1988 Score Baseball

Stingray

Wow, it has been 30 years since this set was released. I remember buying packs and thinking what a bright and colorful set and every card is an action shot. Not one posed closeup face shot. The first packs had those bad corners to them and we wondered what they were using to cut their cards?? Really liked this set and it was too bad that they let the presses run 24/7!!

RipublicaninMass

My Dad had told me "the first year of everything always collectible" so I loaded up. Funny prices are lower now, even with inflation!

NGS428

I loved the early score sets. Birthday presents for 3 years in a row, 1990 score set, 1991 score set, 1992 score set.

Those 91 and 92 full sets were quite the bricks. You could build a solid single family home with those!

craig44

I loved 90 score. For some reason they were hard to find in my town and seemed mysterious. Only spot in the universe I guess where that happened

erikthredd

This set brings back alot of memories of ripping packs hoping for Sox rookies of Ellis Burks,Sam Horn,Jody Reed & Todd Benzinger not to mention Gregg Jeffries & Matt Nokes rookies.

countdouglas

@craig44 said:
I loved 90 score. For some reason they were hard to find in my town and seemed mysterious. Only spot in the universe I guess where that happened

I do believe that 90 Score was "hard to find" at the time of its release due to the popularity of Griffey, the Bo Jackson craze, including his famous card in pads and All-Star MVP card, and rookies of Kevin Maas, Dave Justice, Deion Sanders, and Ben McDonald. (I'm not sure Frank Thomas and some of the other rookies in that set were even on the radar, yet.) If you found a box, you bought the whole thing, because the partial boxes you'd maybe stumble across had already likely been searched through the slightly opaque packaging. The presses never stopped rolling, though, and supply eventually way outstripped demand.

LarkinCollector

For as plentiful as the base are that year, these are incredibly tough to find:

craig44

@countdouglas said:

@craig44 said:
I loved 90 score. For some reason they were hard to find in my town and seemed mysterious. Only spot in the universe I guess where that happened

I do believe that 90 Score was "hard to find" at the time of its release due to the popularity of Griffey, the Bo Jackson craze, including his famous card in pads and All-Star MVP card, and rookies of Kevin Maas, Dave Justice, Deion Sanders, and Ben McDonald. (I'm not sure Frank Thomas and some of the other rookies in that set were even on the radar, yet.) If you found a box, you bought the whole thing, because the partial boxes you'd maybe stumble across had already likely been searched through the slightly opaque packaging. The presses never stopped rolling, though, and supply eventually way outstripped demand.

That makes sense. Dave Justice and Kevin maas were red hot that year. I remember being so excited when I got an upper deck extended set that year. That Justice card was like my version of the 52 mantle

bobsbbcards

@LarkinCollector said:
For as plentiful as the base are that year, these are incredibly tough to find:

>
+1

I have only one ‘88 promo/sample—Wade Boggs.

waxman2745

@LarkinCollector said:
For as plentiful as the base are that year, these are incredibly tough to find:

Interesting thing about these sample cards is that the player's 1987 stats are all zero's.

LarkinCollector, do you know if Score made all 660 cards in "sample" form, or made just a few sample cards?

LarkinCollector

@waxman2745 said:
Interesting thing about these sample cards is that the player's 1987 stats are all zero's.

Yep, and career totals:

For Larkin at least, it's easy to tell from the front though. The base card that made it into the set had a purple border.

I don't want to think about the amount of time and # of cards I looked through for the zeros in the stats before finding out the sample had a green front border.

LarkinCollector, do you know if Score made all 660 cards in "sample" form, or made just a few sample cards?

It was only around 10 +/- players IIRC each of the early years they did the samples.

brad31

Every card I bought from this series had the strange corners with the extra paper. It really was a great set.

Stone193

The year they included Mantle's auto? Wanted it bad.

I still have some factory sets packed away somewhere?

LarkinCollector

The Larkin Samples went for $75-100 raw (there were a couple of us trying to track one down for years), I'm not sure what a Pena would go for or if anyone is working on a Sample set.

ETA: Looks like there were only samples for six players in 1988: https://www.beckett.com/baseball/1988/score-samples/ My Larkin is the only graded example so far, unless the 1988 Score Proof Pena is actually a Sample.

