The 1989 Kmart Dream Team baseball card set was unique for several reasons. Unlike traditional annual baseball card sets released by companies like Topps and Fleer that featured current major league players, the Kmart Dream Team set instead imagined what hypothetical dream teams from each major league franchise would look like if every star player throughout their history was in their prime and playing together on the same team.
Released by Sportfolios Inc. under an exclusive licensing agreement with Kmart, the set featured cards for each of the 26 major league teams at the time (before the addition of new franchises in the 1990s). Each team card depicted a composite image made up of overlapping facial photographs of some of the franchise’s greatest players throughout history. For example, the New York Yankees card combined the faces of Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and others. These imaginative composite images captured fans’ interest in envisioning the all-time dream squads that could have been.
In addition to the team photo cards, each team set also included individual cards profiling some of the biggest stars from that franchise’s history. These retro-style cards highlighted each player’s career stats and accomplishments. For example, the Yankee set included individual cards for Ruth, DiMaggio, Gehrig, Mantle, Reggie Jackson and more. Top players from other historic franchises like the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Dodgers were also featured.
What made the Dream Team set unique was that unlike standard issues that focused only on current players, this allowed fans of any era to enjoy seeing cards featuring players from throughout their team’s history together in one cohesive set. Long-retired legends who hadn’t been included in a set for decades were now back in the hands of collectors. The cards were also creatively designed with a historical theme, featuring old-time graphics and styles different than contemporary issues.
While released under Kmart’s store brand, the Dream Team set was produced by Sportfolios Inc., a sports card manufacturer established in 1985. During the late 1980s, Sportfolio gained popularity for innovative concepts like subset and insert sets not found in the Topps or Fleer annual issues. This collaborative agreement with Kmart allowed them to leverage the retail giant’s platform to introduce the Dream Team concept to the mass market of baseball card collectors.
Released in 1989, the set was extremely popular among baseball fans, dominating sales at Kmart stores that year. The large teams boxes containing a full team roster of cards quickly sold out, leaving many disappointed collectors trying to track down the elusive sets. Secondary market prices rose reflecting the strong demand. Though not quite as coveted or scarce as the contemporary flagship issues from Topps and Fleer, the Dream Team set today remains a valuable piece of nostalgia for collectors of the late 1980s/early 90s era.
What made the cards particularly striking was the creative designs combining photos from different eras. For example, the Giants team card brilliantly positioned the faces of Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Juan Marichal to make it appear they were standing side by side in uniform. Considerable photo retouching was required to seamlessly merge the black and white and color photos from different decades into coherent composites. This effort enhanced the dream-like quality of envisioning legends long retired as active teammates.
Beyond the innovative concept and creative designs, the timing of the 1989 release coincided with the peak of America’s baseball card craze during that era. Pumped by the sports memorabilia and non-sports boom, almost every major retailer launched a house brand card line to cash in. While most of these speculative issues have been long forgotten, the Dream Team set stands out for featuring beloved players rather than trying to peddle obscure short-prints or parallels. Its staying power is a testament to capturing fans’ passions through imaginative storytelling rather than gimmicky card designs.
In the years since its release, the 1989 Kmart Dream Team set has become a cherished piece of nostalgia for baseball card collectors of a certain generation. While the cards themselves may not be of the same caliber or rarity as flagship issues from the time, they hold immense sentimental appeal for allowing fans to bring together legends from throughout their team’s history in card form. For both casual collectors and those with a historical perspective, the Dream Team set was a unique creative experiment that still delights over 30 years later. Few other sets have so successfully married baseball’s past and present in such an evocative and imaginative way.
