The 1989 Fleer baseball card set was the final flagship issue from the Fleer company before being sold to Score Publishing and merging their baseball card product line with Score. The 1989 set featured traditional size 2.5 inch by 3.5 inch cards and a total of 660 cards in the base set. With the increased interest in collecting during the late 1980s sports card boom, Fleer produced the cards in wax packs and wax boxes to meet demand from retailers and collectors.
The 1989 Fleer baseball wax box was the primary retail packaging format that held wax packs containing the cards for sale. The standard wax box was a larger rigid box made of thin cardboard that had space on the front for graphics highlighting some of the star players and key photography featured on the cards inside, as well as the Fleer and Major League Baseball logos. The sides and back of the wax box provided information on the set details like the total number of cards and potential short printed and autographed parallel inserts that collectors could find. Each standard wax box contained 12 wax packs with 11 cards per pack for a total of 132 cards.
Inside each wax box was shredded wax paper used as a packing material. This wax paper filled the empty space and provided protection for the thin cardboard wax packs that were placed inside oriented toward the front of the box for visibility. Each wax pack also had a thin plastic wrapping over it which was meant to be torn off before opening the wax paper interiors of the pack. The wax packs each had an illustration on the front showing a posed action photo of a star player from that year and also featured the Fleer and MLB logos as well as details about pack and set contents.
Some key inserts and parallels that collectors searched wax boxes for in 1989 Fleer included Retired Player cards, Team Leader parallel inserts, Super Trades insert cards featuring players switched to new teams, and autographed parallel cards signed by the players themselves. In total there were 660 numbered cards in the base set spanning teams and players from both the American and National Leagues. Some of the biggest stars who had their iconic 1989 seasons memorialized with popular base cards included Ken Griffey Jr., Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Rickey Henderson, Ozzie Smith and Wade Boggs among many others.
Beyond the standard wax boxes, Fleer also produced “Factory Sets” of the entire 660 card base set contained within a larger presentation style box. These were meant for higher-end adult collectors. Fleer also issued wax boxes containing multiple packs with only certain team sets to allow building specific roster collections as well. Box Breaker videos on YouTube document collectors from the modern era opening original wax boxes or factory sets to see what they might pull from the packs within and discuss the key cards and inserts found.
The success of the 1988 and 1989 Fleer designs which focused on colorful graphic photography helped drive interest in the baseball card hobby to new heights which in turn meant much higher print runs than previous years. Unfortunately, the overproduction during the boom years led to many common cards from even star issues like the 1989 Fleer set being available in large quantities still. Especially the autographed and serially numbered inserts hold significant value for dedicated collectors as they are much rarer pulls. The standard wax box packaging serves as a time capsule reminding collectors of the excitement of the late 1980s sportscard craze and the highly anticipated mystery of what packs might be discovered when ripping open a fresh box. In today’s market, sealed 1989 Fleer wax boxes can still fetch prices of $100-200 depending on condition showing the lasting nostalgic appeal of these classic releases from the golden era of contemporary sports card production.
The 1989 Fleer baseball card standard wax box is remembered fondly as an iconic retail packaging format that fueled the collector frenzy of its time. Inside these durable cardboard carriers were contained the prospects of uncovering rare serial numbered parallels or even coveted autographed inserts. While the base cards themselves may not carry huge price tags due to the large print runs, preserved wax boxes retain significance as tangible artifacts evoking memories of the 1980s boom. They remind collectors of the magic that came with the surprise and thrill of opening fresh packs in search of their favorite stars or chase cards from the much beloved Fleer flagship set from 1989.
