A Celebration of Baseball Cards in 1990
ReggieCleveland
Posts: 3,818 ✭✭✭✭✭
I know some of you dusty old farts collected cards in the 1970s but the overproduced era of 1987-1990 was my wheelhouse. I've been slowly coming to the realization that 1990 is my favorite year for baseball cards. No matter what you collect -- sets, players, oddball, unopened, you name it -- there's something for you in 1990. I thought I would take a quick trip down memory lane and talk about some of the many things I love about that year.
Pretty good year for rookies. Admittedly, I don't harbor the loathing that some do for the steroid era players, but Frank Thomas, Sammy Sosa, Larry Walker, Moises Alou, Mo Vaughn, Albert Belle, Greg Vaughn, Chuck Knoblauch, Bernie Williams, Juan Gonzalez, and John Olerud all had their rookie cards released in 1990. All of them either won MVPs, were in the discussion, or were just hobby darlings at one point or another. Also second-year cards for Ken Griffey, Jr.
There were an enormous amount of HOF caliber players still active with cards -- Glavine, Smoltz, Dale Murphy, Sandberg, Maddux, Andre Dawson, Larkin, Biggio, Eddie Murray, Tim Raines, Barry Bonds, Ozzie Smith, Fred Lynn, Tony Gwynn, Roberto Alomar, Will Clark, Gary Carter, Curt Schilling, Cal Ripken, Lee Smith, Roger Clemens, Dwight Evans, Wade Boggs, Carlton Fisk, Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker, Bo Jackson, George Brett, Gary Sheffield, Paul Molitor, Robin Yount, Kirby Puckett, Dave Winfield, Don Mattingly, Rickey Henderson, Mark McGwire, Canseco, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, Palmeiro, Fred McGriff, just to name a few.
I figure the best way to dfo this is go alphabetically by product.
Bowman Tiffany - there are only 89 PSA 10 Frank Thomas rookies, and with only 67 Sammy Sosa's, that card is almost at the 5% PSA 10 threshold.
Donruss - What a year for Donruss! Erros galore with the All-Star cards and Nolan Ryan back switcheroos. There's also the very difficult Aqueous Test cards, Blue/White Test, and Learning Series cards. Unopened? The Canadian variation on the wrappers/boxes are scarce.
Fleer Canadian -- Only 77 Sosa's and 32 Griffey's have ever been submitted to PSA for grading. The boxes (when they pop up) sell for north of $100. Complete sets sell in the $150 range. And I still think most collectors don't even know about the issue.
Fleer Soaring Stars -- An insert set only found in the Green mylar wrapped cellos, the cards are notoriously condition sensitive. There's been 115 Griffey's submitted and only 2 PSA 10's. Anyone that's ever opened these packs knows what I'm talking about as the cards are always found with dinged corners. 149 total cards submitted, only 6 total PSA 10's.
Leaf -- A watershed set in the hobby, still very popular today among set collectors. There's 14 people on the registry with at least 20% completion, more than any set between 1981-1990 except for 1983. Also some very difficult condition sensitive cards with the Belle rookie at just 4% getting PSA 10, 5% for the Sosa, and 4.5% for Griffey. Want a Griffey Leaf Preview in PSA 10? Start submitting. Still a pop 0 with 50 cards submitted.
O-Pee-Chee -- For one reason or another, they just didn't make much of this set. There have been 152 Topps NNOF Thomas cards submitted to PSA and 170 O-Pee-Chee Thomas cards submitted to PSA. Finding unopened boxes is a task.
Score -- I'll admit, the multi-color design of the set doesn't suit me but the Sosa is flat-out tough in PSA 10 with only 3.5% graded and who doesn't love the Bo Jackson black & white card?
Score McDonald's -- A set issued through a handful of restaurants for one week in 1990, it lacks star power with no Griffey/Thomas/Sosa but it makes up for it in rarity.
Topps -- Just about any list of the biggest cards from the 90s decade has to include the Topps NNOF Thomas. The set is chock full of errors and let's not forget about the George Bush card and the Jeff King. The other blackless cards, along with the Thomas, make for one of the more interesting mysteries the hobby has seen. The Sosa and Griffey cards aren't exactly slam dunks to PSA 10, either.
Topps Glossy Rookies -- only available in the 100-card jumbo packs, the packs are easily searched so the trick is finding a sealed case. There's also the varying colored Foil Test cards as well.
Upper Deck -- A veritable cornucopia of errors, with varying degree of difficulty ranging from tough to downright impossible, many of which haven't been recognized or graded by PSA yet. There's the Ben McDonald Orioles logo, the string of no copyright backs (including Griffey), Mike Witt black box, checklist black box, and Nolan Ryan no stripe, just to name a few.
I'm undoubtedly forgetting some things. Feel free to jump in and post scans or other interesting cards/sets that I've missed. For me, 1990 doesn't just hold a great nostalgic feel to it but it also contains some little-known and underappreciated gems in our hobby.
