The 1989 Bowman baseball card set was truly unique from previous years. Featuring young stars and prospects, the design stood out with brightly colored borders and flashy photography. This release would become infamous for the infamous printing error that caused the classic bubble gum cards to suddenly bubble up.
Bowman Gum Company had been producing baseball cards as incentives with their chewing gum packs since 1948. By the late 1980s, the growing popularity of collecting cards had turned the hobby into a multimillion dollar industry. Eager to capitalize on this market, Bowman embarked on their most ambitious baseball card release yet for the 1989 season.
The base set totaled 528 cards and had an all-star roster of players both emerging and established. Ken Griffey Jr continued his ascent with a stunning rookie card that would become one of the most iconic and valuable in the history of the hobby. Other notable rookies included Gregg Jefferies, Gary Sheffield, and Derek Bell. Veterans like Orel Hershiser, Rickey Henderson, and Wade Boggs also received prominent placements.
Compared to Topps, the main competition at the time, Bowman took a bolder approach with their 1989 designs. Vibrantly colored photo borders accented action shots of the players. Blue, red, yellow, and orange hues popped attractively on the glossy stock. On the reverse, stats were shown along with the familiar team logo and Bowman branding at the bottom.
Packs originally retailed for fifty cents and came with a stick of bubble gum as always. It was the gum itself that would lead to catastrophe. During production, the plant experienced a mechanical failure that caused pressure buildup in the chewing gum formula. Unknown at the time, this created microscopic yet destructive bubbles inside the gum.
When consumers started cracking packs in late spring, problems quickly emerged. As kids and collectors chewed the gum, it started suddenly expanding within their mouths. The gum rapidly inflated into bloated messes impossible to swallow or spit out. Some reported chunks of enlarged gum shooting out across rooms! Understandably, phones at Bowman headquarters were soon ringing off the hook with complaints and demands for refunds.
Within days, the major issues behind the infamous “bubble gum incident” came to light. An immediate recall was launched, collecting all remaining 1989 Bowman stock from stores. While some opportunists today try passing off damaged examples as novel oddities, most serious collectors avoid the set due to condition concerns. The mini-bombs in each pack wreaked havoc on centering and surfaces for virtually every card affected.
Naturally, values dropped drastically for years afterwards based on all the negative publicity and ruined cards. Interest and demand have gradually increased again as the set matures. Especially for high-grade examples provably untampered by the bubble gum fiasco. Key rookies like Griffey and Sheffield have rebounded strongest in price. Short prints and stars also hold collector value despite the troublesome backstories.
In retrospect, the 1989 Bowman release stands out as a truly unique moment in hobby history thanks to its ill-fated gum. While a nightmare for the company at the time, the cartoon-like mayhem has granted the set lasting notoriety. Cards that survived the bubbles relatively unscathed have an engaging story behind them. As one of the largest baseball releases ever, it also captures a pivotal time of ascending young talent just before the steroid era. The 1989 Bowman set endures as a colorful capsule from when baseball cards were still attached to bubble gum bombs.
