What are the best sets of the 80s per year?

kennylow · March 28, 2005 2:02AM

The 80s saw Fleer and Donruss enter the game. Which sets are the best in each year - aesthetically?

Here's my opinion, starting with 1981

1981 : Donruss - A horrible year for the set designers. The first time there are three major sets, and all of them suck. Donruss was the least offensive.
1982 : Fleer - another poor year, but every companies design were better than '81. With this set, Fleer would be 3rd best in most years, but the best one in '82 by a shade over the other two.
1983 : Topps - a nice design. Fleer's design this year may be the ugliest in the history of sportscards.
1984 : Donruss - all three had top notch designs, but the 1984 Donruss shines.
1985 : Donruss/Topps - a coin flip, both designs were very nice. Fleer is trailing far behind
1986 : Donruss - I love the look of this set. Too bad it is dominated by Mr. Steroids with no other interesting rookies.
1987 : Fleer - The blue color makes this set very strong. The Donruss design is nice too, Topps is a lagging third.
1988 : Topps - The Donruss cards are nice looking, but the cards are so flimsy that they barely qualify as cards.
1989 : Upper Deck - a new company, but with the best looking design.

koby · March 28, 2005 2:09AM

1980 Topps
Still the only game in town at the time.

1981 Topps
Fleer and Donruss first efforts were horrible.

1982 Topps

1983 Topps

1984 Donruss
This set is IMO the greatest set of the 80s. It had a clean design, great player selection and relatively smaller distribution. If only the Mattingly, Carter, and Stawberry cards held up.

1985 Donruss

1986 Donruss

1987 Donruss

1988 Donruss

1989 Upper Deck
Took higher quality cards to a new level.

Axtell · March 28, 2005 2:18AM

Not sure how you can call Donruss the best set of 81...horrific cutting, photos really, really out of focus on many examples, poor card stock. I'd have to go topps for 81. I like the little hat and the overall quality of these cards were far superior to fleer or donruss.

For 1984, I'd have to go with the fleer set. Very clean, some interesting designed cards (the half-and-half cards like Carew and Boggs). Overall a very clean and well put together set.

1985 needs to be Donruss, if not purely for the black borders, then the overall appeal of the set.

For 88, I'd go out on a limb and say the score set is the best. Blashphemy, perhaps, but the other offerings are abysmal at best. At least the score had some vibrant color that stood out among all the mediocre sets.

The 80s overall were a bunch of very similar-looking sets, as the card designers seemed to mail it in. There are few examples of anything resembling originality or innovation.

ldferg · March 28, 2005 2:29AM

1981 Topps
1982 Topps
1983 Topps
1984 Donruss
1985 Donruss - i like the black borders
1986 Topps - ditto
1987 Fleer
1988 Topps
1989 Upper Deck

ajmoeller81 · March 28, 2005 2:40AM

1981: Fleer - Cleanest looking of them all, Topps and Donruss have ugly border issues this year
1982: Topps - Color of the borders contrast nicely with the player, signatures add a nice effect to the card
1983: Topps - This design is very unique, great look, the other 2 are hideous this year
1984: Topps - I like the look of the team names, card arrangement is nice, Fleer is boring and Donruss has too many clashing colors
1985: Donruss - Black bordered cards, can't beat em, Topps is getting old and generic at this point, how is Fleer still in business?
1986: Topps - Strikes back with one of the best looking cards of all time, team name + black borders = solid, Donruss and Fleer look nearly identical
1987: Donruss - Black borders once again look great, Topps is a close second with the wood paneling, no blue is not my favorite color Fleer
1988: Fleer - Most unique looking of the three, Topps is a close second again but just too generic, Donruss gets my vote for the ugliest card in existence, looking at these cards makes me want to have a seizure
1989: Upper Deck - Redefined the look of cards and ushered in the thousands of different brands we are presented with today.

Brian48 · March 28, 2005 2:41AM

<< <i>The 80s saw Fleer and Donruss enter the game. Which sets are the best in each year - aesthetically?