LarkinCollector

Finally found my old scans of it, but this is by far the coolest 88 Score item out there IMHO:

The two Larkin cards are glued on and you can slide the front/back panels of the other three 1987 releases for an easy side by side comparison.

bobsbbcards

1988 Score Promo Cards
While these Score promotional sample cards carry a 1988 copyright date on back, they were actually released to hobby dealers late in 1987. They can be easily differentiated from regular-issue 1988 cards by the use of zeros in the stats lines on back for 1987 and career figures. Most of the promos are otherwise identical to the issued versions of the same players. These were among the first promo cards to be widely distributed within the hobby.
Complete Set (6) $20.00
30 Mark Langston $4.00
48 Tony Pena $4.00
71 Keith Moreland $4.00
72 Barry Larkin $4.00
121 Dennis Boyd $4.00
149 Denny Walling $4.00

1988 Score Proofs
The first six cards in the eventual 1988 Score debut issue can also be found in proof versions intended to test various inks, finishes, etc. These cards are differentiated from regular issues (and promo cards) by the use of zeros in place of actual stats for 1987 and career on the back.
Complete Set (6) $150.00
1 Don Mattingly $45.00
2 Wade Boggs $35.00
3 Tim Raines $15.00
4 Andre Dawson $20.00
5 Mark McGwire $60.00
6 Kevin Seitzer $15.00

The prices shown are probably inaccurate, since they're lifted from a 2009 copy of the Standard Catalog.

LarkinCollector

So the Pena listed here is really a Sample then and not a Proof: https://www.psacard.com/pop/baseball-cards/1988/score-proofs/93085

Looks like someone has uncovered a stash recently, sales price on a raw Pena is $15-40. Wish I would have seen the Larkin listings and grabbed another copy or two, but deleted that search once I acquired one. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=1988 score (proof,sample)&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&rt=nc

ReggieCleveland

1988 Score is probably the best set of the decade as far as photography goes. They broke away completely from conventional baseball card composition and found a way to capture many stars at their signature moment. You could take just about any star/HOFer's card from the set, make it a B&W silhouette and you'd still be able to tell exactly who it is based on their batting stance, swing, wind up, follow through, etc. They also got away from just using either portrait shots or full-body action shots. Check out the composition on the Matt Nokes card:

In baseball cards of the past, Nokes would have been the dominant object in the frame with no care taken to the bat. But by the way they framed it, the bat becomes the dominant object and provides the viewer with a completely different perspective than they would have had previously. The bright, colorful borders and high gloss also lend themselves well to a set whose photography has been given so much thought.

So yeah, 1988 Score is one of the many red-headed step-children from the junk wax era. But if you slow down long enough to look, you might be surprised at what you find in it.

Arthur

Estil

If you don't like the overproduction keep in mind they did make a Tiffany set (limited to 5000) for that year only.

ahopkins

@ReggieCleveland said:
1988 Score is probably the best set of the decade as far as photography goes.

Arthur

Agreed, Arthur. Wonderful photography. And a great example is that Nokes. That's a frame-worthy photo in itself.

Sometimes I buy some cheap '88 Score boxes to rip just for the nostalgia. It never gets old. And it's the perfect kind of cards to rip with my 4-year-old son.

Andy

ReggieCleveland

@ahopkins said:

@ReggieCleveland said:
1988 Score is probably the best set of the decade as far as photography goes.

Arthur

Agreed, Arthur. Wonderful photography. And a great example is that Nokes. That's a frame-worthy photo in itself.

Sometimes I buy some cheap '88 Score boxes to rip just for the nostalgia. It never gets old. And it's the perfect kind of cards to rip with my 4-year-old son.

Andy

My LCS has a box of '88 Score in his "junk" section. He's charging $1/pack. I just can't bring myself to start the conversation. I'll pick up a case at some point.

Arthur

RedHeart54

It's amazing how cheaply one can buy a 1988 Score TRADED set now. (An average of $20 or so on eBay for a raw set.) Granted Craig Biggio and Roberto Alomar can still bring decent PSA 10 money (particularly in the glossy version) but remember how it was sort of a 1984 Fleer Update type set in the day when seemingly every day a new card would emerge as the latest hot rookie card?

