The 1985 Donruss Diamond King baseball card set was unique among 1980s era card issues in that it featured highly stylized artistic renditions of major league players on a diamond-shaped card design. Containing 100 cards in the base set, the 1985 Donruss Diamond Kings had creative illustrated photos done by artist Dan Panosian that gave each player a graphical flair beyond typical sports card photography of the time. While not as plentiful or desirable to collectors as typical rookie card sets of the era, the Diamond Kings are notable for their distinctive presentation of star players from the 1984 and 1985 MLB seasons in a memorable artistic format.
Donruss acquired the official MLB license to produce baseball cards in 1981 and experienced plenty of success through the rest of the decade with their standard rectangular rookie card style issues. In 1985 Donruss’ marketing department sought to do something a bit different creatively with one of their baseball sets that year. Their idea was to commission special illustrated photos from freelance artist Dan Panosian that gave each player a unique graphical rendering beyond a straightforward action shot or posed portrait. Panosian, who has since become a respected comic book artist, brought his talents to capturing the essence of baseball’s best through exaggerated graphic illustrations.
The 100 cards in the 1985 Donruss Diamond King set featured the biggest stars across MLB at the time, with particular focus on leaders from the 1984 and 1985 seasons. Highlights of the base set roster included 1984 NL MVP Ryne Sandberg, 1984 AL MVP Willie Hernandez, 1984 AL Cy Young Rick Sutcliffe, and 1985 NL Rookie of the Year Dwight Gooden. Other notable players showcased were Wade Boggs, Ozzie Smith, Kirby Puckett, George Brett, Mike Schmidt, and Nolan Ryan among many others. Each player received Panosian’s signature graphical treatment whether showing them in exaggerated action poses or with other embellishments highlighting their on-field talents.
What made the Diamond King cards truly unique was their non-standard diamond shape, a major departure from the traditional rectangular card designs collectors were used to. Measuring approximately 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/4 inches, the diamond cut gave the cards a truly distinctive look on the rack or in one’s collection compared to other issues of the period. While an eye-catching graphical innovation, the diamond shape did create some challenges such as making the cards not fit as neatly into traditional card storage boxes, binders, or albums as their rectangular peers.
In addition to the brilliantly illustrated graphical photos featuring each player upon their diamond cut card, some other notable aspects of the 1985 Donruss Diamond Kings included:
Reverse statistics side including career highlights and stats for each player
Minimal white borders around the graphic to maximize image size within the diamond shape
Donruss’ standard logo and trademark font/color usage from their 1980s sets
Glossy photo stock giving the graphics a vivid, eye-catching presence
serially numbered on the statistics back from 1-100, without mention of parallel print runs
Upon release in 1985, the Diamond Kings did achieve some popularity among collectors for their groundbreaking artistic design concept. They never reached the mainstream collecting heights of Donruss’ standard flagship sets highlighting that year’s rookie class. Part of this was likely due to distribution challenges from the diamond shape not fitting as conveniently into the typical organizational methods collectors were used to at the time for their card collections.
In the decades since, the 1985 Donruss Diamond Kings have developed a strong cult following among specialty collectors appreciating the artistic creativity and graphical depictions of the players within. Key stars from the set like Gooden, Sandberg and Boggs hold respectable mid-range values today in top gem mint condition. With far fewer printed compared to typical flagship releases, high-grade Diamond Kings of most players remain quite elusive and command substantial premiums when they surface on the secondary market. Whether for their graphical artistry, innovative card shape, or depiction of 1980s baseball legends, the 1985 Diamond Kings are undoubtedly one of the most unique and memorable specialty issues from the entire decade.
While not the most iconic baseball card release of the mid-1980s, the 1985 Donruss Diamond Kings stand out as truly pioneering both in their use of graphic illustrations over photographs and their non-standard diamond cut design. Decades later, these innovative cards still excite collectors with their artistic flair and depictions of star players from the period in new graphical styles. Although their distributions challenges limited mainstream popularity upon issue, the Diamond Kings have grown in fascination over the years for their memorable differentiation from typical sports card conventions of the era. For fans of oddball card designs, special graphical treatments or 1980s baseball nostalgia, the 1985 Donruss Diamond Kings are a hobby standout.