Pretty good year for rookies. Admittedly, I don't harbor the loathing that some do for the steroid era players, but Frank Thomas, Sammy Sosa, Larry Walker, Moises Alou, Mo Vaughn, Albert Belle, Greg Vaughn, Chuck Knoblauch, Bernie Williams, Juan Gonzalez, and John Olerud all had their rookie cards released in 1990. All of them either won MVPs, were in the discussion, or were just hobby darlings at one point or another. Also second-year cards for Ken Griffey, Jr.
There were an enormous amount of HOF caliber players still active with cards -- Glavine, Smoltz, Dale Murphy, Sandberg, Maddux, Andre Dawson, Larkin, Biggio, Eddie Murray, Tim Raines, Barry Bonds, Ozzie Smith, Fred Lynn, Tony Gwynn, Roberto Alomar, Will Clark, Gary Carter, Curt Schilling, Cal Ripken, Lee Smith, Roger Clemens, Dwight Evans, Wade Boggs, Carlton Fisk, Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker, Bo Jackson, George Brett, Gary Sheffield, Paul Molitor, Robin Yount, Kirby Puckett, Dave Winfield, Don Mattingly, Rickey Henderson, Mark McGwire, Canseco, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, Palmeiro, Fred McGriff, just to name a few.
I figure the best way to dfo this is go alphabetically by product.
Bowman Tiffany - there are only 89 PSA 10 Frank Thomas rookies, and with only 67 Sammy Sosa's, that card is almost at the 5% PSA 10 threshold.
Donruss - What a year for Donruss! Erros galore with the All-Star cards and Nolan Ryan back switcheroos. There's also the very difficult Aqueous Test cards, Blue/White Test, and Learning Series cards. Unopened? The Canadian variation on the wrappers/boxes are scarce.
Fleer Canadian -- Only 77 Sosa's and 32 Griffey's have ever been submitted to PSA for grading. The boxes (when they pop up) sell for north of $100. Complete sets sell in the $150 range. And I still think most collectors don't even know about the issue.
Fleer Soaring Stars -- An insert set only found in the Green mylar wrapped cellos, the cards are notoriously condition sensitive. There's been 115 Griffey's submitted and only 2 PSA 10's. Anyone that's ever opened these packs knows what I'm talking about as the cards are always found with dinged corners. 149 total cards submitted, only 6 total PSA 10's.
Leaf -- A watershed set in the hobby, still very popular today among set collectors. There's 14 people on the registry with at least 20% completion, more than any set between 1981-1990 except for 1983. Also some very difficult condition sensitive cards with the Belle rookie at just 4% getting PSA 10, 5% for the Sosa, and 4.5% for Griffey. Want a Griffey Leaf Preview in PSA 10? Start submitting. Still a pop 0 with 50 cards submitted.
O-Pee-Chee -- For one reason or another, they just didn't make much of this set. There have been 152 Topps NNOF Thomas cards submitted to PSA and 170 O-Pee-Chee Thomas cards submitted to PSA. Finding unopened boxes is a task.
Score -- I'll admit, the multi-color design of the set doesn't suit me but the Sosa is flat-out tough in PSA 10 with only 3.5% graded and who doesn't love the Bo Jackson black & white card?
Score McDonald's -- A set issued through a handful of restaurants for one week in 1990, it lacks star power with no Griffey/Thomas/Sosa but it makes up for it in rarity.
Topps -- Just about any list of the biggest cards from the 90s decade has to include the Topps NNOF Thomas. The set is chock full of errors and let's not forget about the George Bush card and the Jeff King. The other blackless cards, along with the Thomas, make for one of the more interesting mysteries the hobby has seen. The Sosa and Griffey cards aren't exactly slam dunks to PSA 10, either.
Topps Glossy Rookies -- only available in the 100-card jumbo packs, the packs are easily searched so the trick is finding a sealed case. There's also the varying colored Foil Test cards as well.
Upper Deck -- A veritable cornucopia of errors, with varying degree of difficulty ranging from tough to downright impossible, many of which haven't been recognized or graded by PSA yet. There's the Ben McDonald Orioles logo, the string of no copyright backs (including Griffey), Mike Witt black box, checklist black box, and Nolan Ryan no stripe, just to name a few.
I'm undoubtedly forgetting some things. Feel free to jump in and post scans or other interesting cards/sets that I've missed. For me, 1990 doesn't just hold a great nostalgic feel to it but it also contains some little-known and underappreciated gems in our hobby.
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Greg Maddux #1 Master SetGreg Maddux #2 Basic Set
but the local card shop guy hired me basically to be a second set of eyes when he set up at Traders Village in Grand Prarie Tx. Aint
been back in years, kinda wonder if its still around.
