3: 1968 Topps Nolan Ryan/Jerry Koosman

Runner up to Johnny Bench in 1968, Jerry Koosman carved out a long and successful career as a major league pitcher. Across four teams in 19 seasons, he would end up with 222 wins. In 1976, Jerry was the runner up for the Cy Young award, and followed that up the next year by losing 20 games, tops in the league. But he isn’t why this card is here.
Nolan Ryan is one of the most endearing old school players in the history of the game. His career spanned nearly three decades and you can use his career to get to any era of baseball in less than six degrees of separation. he beat up Robin Ventura and threw seven no hitters. He pitched until he literally couldn’t throw anymore. This card is iconic because it came at a time when Topps was the only game in town. If you collected cards, you collected Topps or you collected nothing. This was a prospector card before people knew what that was. It’s a must have for any serious collection and continues to endure as one of the most iconic cards in the history of baseball.

Random Jerry Koosman Fact: Koosman would finish with 20 victories twice in his career. He was top six in terms of voting for the Cy Young each year. He didn’t make the All Star team in either season.