Here's my opinion, starting with 1981

1981 : Donruss - A horrible year for the set designers. The first time there are three major sets, and all of them suck. Donruss was the least offensive.
1982 : Fleer - another poor year, but every companies design were better than '81. With this set, Fleer would be 3rd best in most years, but the best one in '82 by a shade over the other two.
1983 : Topps - a nice design. Fleer's design this year may be the ugliest in the history of sportscards.
1984 : Donruss - all three had top notch designs, but the 1984 Donruss shines.
1985 : Donruss/Topps - a coin flip, both designs were very nice. Fleer is trailing far behind
1986 : Donruss - I love the look of this set. Too bad it is dominated by Mr. Steroids with no other interesting rookies.
1987 : Fleer - The blue color makes this set very strong. The Donruss design is nice too, Topps is a lagging third.
1988 : Topps - The Donruss cards are nice looking, but the cards are so flimsy that they barely qualify as cards.
1989 : Upper Deck - a new company, but with the best looking design. >>

I think I agree with most of what you said except for the 1981 Donruss. I thought Fleer took the crown that year. They had a clean design, decent photography and didn't have the sloppy printing problems that Topps had. I thought Doruss was the worse by far. Amateuristic design (especially the backs), terrible paper stock, and looked like they employed people with hand razors to do the cutting job. It was just terrible all around.

In regards to 1985, I think it's a toss up between Donruss and Fleer with Topps trailing FAR behind. Although all three companies had centering problems, the ho-hum design used by Topps really made it stand out and appear worse than it is.

helionaut · March 28, 2005 3:13AM

I agree with the original poster pretty much down the line, except in 2 cases.

To me 1985 Donruss is a clear winner on aesthetics, even with questionable photo quality.

1981 is a tough call. I was never a fan of the Fleer design, but it's grown on me slightly. I always had a hard time at the drugstore deciding between Donruss and Topps. Topps had the clearly more professional product, and the cap design is maybe the last un-self-conscious example of kitsch design in the hobby. But Donruss's bold team name lettering and bright borders and the pure-80s-style D logo on white cardstock have a lot going for it, even if the pictures and printing look exactly like they were thrown together in 60 days (which they were). I think if they were to do a Donruss Heritage, the 1981 set would look super with today's technology. I give Topps the overall edge due to the photos, processing, and back design, but comparing front design I go with Donruss.

1986 as well is a little conflicting, too. I wasn't collecting then, and I'm sure I would've preferred the Donruss, but the Topps has grown on me quite a bit. Reminiscent of the 1964 design with the big block letter team names on top, the two-tone borders are definitely appealing. I guess I just like block letters.

bobsbbcards · March 28, 2005 4:02AM

1980 Topps Test Coins
1981 Permagraphics Credit Cards
1982 Topps Blackless
1983 Topps 1952 Reprint Set
1984 Topps Encased Proofs
1985 Topps Minis
1986 Sportflics Prototypes
1987 Kraft Home Plate Heroes (gotta put a vote in for boxes of Macaroni and Cheese...ummmm)
1988 Topps Cloth Experimental
1989 Topps Heads Up!

highend · March 28, 2005 4:07AM

for me, it's 83 topps , 80 topps, and 89 upper deck. i never liked the initial offerings by fleer and donruss and i think it caused me to disregard their later efforts.

83 topps was the last year i bought packs and i loved the 2 photo design. the only downer was reggie in an angels uni.

80 topps despite the crummy stock they looked sharp, i loved the allstar cards that year. even as yankee fan i thought the garvey was an awesome looking card.the only downer was no munson.

89 ud it was 2001 before i bought any of them, but i thought it was a remarkable first effort. the ryan card of him throwing the football was my favorite. it reminded me of my college bb coach, he ALWAYS had us long toss the football. obviously, it didn't have the same results as it did for ryan but after that first year i had alot more pop on the 'ole # 1.

perhaps the biggest disappointment of the 80's was the 82 topps set,early on i was excited about the in action cards and that it was being compared to my beloved 72 topps but it never grew on me.

kennylow · March 28, 2005 4:53AM

I don't particulary like the 1981 Donruss set, just that it is the least offensive of the three. I despise the Topps look from that year, could not stand it. I was only 10 or 11 that year, and I didn't know Topps had competition until late in the summer. But when I did, I was thrilled, because even at that age, I just despised the Topps look. The three previous years was great, but 1981 almost finished me. Donruss pulled me back in, even though it wasn't up to calibre with other years.

TheSonOfZeke · March 28, 2005 9:37AM

"1986 : Donruss - I love the look of this set. Too bad it is dominated by Mr. Steroids with no other interesting rookies"

gotta take exception to this comment. considering that McGriff, Gallaraga, and O'Neill have never been suspected of using steroids, they all had exceptionally great careers. I would even present that McGriff should be in the HOF since the steroid scandal has come to light.

