The 1989 Fleer baseball card set was released at the end of the 1988 baseball season and marked Fleer’s return to the baseball card market after a six year hiatus. Fleer had previously produced baseball cards from 1956 to 1982 but lost its license to produce official MLB cards starting in 1983. Fleer’s re-entry into the baseball card world in 1989 was highly anticipated by collectors.
The 1989 Fleer set includes 792 total cards consisting of 752 individual player and coach cards as well as 40 advertising/promotion cards. Some of the key cards and inserts included All-Star Rookies, Turn Back the Clock old-time player photos, Topps Traded reprints, and Star Cards highlighting stats for selected players. The design featured a colored photo on a white background with basic stats and career highlights printed on the bottom. On the back was a black and white action shot and more in-depth career and season stats. Fleer’s decision to move to a glossy stock photograph helped their cards stand out compared to the paper photo stock Topps had been using at the time.
The most visually distinctive cards in the 1989 Fleer set were the Turn Back the Clock inserts which featured black and white historical photos from the early 20th century in a sepia tone look encompassed by a thin brown border. These 8 cards paid homage to baseball’s past by showcasing photos from the deadball era of between 1901-1920. Hall of Fame players featured included Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and Honus Wagner.
Fleer distributed baseball cards in wax packs, boxes, and factory sets in 1989. The standard wax pack contained 5 cards with one of the inserts possible in about 1 in 24 packs. A box contained 24 wax packs for a total of 120 random cards. For collectors wanting a complete set, the best way was to buy a factory set edition. These were packaged and sold sealed in a plastic tray containing all 752 base cards.
Collectors fondly remember the design of the 1989 Fleer card boxes which featured vivid primary colors and large action photos on the front. The sides of the box proudly proclaimed “Fleer is back!” in a stylized colorful font. Opening these boxes brought that exciting feeling of the great unknown and possibility of finding a valuable rookie or chase card in the randomized packs inside.
Even more so than the cards themselves, the quality and freshness of the 1989 Fleer card boxes have become highly desirable collectors items today in their own right when kept sealed in mint condition. Findable examples from the late 1980s in sealed wax box form have appreciation in value immensely due to their relative scarcity in pristine sealed condition after 30+ years.
The 1989 Fleer rookie class is one of the most iconic and valuable in baseball card history. It featured future Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr, Gregg Maddux, and Tom Glavine among its ranks. The true superstar rookie of the set was Ken Griffey Jr who made an immediate impact by winning the Rookie of the Year award in 1989 with the Seattle Mariners. His famous upper deck rookie card showing his smooth left-handed swing has become the crown jewel card of the set fetching prices over $10,000 today in mint condition.
The combination of Fleer’s long awaited return to the sport combined with one of the all-time great rookie classes helped the 1989 Fleer baseball card set achieve legendary status. For many collectors and fans, the memories of ripping packs of these cards as kids or collecting chase cards from the set remains very nostalgic. Even today, opening a sealed wax box of 1989 Fleer brings with it a rush of excitement and chance to relive the thrill of the hunt that made those late 1980s years a golden era for the hobby. The designs, rookies, and presentation all came together to cement 1989 Fleer as a true landmark release that is still going strong with popularity and demand among collectors decades later.
