Retrospective: 1991

It's been nearly 6 months since I started my Retrospective series of posts. This is where I look back at sets in chronological/alphabetical order from the time I began collecting.

The year is 1991. I was still very new to collecting cards, but now that they were on my radar I began to search them out wherever I could. Thankfully during this time cards could be found in a variety of places...grocery stores, drug stores, book stores, gas stations, etc. The collecting bug had already bit me and I was ready to dive in to the world of sports cards.

Bowman

Highs:

   * Huge set, good player selection

   * Low price

   * Card size returned to traditional dimensions

Lows:

   * Cardbacks continued with non-traditional stats

Bowman was a brand so full of heritage, yet I was a rookie (like Chipper Jones!) so to me it was just another set. I didn't really come to appreciate this set until many, many years later. I didn't care initially for the design and I had never seen the back of a baseball card look like Bowman before. Fast forward 30 years and now this is a set I'm anxiously awaiting to build.

Classic Game Series

 

Highs:

   * Colorful

   * Card backs' layout reminds me of Donruss

Lows:

   * Too much like the previous year

I never had many of the Classic cards in my collection (and still don't) because they didn't seem to be widely distributed in my area. It's fine as even in my youth these wouldn't have appealed to me that much. From my understanding these cards were released as part of a trivia set.

Classic I

Highs:

   * More of the same

   * Expanded checklist

Lows:

   * More of the same

I really don't understand the difference between the "Game" set and this set. Outside the color boarders and numbering, the set is ultimately looks the same. At least the blue looks better than the purple. This is the first of 3 "update" sets that piggy back off the trivia set.

Classic II

High: 

   * More of the same

   * New players added to each team's checklist

Lows:

   * Confusing set

This is the second of three "update" sets, which I never knew until I researched these sets in more depth.

Classic III

Highs:

   * New card backs

Lows:

   * Same front card design

While I don't find the green boarders to be too flattering, I've seen worse. This is the final "update" set bringing the card count to 500 cards.

Donruss

Highs:

   * Diamond Kings

Lows:

   * Design (blue - series 1, green - series 2)

As a kid I loved this set. The names were easier to read versus the cursive used in the 1990 set. The design was bright and colorful and the checklist was large at 770 cards. Today I despise this set. I love the junk wax error, but not every set released during this time period can be a winner. I can swallow 1990 and the follow year would be one of my favorite designs of Donruss of the decade.

Fleer

Highs: 

   * Well laid out card back, full of stats

   * Provisions

Lows:

   * Yellow...and lots of it

I know this set catches a lot of flak from the community, but I liked it as a kid and still do to date. 1991 leer was one of the first boxes I can remember buying and when I discovered there were 4 cards on the bottom of the box, my mind was blown! While the card front has a design that is polarizing, the card backs are tastefully laid out with easy to read stats. The included headshot on the back is a nice inclusion over some of the other sets released at the time. I still have two sealed boxes that I'm waiting for the perfect time to bust.

Fleer Ultra

Highs:

   * Fleer's first super premium set

   * Multiple photos on card back

Lows:

   * Photography isn't "premium"

The Ultra brand was Fleer's answer to Topps' Stadium Club brand. While Ultra would go on to see some nice improvements in the following year, I still like this inaugural set. I had more access to Fleer Ultra as a kid than I did to Stadium Club so I'm a little biased. I like the silver ribbons across the top and bottom of the card and the colorful cardback with multiple photos was something you didn't see a lot of back them. Somehow I ended up with 3 or so of these boxes so I grab and rip a few packs here and there. Eventually I'll sit down and collate this set. Whether I page/binder it I haven't yet decided.