I still like the Canseco card too, because it seemed so unattainable when I was 10-12 years old....now I have 2. sentimental value.

the 1984 Donruss set is my alltime favorite. if Carter hadn't fallen off the map and Strawberry off the wagon, it would still be way up there. I still remember when the Mattingly alone listed in Beckett for over $200.

ndleo · March 28, 2005 11:13AM

My favorite set in the 1980's is the 1984 Fleer Update. The set had it all - a great design, big time rookies, HOF cards, and the right amount of scarcity. It had rookies from some of the best 1980's pitchers - Gooden, Clemens, Langston, Saberhagen, and John Franco. It also has the only 1984 Puckett RC. It also has Pete Rose in an Expos uniform and Tom Seaver with the White Sox.

My favorite 1980's cards is still the 1983 Topps Traded Strawberry. The better card stock improved the already great design. Too bad he couldn't keep his nose clean.

goudeygold · March 29, 2005 12:27AM

I pretty much agree. With the 80s as an whole i think the 84 Donruss is far and away the best design. The 83 Topps is second, then I'll go with the super clean if not plain 86 fleer. I still think the sportflics were really cool. I bought many of them in the day just to see the 3 different pics and action shots, even thought the corners were sharp enough to put your eye out.

The beginning of the end came with 88 score than 89 upper deck. Looking back, theis was the official end of true cardboard condition sensitive cards and the begining of the plastic composite dripping wet gloss we call cards today.

GG

PowderedH2O · October 21, 2010 4:34AM

Dredging up an old thread, but it was entertaining and I'd like to respond. I'd like to just completely throw the years out of order and just rank them best to worst (baseball only).

1985 Donruss - beautiful black borders with logos. An absolute gem of a set.
1983 Topps - a clean nice set
1984 Donruss - what's not to like?
1984 Fleer - This is actually a really nice set. Clean. A huge step up for Fleer!
1988 Score - Younger collectors might be bored, but I thought these were great in 1988.
1984 Topps - Pretty good set. A lot of nice cards in this set.
1986 Donruss - Not popular anymore, but I dug these cards. Still do!
1980 Topps - Overall a nice set. At their best, they rock!
1985 Topps - Not as nice as 83 & 84, but still good colors and overall decent.
1987 Fleer - Just like the 1984 set, these are crisp and clean. Nice set!
1981 Donruss - lots of mistakes and poor cardstock and cuts. But the colors and design are fun!
1988 Topps - The more I see these the more I like them. They are better than I remember.
1989 Upper Deck - everybody likes these. I'm bored. The backs are bland. Photos are great. Meh.
1987 Donruss - Like the black borders, but it was too similar to the 1985's.
1981 Topps - Some cards look great. Others not so much. Very inconsistent.
1989 Donruss - Overproduced, but fun cards to look at. VERY colorful!!!
1985 Fleer - Not horrible, but the photos are weak.
1986 Fleer - Not much difference from 1985 in my opinion.
1988 Fleer - Not bad. Just fair.
1982 Topps - Inconsistent. Some gorgeous cards. Others were out of focus and crappy.
1982 Donruss - Just kinda boring.
1983 Donruss - A rehash of the 1982 set. Just dull...
1987 Topps - I bought these cards like crazy! But when I look back at them. The photos were SO BAD!
1989 Score - A letdown after the 88 set. Fun colors, but just a bad design.
1989 Topps - A design that takes up too much of the picture area. Pretty lame.
1981 Fleer - Pretty bad design, but I like them better now than I did in 1981.
1989 Fleer - Just boring. Nothing to get excited about.
1986 Topps - If it wasn't for 1990, this would be the worst Topps major set ever.
1983 Fleer - These are really weak...
1988 Donruss - Oh, so many bad things to say about this set...
1982 Fleer - bad design, ghastly photo quality. As bad as it gets.

That's my opinion. Arguments?

Sam

lsutigers1973 · October 21, 2010 4:41AM

<< <i>1987 Fleer - Just like the 1984 set, these are crisp and clean. Nice set! >>

Exactly the same as the 86 Fleer which, according to you, makes the set horrible.

<< <i>1989 Fleer - Just boring. Nothing to get excited about. >>

Are you serious? The most talked about set of the entire decade. Over 20 years later we are still talking about them thanks to some major errors. Plus it included quite a few rookies of future HOFers (Johnson, Griffey, Biggio, Smoltz).

