John Lennon was shot and killed outside the Dakota in New York. Basketball cards that year were a cheap pleasure; nobody buying a 25-cent pack expected the paper inside to be worth more than a house.

From a quarter to $861,000

Gem Mint copies began to command serious money in the late 2010s. A PSA 10 sold for $96,423 in 2016 and another for $88,988 in 2017. In 2018 a PSA 10 copy described by its seller as having dead-centered perforations and spotless surfaces drew 91 bids and sold online for $125,200.

The card then took part in the sports card boom of 2021. Two PSA 10 copies sold at auction for just over $500,000 each, in May and July 2021. On August 7, 2021, another PSA 10 sold at auction for $861,000, an all-time record for the card and $361,000 above those sales from three months earlier.

For context, a sealed box of 1980-81 Topps basketball sold for $31,200 in May 2021. Lower grades sell for a fraction of Gem Mint prices: in one listing, a PSA 9 was offered for $16,500.

What makes a Gem Mint copy

Because the card was designed to be torn apart, an intact copy is already the desirable form; a separated Bird or Magic panel is a different and far cheaper item. At the top grade, collectors look for perforations centered between the panels, sharp corners and clean surfaces.

The checklist numbers on the panels identify it: Bird 34, Erving 174, Johnson 139.

PSA had graded 25 copies Gem Mint 10 as of August 2021. Population numbers change as more cards are submitted.

The numbers

Larry Bird, 1979-80

82 G, 21.3 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 4.5 APG, .474 FG%; Rookie of the Year

Magic Johnson, 1979-80

77 G, 18.0 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 7.3 APG, .530 FG%; NBA champion and Finals MVP

Julius Erving, 1979-80

78 G, 26.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 4.6 APG; 2nd in MVP voting

Bird career

24.3 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 6.3 APG; 3 titles, 3 MVPs

Johnson career

906 G, 19.5 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 11.2 APG; 5 titles, 3 MVPs, 3 Finals MVPs

Set

176 cards, 264 player panels, 25-cent packs

Timeline

1. Jun 1978

   The Boston Celtics draft Larry Bird sixth overall.

2. Mar 26, 1979

   Michigan State beats Indiana State 75-64 for the NCAA title; Johnson outscores Bird.

3. Jun 1979

   The Los Angeles Lakers draft Magic Johnson first overall.

4. 1980

   Bird is named Rookie of the Year; Johnson wins the title and Finals MVP.

5. 1980

   Topps issues its 1980-81 basketball set with three-panel perforated cards.

6. 1981

   Bird wins his first championship.

7. 1998

   Bird is inducted into the Hall of Fame.

8. 2002

   Johnson is inducted into the Hall of Fame.

9. 2016

   A PSA 10 copy sells for $96,423.

10. 2017

    A PSA 10 copy sells for $88,988.

11. 2018

    A PSA 10 copy sells online for $125,200 after 91 bids.

12. May 2021

    A PSA 10 copy sells at auction for just over $500,000.

13. Jul 2021

    Another PSA 10 sells at auction for just over $500,000.

14. Aug 7, 2021

    A PSA 10 copy sells at auction for a record $861,000.

The world in 1980

• Jan 20, 1980

  The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Los Angeles Rams 31-19 in Super Bowl XIV.

• Feb 22, 1980

  The U.S. hockey team beats the Soviet Union in the Miracle on Ice.

• Mar 21, 1980

  President Carter announces the U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics.

• May 18, 1980

  Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, killing 57.

• May 22, 1980

  Pac-Man is released.

• Jun 1, 1980

  CNN launches.

• Nov 4, 1980

  Ronald Reagan defeats President Jimmy Carter.

• Dec 8, 1980

  John Lennon is shot and killed in New York.

Price record

A realized auction price is what a buyer actually paid on the date shown, including the buyer's premium where the sale reported it. It is the strongest kind of reference price, and it is a record of one sale of one object on one day, not a promise of what the next example will bring.

By reference price, Larry Bird / Magic Johnson 1980-81 Topps Rookie Card (PSA 10) is number 75 of 100 in the memorabilia entries of the FLOAT 100. 100 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (74 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• Topps designed the card to be torn into three; the value is in the copies nobody tore.
• Julius Erving, the biggest star on the card in 1980, sits in the middle on a scoring leader panel.
• The 1979 NCAA final between Johnson and Bird drew a 24.1 Nielsen rating, the highest for any U.S. basketball game as of 2017.
• Johnson won the NBA title and Finals MVP as a rookie; Bird won Rookie of the Year.
• The record PSA 10 sold for $361,000 more than copies that had sold three months earlier.
• A sealed box of the whole set's packs sold for $31,200 in 2021, a small fraction of one Gem Mint card.