1990 Leaf Set

In 1990 the Leaf baseball card set was the hottest on the market. They upgraded their card stock and the photography was clear and crisp. The biggest cards that spring were the Rookie Cards of Frank Thomas and Sammy Sosa. The price of a pack of Leaf cards that year went to $4.50, considered outrageous by collectors, but the investors did not care, they only wanted to glean the best cards and sell them at a profit.

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My Scott Bryant Card

The Score baseball cards set in 1990 featured the card of a cousin of mine, Scott Bryant. Scott had been named the college player of the year after a terrific season at the University of Texas. He had played the outfield and hit very well. He also did some relief pitching because he had a very strong arm. The Longhorns went to the College World Series that season in Omaha. They advanced to the tournament undefeated.

In the finals they met at Wichita State for the championship. In the championship game Scott was the pitcher. Unfortunately the team was beaten by the Shockers. But Scott was drafted in the first round by the Cincinnati Reds and so he was included in the cards set as one of the top round draft picks.

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My Phil Huffman Card

In my card collection I have some cherished cards, like the 3 Nolan Ryan rookie cards, and my 1915 Sporting News Honus Wagner card. I have a 1948 Preacher Roe card and a complete set of 1963 Fleer cards. The checklist in that set is nearly as valuable as the rest of the set, because so few of them exist anymore. But the first card I bought for my collection when I began to collect again in 1984 was a Topps Card of Phil Huffman!

You don’t know that name, but I coached Phil in his youth baseball days and I thought it was neat that he had risen to the status of a Topps baseball card.

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Baseball Cards in the Late 1980's

Baseball card companies really produced a lot of sets during the years of the late 1980's because there were a lot of speculators that decided to invest in the market at that time. It artificially drove up the prices and made it difficult on those of us who were true collectors who love the game and the players. And when the investors left the market, the supposed value of the cards dropped like a rock!

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Future Hall Of Famers As Rookies in 1989

The 1989 Upper Deck set of baseball cards has a number of rookie cards of players that I believe will end up in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. The number one card is Ken Griffey Jr, who is sure to enter the Hall. So is Randy Johnson, and Craig Biggio, and John Smoltz. Curt Schilling is making a case for his inclusion as well.

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Upper Deck Debuts in 1989

There was a new entrant into the baseball card market in 1989. Upper Deck launched its set with the number one card being a rookie card of Ken Griffey Jr. Upper Deck stormed through card shows and shops because the card stock was so superior to any up to that date and the photography was wonderful. I recall a card of Gerald Young, a centerfielder for Houston, with a picture of him making a fabulous catch against a blue wall. And the super high leg kick of Mark Langston was caught in a great shot.
There is more about the 89 UD set, but I will save it for another post.

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1987 Rookie Cards

The card sets from 1987 are all rich with rookie cards of very significant players. THe rooie cards of Will Clark, Bo Jackson, and Barry Bonds were important at the beginning of the card trading year. Others became valued more as the year progressed and in the years since. Rafael Palmeiro and Greg Maddux have had great careers. One of the most sought after cards by the end of the season was Kevin Seitzer's Fleer Rookie card.
More about that card in another blog.

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1986 Donruss Baseball Card Set

In 1986 the best set of baseball cards, in my humble opinion, was the Donruss set. That set had nice card stock and the best photography. But the real reason it stood above the other sets was the inclusion of the Rated Rookie card of Jose Canseco. His card quickly dominated the card shows and was the most sought after card from that season.

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1985 Topps

In 1985, all the baseball card companies included rookie cards of Kirby Puckett and Roger Clemens, among other stars. But the Topps Company had the best coup that year with the inclusion of the cards of the 1984 U. S. Olympic Baseball team. Mark McGwire was one of those, so that was his first or rookie card. He was not included in the other sets that year. In 1998, when he and Sammy Sosa were moving toward the home run record, that 1985 Topps card became highly desirable. I sold two of mine for $400 at the height of the rush. It was a good decision.

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Beginning My Baseball Card Collection

My collection of sports collectibles is pretty extensive, especially of baseball related items. When I was a boy, I collected baseball cards , keeping them in shoe boxes and cigar boxes. When I left home for college, I gave my cards to my little brother, who loved baseball nearly as much as me. When he left home for college, he passed them on to the neighbor boy that idolized him. That boy moved to Kansas, presumably with all those cards from the 1950’s!

In 1984, I went to a baseball collectibles show that was being held in the Dome Skeller, a dining area in the outfield behind the fences of the Astrodome. I only bought one card that day, an Alan Ashby card for my daughter, who thought he was cute! But I met an old acquaintance who was selling baseball cards. I stopped by to see him a few days later, in his shop. I bought a 1984 Donruss complete set. It was the start of a big hobby that has persisted till now!

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