What year is Larry Bird's rookie card?

Larry Bird's rookie season was 1979-80, so the rookie cards carry that year.

How many rookie cards does Larry Bird have?

Our checklist lists 2 Larry Bird rookie cards with card numbers, each from a cited source. It is not every parallel or color variation.

How much is a Larry Bird rookie card worth?

Parlae does not print card values. Find the year, set, card number, parallel and grade on your card, then check eBay sold listings or eBay's price guide for that exact card.

Are collectors watching Larry Bird right now?

Collector attention is flat: Wikipedia lookups of Larry Bird are up 14% this week. That is attention, not a price.

Larry Bird rookie card: key RCs, checklist and collector interest

Larry Bird's first licensed base rookie card is the 1980-81 Topps #34 / 174 / 139. Larry Bird's rookie season was 1979-80.

Larry Bird

No. 6 overall pick in the 1978 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics.

Photo: Kurt Shimala, CC BY-SA 2.0

Flat

Larry Bird card market

Collector attention: up 14% this week, down 13% over 30 days

Attention measures how much people are looking up this player, a leading indicator collectors watch. It is not a price. Source: Wikipedia pageviews through 2026-10-15.

Larry Bird's key rookie cards, by our criteria

First licensed base RC: The licensed base rookie card from the earliest year in the player's checklist. Where an Upper Deck Young Guns card exists, that card.
First chromium RC: The licensed chromium (Chrome, Prizm, Optic and the like) rookie card from the earliest year in the player's checklist.
Scarcest licensed RC autograph: Among licensed rookie-card autographs in the player's checklist, the one with the lowest stated print run.
First prospect card: For a player whose rookie cards are not out yet, or a baseball player's Bowman 1st: the earliest prospect card in the player's checklist. Not a rookie card.

First licensed base RC
1980-81 Topps #34 / 174 / 139
Topps, base, three-panel card: Bird RC, Erving scoring leader, Magic Johnson RC; sometimes listed as #6. Sources [1][2][3]

Which Larry Bird card is the real rookie card

Bird's rookie season was 1979-80, but his rookie card is in the 1980-81 Topps set, where every card is three perforated mini-cards on one standard card. His rookie panel is #34 (a Rookie of the Year card). The best-known card puts Bird #34 and Magic Johnson #139, both rookies, beside a Julius Erving scoring-leader panel #174, sometimes listed as #6. Because Topps printed the panels on two sheets with different groupings, Bird's #34 panel also appears with Bill Cartwright and John Drew (23 / 34 / 164). Intact three-panel cards are the preferred form.

Sources [1][2][3]

Larry Bird rookie card checklist with card numbers

2 rookie cards, each confirmed on the linked pages. Not every parallel is listed.

Larry Bird card checklist
Card	Type	Print run	RC	Source
1980-81 Topps #34 / 174 / 139three-panel card: Bird RC, Erving scoring leader, Magic Johnson RC; sometimes listed as #6	Base	Not numbered	Yes	[1][2][3]
1980-81 Topps #23 / 34 / 164three-panel card: Bird RC panel with Bill Cartwright and John Drew	Base	Not numbered	Yes	[1][2]

Larry Bird's career, in brief

Played 13 seasons, 1979 to 1992, all with the Boston Celtics.
1980 Rookie of the Year; 21,791 career points, 24.3 per game.
Three NBA titles (1981, 1984, 1986), three straight MVP awards (1984 to 1986) and two Finals MVPs.
Inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998.

Career facts: [1]

Played from 1979 to 1992.
Honors include the John R. Wooden Award, the NBA All-Rookie Team, the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, among 23 listed on Wikidata.

Record public Larry Bird card sales

Reported sales only, each with the report that carried it.

2018-09: 1980-81 Topps Bird / Erving / Johnson (panels 34 / 174 / 139), PSA 10, sold for $125,200 at eBay (consigned through PWCC). Sports Collectors Digest
2024-summer: 1980-81 Topps Bird / Erving / Johnson, signed by all three, PSA 9, autograph 10, sold for $173,389 at Memory Lane Inc. Summer Rarities Auction. Sports Collectors Digest

Grading Larry Bird cards

A PSA 10 (Gem Mint) or BGS 9.5 is the top grade most collectors look for; it means sharp corners, clean edges, centered printing and an unmarked surface. A graded card and a raw one are different cards to look up.

How PSA, CGC and Beckett grade

PSA

Top grades:: Gem Mint 10, then Mint 9 and NM-MT 8.
Half grades:: 1.5 through 8.5 since February 2008; there is no PSA 9.5.

One overall grade on the label. Centering weighs heavily in it.

Source: Sports Collectors Digest on PSA's half grades

CGC

Top grades:: Pristine 10 (virtually flawless, 50/50 centering), then Gem Mint 10 and Mint+ 9.5.
Half grades:: Yes, from Fair 1.5 up to Mint+ 9.5.

Authentic (AU) for a genuine card that cannot take a number; Authentic Altered (AA) for one that was altered.

Source: CGC grading scale

Beckett (BGS)

Top grades:: Pristine 10; a Black Label Pristine 10 has a 10 in all four subgrades.
Half grades:: Yes, 1 to 10 in half points.

Four subgrades on the label: centering, corners, edges and surface.

Source: Beckett grading

Grading scales as each grader describes them, checked Oct 16, 2026.

Population by grade

A population report counts how many copies of a card a grader has graded at each grade. Search 1980-81 Topps #34 / 174 / 139 on PSA Population Report or CGC Cards Population Report.

How to identify your Larry Bird card and check what it sold for

Find the year and maker on the back of your Larry Bird card, and the card number, usually top or bottom on the back.
Check the front and back for a serial number (for example 23/99) and for a colored or patterned finish: those mark a parallel, which is a different card from the base version.
Look for the RC logo or the word Rookie. A card from before the first pro season, such as a Bowman 1st or a college card, is a prospect card, not a rookie card.
Note any grade on the slab label (PSA, BGS, SGC, CGC). A raw card and a graded one are different listings.
Search sold listings for that exact year, set, number, parallel and grade. What a card sold for is a better guide than any asking price.

Check Larry Bird rookie cards in eBay's sold listings or eBay's price guide for that exact card.

Larry Bird cards for sale now

Larry Bird card questions

What is Larry Bird's rookie card?: Larry Bird's first licensed base rookie card is the 1980-81 Topps #34 / 174 / 139. Larry Bird's rookie season was 1979-80.
What year is Larry Bird's rookie card?: Larry Bird's rookie season was 1979-80, so the rookie cards carry that year.
How many rookie cards does Larry Bird have?: Our checklist lists 2 Larry Bird rookie cards with card numbers, each from a cited source. It is not every parallel or color variation.
How much is a Larry Bird rookie card worth?: Parlae does not print card values. Find the year, set, card number, parallel and grade on your card, then check eBay sold listings or eBay's price guide for that exact card.
Are collectors watching Larry Bird right now?: Collector attention is flat: Wikipedia lookups of Larry Bird are up 14% this week. That is attention, not a price.

Card facts checked 2026-10-15. Parlae prints no card values. Set and brand names belong to their makers; Parlae is not affiliated with them.

By the Parlae deskCard data updated Oct 16, 2026 at 7:14 AM ETHow this is built Report a wrong number