Chris Sabo and Mark Grace were the original main rookies to chase but the set got near $100 when players like Alomar (especially in '92/'93) Rob Dibble, Jack McDowell, and Brady Anderson all became hot. (Grace was my favorite player then and it took forever to find one...and by then it was $30-35.)

JWBlue

No doubt about the photography being exceptional. I just was turned off by the pastel colors.

Estil

1991 is my personal favorite...the design of both the regular cards and subsets were exceptional.

Unknown

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frankhardy

I didn't even know about the Pena. I guess I need to look for one.

erikthredd

Was it Score that had the little square sportsflics-ish cards that had baseball history facts on them that were included one per pack? I'm pretty sure it was Score but not sure on the year.
My old grade school was directly across the street from a convenience store that sold packs of all 4 sports and we'd go buy packs after school then open them all in the school parking lot. Before long we'd be flinging those Score square cards at each other. Of course no one ever picked them up after so the following day at recess the battle was resumed until the school put an end to it. Just seeing this thread brings back alot of memories

Stingray

@erikthredd said:
Was it Score that had the little square sportsflics-ish cards that had baseball history facts on them that were included one per pack? I'm pretty sure it was Score but not sure on the year.
My old grade school was directly across the street from a convenience store that sold packs of all 4 sports and we'd go buy packs after school then open them all in the school parking lot. Before long we'd be flinging those Score square cards at each other. Of course no one ever picked them up after so the following day at recess the battle was resumed until the school put an end to it. Just seeing this thread brings back alot of memories

Not sure if they were in the packs, but they were included with the factory sets in 1988.

Frozencaribou

Sportflics were a great weapon to keep younger brothers at bay too. They could really sting. In retrospect, it’s lucky my brother still has two functioning eyes.

erikthredd

@Stingray said:

Not sure if they were in the packs, but they were included with the factory sets in 1988.

these are what i was referring to and i'm pretty sure they were definitely from packs.

@Frozencaribou said:
Sportflics were a great weapon to keep younger brothers at bay too. They could really sting. In retrospect, it’s lucky my brother still has two functioning eyes.

Definitely,they were like tiny ninja stars and hurt like hell when they hit you. We obviously weren't too bright back then

ReggieCleveland

PSA slabs them, if anyone was interested in being #1 on the '88 Score Weaponized Trivia registry.

Arthur

BLUEJAYWAY

@erikthredd said:

@Stingray said:

Not sure if they were in the packs, but they were included with the factory sets in 1988.

these are what i was referring to and i'm pretty sure they were definitely from packs.

@Frozencaribou said:
Sportflics were a great weapon to keep younger brothers at bay too. They could really sting. In retrospect, it’s lucky my brother still has two functioning eyes.

Definitely,they were like tiny ninja stars and hurt like hell when they hit you. We obviously weren't too bright back then

Speaking of not being so bright when we were young. As kids we use to have frozen mud ball fights. And some of us were really enterprising. We each froze a few snowballs in the freezer in the winter, then brought them out in the spring to do battle.

countdouglas

My local card shop acquired a large collection, which, not surprisingly, also included a bunch of late 80s cards. In order to expedite the liquidation of undesirable items, they were essentially blowing the "junk era" cards out for next to nothing.

If it had not been for this thread reminding me that it was the 30th anniversary of Score's initial release, I likely would never have given the red boxes a second look. I opened plenty of Score back in the day, and have multiple hand collated sets already tucked away somewhere, but this thread had certainly triggered a bit of nostalgia. Since the asking price for all of this in the photo was less than what just a single box would have cost back in 1988, I thought why the heck not? So in acknowledgement to the passing of the years - Happy 30th!

RookieHOFers

@countdouglas said:
My local card shop acquired a large collection, which, not surprisingly, also included a bunch of late 80s cards. In order to expedite the liquidation of undesirable items, they were essentially blowing the "junk era" cards out for next to nothing.

If it had not been for this thread reminding me that it was the 30th anniversary of Score's initial release, I likely would never have given the red boxes a second look. I opened plenty of Score back in the day, and have multiple hand collated sets already tucked away somewhere, but this thread had certainly triggered a bit of nostalgia. Since the asking price for all of this in the photo was less than what just a single box would have cost back in 1988, I thought why the heck not? So in acknowledgement to the passing of the years - Happy 30th!

