The 1989 Topps baseball card set is one of the most widely collected issues in the modern era. With 792 total cards produced, the 1989 set featured every major league player as well as manager and coach cards. Like most large sets from the 1980s, the 1989 Topps cards contained several different production mistakes and errors that have become important to error card collectors in the decades since. Let’s take an in-depth look at some of the most significant errors found in the 1989 Topps baseball card series.
One of the most famous mistakes involves Cardinals starting pitcher Joe Magrane’s card (#186). On Magrane’s base card, his first name is incorrectly spelled “Jow” instead of “Joe”. This typo error has made Magrane’s 1989 card one of the most sought after in the set by error collectors. Even more scarce is the true “Jow Magrane” card that contains the misspelling on the front of the card as well as the player statistics on the back. Grading services like PSA and BGS have verified fewer than 10 examples of the “Jow Magrane” dual error.
In addition to name mistakes, the 1989 Topps set contained several numbering and placement errors. Cardinals outfielder Andy Van Slyke’s card was mistakenly numbered as “#675” instead of the correct “#675”. Meanwhile, Mariners pitcher Mike Schooler’s card was misnumbered as “#785” rather than “#785”. Perhaps the most visually obvious error is the placement mistake made on Indians pitcher Greg Swindell’s card. His photograph is wrongly placed on Dodgers reliever Jay Howell’s card (#375), while Howell’s photo appeared in the correct spot on Swindell’s (#376). Both cards featured the incorrect player pictures.
Beyond individual player cards, entire teams were mistakenly swapped on several 1989 Topps manager and coach cards. Reds coaches Tommy Helms and Mike Lum’s cards were accidentally flipped, with Helms on Lum’s (#T67) and vice versa. Similarly, Dodgers coaches Mel Stottlemyre and Bill Russell had their positions swapped on cards #T55 and #T56. Additional team swaps occurred with the Reds hitting coach Nick Leyva and third base coach Billy Parker on cards #T62 and #T64. These full team errors are especially rare within the set.
Perhaps the strangest error found in the 1989 Topps baseball card set involved Yankees pitcher Tim Leary’s rookie card (#677). Unlike almost every other card in the set which features a photo of the player in uniform, Leary’s rookie card picture shows him wearing street clothes and holding a baseball. It’s believed Topps used an action shot of Leary from a previous season by mistake on his ’89 rookie card, rather than a proper new picture from that year. This anomalous photo error immediately stands out when viewing Leary’s card.
In examining larger scale printing mistakes within the ’89 Topps issue, many collectors have noted that Cards #521 through #550 contain multiple placement glitches. Specifically, Cards #527 (Indians pitcher Eric King), #531 (Reds outfielder Travis Buckner), and #541 (Phillies outfielder Len Matuszek) all feature photographs incorrectly placed near the card edges instead of being centered. There are likely several dozen additional cards within the specified #521-550 range that have slightly off-kilter photos due to a larger printing plate mistake during production.
While errors in major factory-printed sets were somewhat common given the huge volume of cards produced each year, the 1989 Topps mistakes became forever immortalized thanks to the popularity and vast size of the issue. Names, numbers, pictures, and even entire teams were mistakenly swapped or printed incorrectly on certain ’89 Topps baseball cards. For error collectors today, the set remains a gold mine of rare production anomalies that offer a special thrill of the hunt behind each wax pack, box or unopened case breaking nearly thirty-five years later. Whether it’s the famous “Jow Magrane” typo or uniquely placed action shot on Tim Leary’s rookie card, the legacy of mistakes in the 1989 Topps baseball card set continues to fascinate collectors worldwide.