MULLINS5 · October 21, 2010 4:47AM

The '84 Ripken #106 is my favorite baseball card from the '80s -- I like that design.

saucywombat · October 21, 2010 7:01AM

1981 - Topps
1982 - Topps
1983 - Topps
1984 - Donruss
1985 - Donruss
1986 - Topps
1987 - Topps
1988 - Fleer
1989 - Upper Deck

PowderedH2O · October 21, 2010 7:30AM

Actually Bill... not what I said. The 87 Fleer set is crisp. The 86 Fleer has that godawful blue border all the way around, which is not dissimilar to the 1985 set with the gray border all the way around. Pretty similar sets. The 1987 set has a beautiful design and is very clean. I hope you are being facetious about the 89 Fleers. The 1989 Fleer set design is bland. It has lots of rookies in the set. It has those because it is fortunate enough to be a 1989 set. But that is the only thing. If that set was a 1986 set and the best card was a Canseco rookie you'd never even look at it. The 1982 Fleer set has the Ripken rookie. Does that make it a great set? Nope. Still a dog.

lsutigers1973 · October 21, 2010 7:55AM

The #1 seller of 1989 was Fleer thanks to a dirty word. If I had to pick one wax box from the last 4 years of the 80's to bust right now, it would be 89 Fleer. Fleer would slightly beat out UD because of the price.

Original question was which was the best set. Rookie cards of at least 4 soon to be HOF'ers? Yes that's a product of timing but Fleer had a better design than Score (no Griffey), Donruss and Topps (no Griffey).

PowderedH2O · October 21, 2010 7:58AM

Fair enough. I guess I view things from an aesthetic sense than a value/rookie sense, but that's just the way I collect. I can see how you see it otherwise. I don't generally take away from a set for a lack of rookies, as I don't focus on them much. That gray design just doesn't do much for me. Well, actually, not many 1989 cards do much for me...

ThoseBackPages · October 21, 2010 8:07AM

<< <i>The 80s saw Fleer and Donruss enter the game. Which sets are the best in each year - aesthetically?

Here's my opinion, starting with 1981

1981 : Donruss - A horrible year for the set designers. The first time there are three major sets, and all of them suck. Donruss was the least offensive.
1982 : Fleer - another poor year, but every companies design were better than '81. With this set, Fleer would be 3rd best in most years, but the best one in '82 by a shade over the other two.
1983 : Topps - a nice design. Fleer's design this year may be the ugliest in the history of sportscards.
1984 : Donruss - all three had top notch designs, but the 1984 Donruss shines.
1985 : Donruss/Topps - a coin flip, both designs were very nice. Fleer is trailing far behind
1986 : Donruss - I love the look of this set. Too bad it is dominated by Mr. Steroids with no other interesting rookies.
1987 : Fleer - The blue color makes this set very strong. The Donruss design is nice too, Topps is a lagging third.
1988 : Topps - The Donruss cards are nice looking, but the cards are so flimsy that they barely qualify as cards.
1989 : Upper Deck - a new company, but with the best looking design. >>

81 - Topps
82 - Topps
83 - Fleer
84 - Donruss
85 - Topps
86 - Donruss (McGriff RC)
87 - Fleer
88 - Score
89 - Upper Deck

rexvos · October 21, 2010 8:44AM

81 Topps (donruss and fleer were terrible that year)
82 Topps (see above)
83 Topps (Fleer improves drastically)
84 Fleer (Donruss is also nice, and I like the Topps design as well)
85 Fleer (love all 3 designs but since no one else liked the Fleer I will support it)
86 Fleer (Donruss was terrible that year)
87 Fleer (Donruss close second)
88 Topps (the other 3 terrible Donruss being the worst
89 Upper Deck (no one even close
90 Leaf

Yankees001 · October 21, 2010 9:56PM

Lets see:

1980 : I'll go with Topps
1981 : Topps, I've always liked the design
1982 : Topps, It's the best of the 3 evils
1983 : Topps, Nice design
1984 : Donruss, it's not even close
1985 : Donruss, The best of the 3 evils
1986 : Fleer
1987 : Topps, I've always liked the wood borders (1955 Bowman, 1952 Topps, 1962 Topps)
1988 : Fleer
1989 : Upper Deck

That's my list. I've always loved the look of the 1977-84 Renata Galasso Greats cards. Outside of the Big companies I'd go with these from 1980-1984.

Dave

bishop · October 21, 2010 11:02PM

Bob was clearly wrong back in 2005 about 1989. The Topps LJN Talking Baseball card set of 163 was much better that that Big Head with suckers set he voted for.

What are the best sets of the 80s per year?

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