Love it! Happy ripping

ReggieCleveland

Nice! I still remember plunking my 11 year old rear right down on the floor of the Candy Co. on Rte. 28 in Cape Cod, Massachusetts that summer and looking at the front and back cards of every pack of a display that must have contained a case of those boxes. Was looking for Jefferies, Canseco, McGwire, Boggs, Mattingly, etc. Those were the days.

Arthur

fiveniner

I thought the 88 score was awesome I. Looks and player selection.Had score limited their production I would say that their would be some value to the cards unfortunately there were just too much of it.i at one time had about ten sets that I built when I sold then I believe I got about 2 bucks a piece at the most for them.Oh well they were still fun to build.

mouschi

Ah yes, I remember 1988 Score. My dad and I picked up a factory set AND the Rookie/Traded set. 1988 Score R/T was all the rage back then. I remember putting that set in pages, and being very proud of it for its rarity I later traded it (and several other late 80s/early 90s sets) to a couple older guys for a bunch of vintage. They thought they were getting one over on me, lol.

ReggieCleveland

The Glossys still do alright in PSA 10. I know I'd like to grab an Alomar, Grace, Glavine, Jefferies at some point

Arthur

saucywombat

Bought a bunch of crap and got around to sorting it and found that there were about 5000 '88 Score cards in the haul (including approximately 700 copies of Andres Galarragga) but remembered this thread so I took the time to collate them and examine the photography.

Really an exemplary set with fantastic photos and some seriously good write ups on the backs that don't pull any punches. They talk about injuries and age limiting playing time or derailing a career, or how someone was once a prized prospect, etc.

I think if score would have just had the bright idea to charge more for the packs and add a hologram they'd would have had the success bestowed on Upper Deck. I'd say that UD did a good to great job with photography but this 1988 Score set is seriously in the best ever category.

When these first came out I was a year away from becoming a collector and Score wasn't really available in my town. I never really paid attention to them later because there was no Beckett value associated with them. BTW - Remember when a slight premium was associated with 1988 Fleer over the other regular issues from that year??

I will put this set in a binder now however. Great reference to the year that was 1987 in MLB.

ReggieCleveland

That's a great point. If they had put the glossy finish on the regular cards along with the hologram they could've charged more and beat UD to the punch, like you said. I'm still mesmerized by all the different colors.

Arthur

SpinFadeSplash23

This and 87 Donruss are some of my favorite sets of all time.

ahopkins

I just busted a box of these, nibbling away at it a few packs at a time. It was lots of fun.

saucywombat

I found it interesting that there was exactly ONE non-action portrait card in the entire set.

So why make an exception for Jeff Robinson?

I think the photographer could have at least demanded he jog towards him from the bullpen...

initialD

I love me some ‘88 Score
Recently picked these up at my LCS

ReggieCleveland

Damn. I wish my LCS had stuff like that on-hand.

Arthur

krisd3279

You guys are going to make me have to buy a box.....

GDM67

The absence of a Greg Maddux card from this set has always been puzzling to me. It's a great looking set and I really love the Glavine rookie.

saucywombat

@GDM67 said:
The absence of a Greg Maddux card from this set has always been puzzling to me. It's a great looking set and I really love the Glavine rookie.

And Ron Gant

GDM67

Definitely. And the Murphy, while I'm at it.

saturatedpratt

I always loved early Score- I bought a lot that included some ‘88 Score not too long ago- when I was sorting them, I realized the 88s in the group had a couple of perforations on each edge (or rather, a few little nubs where the cards had been perforated) any idea what these were from? These were all star cards, but were otherwise indistinguishable from normal cards.

lmm191

Hi all - I just came across this blog, but I've been collecting the 1988 Score Promo / Proof cards for years. I have the 6 Promo Cards (including 3 of the boards pictured above) and variations of 5 of the 6 Proof Cards (just don't have any Mattingly's). The McGwire's are really cool. I also have some of the 1990's and 1991's, but looking for more if anyone has any,

I've posted pictures of them here if anyone wants to check them out:

https://rarebaseballcards.myfreesites.net/1988-score-proof-promo-test-baseball-cards