Leaf

Highs:

   * Premium design

   * Gold Rookies

Lows:

   * Reused photo on back

Following the massive success of the 1990 set, this set seemed to fall flat on it's face. It has a premium design (for it's time) and the card backs aren't half bad, but the increased production run ultimately hurt this set. The inclusion of the Gold Rookies insert set keeps the set interesting with a surprisingly interesting checklist. I'm fond of the set and wouldn't mind picking up a box from each series one day. My biggest gripe of this set is the cropped and zoomed in head shot that is used on the back.

O-Pee-Chee Premier

Highs:

   * Inaugural release of new, original OPC set

Lows:

   * Small checklist

Up until this Premier set was released, the annual O-Pee-Chee sets were basically a parallel of the Topps set. Even though the checklist is small at only 127 cards, the set would go on to see a release for the next 2 years before it would fade into obscurity.

Score

Highs:

   * Large set

   * Fun subsets

Lows:

   * Let me get back to you...

I love this set. The only thing that I don't enjoy about the set is trying to hand collate this beast. At 893 cards it's the largest set of the year and one of the largest card sets to date. The set featured some really fun subsets such as the characticher All-Star cards to Master Blasters, K-Men and Rifleman. A friend of mine and I split a box of series 1 back in 1991 we purchased from a small shop in Gatlinburg, TN while there on a youth retreat with our church. I think we both we searching for the Jose Canseco Dream Team card! I have a couple of boxes that I've begun to open, but I do dread the eventual collation day!

Topps Stadium Club

Highs:

   * First super premium set

   * Superb photography

   * Card backs

Lows:

   * UV coating hasn't aged well

I was blown away back in 1991 when I first learned of Stadium Club's existence. These cards were (are) beautiful and helped kick off a whole new segment premium of trading cards. The photography was top notch and the design was very clean. The card backs are beautiful and the inclusion of the player's Topps rookie card is a nice touch. Unfortunately these cards have not aged well, especially sealed boxes as the UV coating on the cards cause the cards to stick together, especially if the cards/boxes were stored in anything other than a cool, dry climate. I recently picked up a sealed box of both series 1 & 2 from an old warehouse and I'm looking forward to sitting down and ripping these boxes, collating the cards and putting them in pages and their own binder.

Studio

Highs:

   * Inaugural set

   * Something different

Lows:

   * Lack of action shots

When the Studio set was first introduced I wasn't sure how to react to the black and white posed photos. With time this set began to grow on me, if for no other reason that it was something different. I'm not a stats guy so I have never poured a lot of time into reading the back of cards. Studio helped change this however with the inclusion of things like their hobbies and pet peeves. A year or so ago I purchased several sealed junk wax boxes for super cheap from a local guy I found on Facebook. This was one of the first boxes I opened and I'm still trying to complete my set.

Topps

Highs:

   * 40th anniversary

   * Iconic design

Lows:

   * Gum stains

Now who doesn't love this set? This is probably one of my favorite flagship Topps sets. From the design to the checklist, I love everything about this set. Of course it doesn't hurt that it also includes a RC of the great Chipper Jones!

Upper Deck

Highs:

   * Photography

   * Second photo on card back

Lows:

   * Dare I say nothing?

While I was having fun with Fleer, Score and Topps, then came Upper Deck. I largely ignored the '89 and '90 sets for different reasons, however the 1991 set began a streak of UD becoming one of my favorite sets annually. From the cardstock, to the photos to the card backs (which sometimes featured a better photo than the front!) I loved every aspect of this set. The price tag was higher than most of the other sets I had been purchasing so I never had a lot of these cards, but what I did have I cherished. I always have a hard time picking my favorite 90's UD set as so many of them are fantastic.

1991 was a great year of collecting for me. It was the first full year since I had been introduced to baseball cards so I had much more of an awareness of what was being released. This would also open up the doors to basketball cards (for a time), but more importantly it got me into following baseball more and more. My grandfather's team was the Braves so by defacto they became my team. 1991 is the season where the Braves went worst to first as well so all around it was a great year. Near the conclusion of the year I was already looking forward to what would come out the next year. For many more years this would be the case as well.