The 1985 Fleer baseball card set was the third issued by the Fleer Corporation after they entered the baseball card market in 1981. Some key things to know about the 1985 Fleer set include:
The set contains 524 total cards and was split into two series, with Series 1 containing 258 cards numbered 1-258 and Series 2 containing 266 cards numbered 259-525. Like the two previous Fleer sets from 1981 and 1982, the cards featured vertical card designs as opposed to the more traditional horizontal design used by Topps at the time. The cards measure 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.
In terms of design, the cards featured a colored team logo at the top along with the team name. Below this was a color photo of the player along with their rookie cup logo if applicable. At the bottom was the player’s name, position, batting and throwing hand along with their career stats up to that point. The backs featured career stats and a short bio for each player.
One of the notable aspects of the 1985 Fleer set was the inclusion of “Traded” cards, which showed players wearing the uniforms of teams they had been traded to after the regular season but before the start of the 1985 season. 21 such traded cards featured players like Dave Righetti, Shane Rawley, and Bob Bailor wearing their new uniforms. This was something new for Fleer sets at the time.
In addition to MLB players, the set also included 18 rookie cards as well as 13 manager/coach cards including managers Dick Williams, Whitey Herzog, and Gene Mauch among others. The manager/coach cards were the final such subset included in a Fleer baseball set.
Autograph cards were also included for the first time in the 1985 Fleer set, with 5 autographed cards scattered throughout series 1 and 2 featuring the signatures of Steve Carlton, Don Baylor, Tim Raines, Glenn Hubbard, and Kirk Gibson. These were the first and only autographed cards issued by Fleer for baseball.
Among the notable rookie cards included were Kirby Puckett’s first card, which ranks as one of the most valuable rookie cards ever. Others include Dwight Gooden, Jesse Barfield, and Chris Sabo. The Tim Raines card from the 1985 Fleer set also holds historical significance as the first card to picture Raines as a member of the Montreal Expos.
In terms of production, it’s estimated that around 80 million packs were printed containing cards from the 1985 Fleer set. Production and distribution issues led to many areas not receiving shipments of Series 2, making many of those cards much harder to find in gem mint condition than their Series 1 counterparts.
One of the biggest stories around the 1985 Fleer set involved a licensing dispute with the MLB Players Association that saw them pull licensing rights starting with the 1986 season. As a result, the 1985 Fleer set stands out as one of the most significant produced during Fleer’s original run producing baseball cards during the 1980s/early 1990s.
In the years since, the 1985 Fleer set has developed a strong cult following among collectors. Key rookie cards like Puckett and Gooden have grown exponentially in value, with upper graded versions of those cards selling for tens of thousands of dollars. The inclusion of autographed and traded cards also adds to the historical interest in the set. Today it remains highly regarded among collectors as an important bridge from the early Fleer days to the explosion of the baseball card hobby in the late 1980s.
