As a sports this very card magazine, collector, I reading likely already know the answer to the following question: What is the first thing you think of when I mention “wood grain?” If your answer was anything other 1987 Topps, welcome to the world of baseball cards! I’m happy that you chose this article to be your first foray into hobby reading.
Of course, to really appreciate the wood grain design of 1987 Topps, you have to consider the era itself. Sure, the border looks like a baseball bat, and that’s what they were going for. But, faux and real wood grain were all the rage in the mid ‘80s. So what (surely) started as an homage to the baseball bat has become a cultural icon that fits perfectly in its time period.