My pay was AWESOME!! 1 days work got me lunch paid for and 2 packs of 90 Leaf!!! At that time, if memory serves, Pacific had come
out with the Ryan boxes. They had gold or silver cards in em I think(I never opened any of em so I cant remember) People were using
calipers to measure the packs, I can remember that. I thought, what the heck they doing?? I remember 90 U.D, Ryan Pacific, and 90
Leaf were the hot sellers for him. I got to go with him to the wholesalers where he got his wax boxes once. Man, I wish I had pics of
that!! I had never seen anything like that before. A whole store in Dallas that had nothing but boxes of cards!!! I had been to card shops,
but never anything like that distributer
And we cant forget 90 Score Supplemental with the Emmitt rookie. That set was on fire!! (at least in North Texas).
Awesome thread idea
]
1990 Bowman Lithographs - The paintings that were the basis for the insert cards were also used to produce a set of 11x14 lithographs. Sets go for around $250.
1990 Donruss Previews - These things were REALLY hot for a while ($300+) with the Nolan Ryan commanding top dollar. They've cooled, but they still book for around $85
1990 Score Promo Cards - These things are insane. SCD prices make them seem like you can go out and purchase them, but that's not what I've found. I'll throw $2K at the first person who can supply me with a set of them (#221-#330).
1990 Score/Sportflics 11th National Nolan Ryan - These were expensive years ago ($450), but they're now around $100.
1990 Topps Experimental Mylar Stickers - Around $400 for a set of six. Tough set.
1990 Topps Batting Leaders - These took me forever. An exclusive insert in jumbo blister packs. Set cost me $124.
Edited to add: The Score McDonalds cards are somewhat rare, but try and find an unopened pack. Hoo boy.
bobsbbcards SGC Registry Sets
What are the Topps Mylar Stickers? Never even heard of them, let alone seen one.
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
<< <i>What are the Topps Mylar Stickers? Never even heard of them, let alone seen one. >>
1990 Topps Mylar Stickers
Testing the concept of refractive printing, with stars in the background of these stickers, Topps produced a trial run of Mylar stickers using fronts from its 1990 Traded card set. Fronts of the 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" stickers are printed in metallic foil. Backs are blank.
Complete set (6): $400.00
Common Player: $60.00
bobsbbcards SGC Registry Sets
1994 Pro Line Live
TheDallasCowboyBackfieldProject
<< <i>the 90 Reggie is the first auto insert, and the first hand-numbered insert >>
bobsbbcards SGC Registry Sets
<< <i>1st baseball insert were 86 Fleer All-stars, the 90 Reggie is the first auto insert, and the first hand-numbered insert >>
1985 Pete Rose Limited Edition Sets had autographed cards randomly inserted.
Kiss me twice.....let's party.
<< <i>
<< <i>1st baseball insert were 86 Fleer All-stars, the 90 Reggie is the first auto insert, and the first hand-numbered insert >>
1985 Pete Rose Limited Edition Sets had autographed cards randomly inserted. >>
Also, "Living Legend" cards designated A (featuring Gaylord Perry and Rollie Fingers) and B (featuring Johnny Bench and Carl Yastrzemski) were distributed in 1984 Donruss wax packs (not in factory sets).
Kiss me twice.....let's party.
ON ITS WAY TO NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92658
<< <i>I remember this set being a great investment according to the home shopping channel.
]
You know when taking this photo, Nolan was thinking "This has to be the dumbest ##&^&*# thing I have ever done"
13 Factory Sets!!!!!
<< <i>Bob is the "MK" qualifier due to the autograph? >>
My magic eight ball says "It is decidedly so."
bobsbbcards SGC Registry Sets
<< <i>
<< <i>Bob is the "MK" qualifier due to the autograph? >>
My magic eight ball says "It is decidedly so."
That's a super old flip. I'm sure the standards have changed since then.
I bet if you send that in as a review they would remove the qualifier being that is was a pack pulled auto. Imo opinion it shouldn't be labeled with that qualifier.
1994 Pro Line Live
TheDallasCowboyBackfieldProject
<< <i>IT MAKES NO SENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >>
Faaaacccctory Set!! Love it! LOL!
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
<< <i>Imo opinion it shouldn't be labeled with that qualifier. >>
But that's what I like about it.
bobsbbcards SGC Registry Sets
Frank Thomas, Ryan Klesko, Jeff Bagwell and tons of others.
I worked very hard to put the set together and once I started it I spent every penny I made from mowing yards to buy more cards for $1 a pack at the Wal Mart up the street.
It is still in the binder and 9 pocket pages to this day.
That's a super old flip. I'm sure the standards have changed since then.
I bet if you send that in as a review they would remove the qualifier being that is was a pack pulled auto. Imo opinion it shouldn't be labeled with that qualifier. >>
I have the Aaron,Reggie,Big Red Machine all graded without the MK qualifier.They were graded about 2 years ago
<< <i>That group of cards was worthless then just like it is today. >>
As worthless as this post?