The 1989 Topps Kmart baseball card set is one of the more unique and oddly-distributed baseball card issues of the late 1980s. Whereas Topps’ mainstream flagship set was distributed through traditional hobby shops and mass retailers that year, the Topps Kmart set had a very specific and limited retail path. Only available exclusively in Kmart stores, the 1989 Topps Kmart baseball cards stand out both for their distributor exclusivity and some intriguing differences from the standard Topps flagship release of the same year.
Just as they had done the previous two years in 1987 and 1988, Topps produced a special 100-card baseball card set in 1989 that was only sold through Kmart stores. Like the flagship Topps set, it featured contemporary major league players and had the traditional glossy front and backing constructions. There were a few key differences that made the Kmart issue stand apart. Chief among these was the horizontal card layout rather than the typical vertical format of Topps cards. This horizontal style had also been used for the 1987 and 1988 Kmart sets to further distinguish them.
The photography and designs employed on the Kmart cards sometimes varied noticeably from what appeared in the Topps flagship release. For example, certain players had unique posed photos commissioned just for the Kmart set rather than reusing an image from the standard cards. Similarly, the graphical borders and color schemes could occasionally differ between the two 1989 issues. This helped reinforce that collectors were receiving a specific Kmart variation rather than just a duplicated run of the flagship design. Subtle differences like these added to the uniqueness and interesting side-by-side comparison ability of the 1989 Kmart cards versus the standard Topps release of the same year.
At only 100 total cards, the 1989 Topps Kmart set also contained far fewer players than the full 660 in the flagship Topps release. This was by design, as Kmart clearly wanted a more condensed set that could be included as an impulse purchase item on checkout racks and endcap displays in their stores rather than needing extensive hobby shop-style shelf space. The card checklist weighted many of the more star-studded and popular players to be included, such as Darryl Strawberry, Mike Schmidt, Cal Ripken Jr., Ozzie Smith, and Roger Clemens. It also made room for some additional rookie and prospect players not featured in the standard Topps release.
Beyond just the current major leaguers as the focus, the 1989 Topps Kmart set also included a few unique “MLB Legends” subset cards paying tribute to past greats. Players given this retrospective treatment included Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial, and Hank Aaron. Topps inserting legend/ alumni style cards into subsets was a developing pattern through the late 1980s, and the Kmart issue provided an avenue to experiment with this concept on a smaller scale compared to the flagship set. For collectors of a certain era, these MLB Legend cards stand out as some of the scarcest and most desirable pieces to chase from the 1989 Kmart release due to the very limited print run.
Speaking of scarcity, the exclusive Kmart distribution meant far fewer of these cards were produced compared to the standard Topps flagship release sold everywhere from baseball card shops to gum counters. While exact print runs have never been formally reported, it’s estimated the total number of 1989 Topps Kmart cards made fell somewhere between 500,000 to 1 million sets. That’s a tiny fraction of the tens of millions of copies the main Topps issue was distributed in. With only 100 cards per set plus being a one-year Kmart exclusive, finding Gems Mint examples today in collector circles is much tougher than same-year flagship cards in equally pristine condition.
When originally sold new in 1989, the Topps Kmart sets had an MSRP of $1.49 per pack just like the standard Topps flagship packs available elsewhere. They were designed from the start as an impulse buy item that Kmart shoppers might pickup near the checkout lanes. In the years since production ended after 1989, the scarcity drivers have made complete or near-complete Kmart sets significantly more valuable to dedicated collectors. In 2022, top-graded 1989 Kmart rookie cards can sell for thousands of dollars compared to just a fraction of that price for the standard Topps rookies from the same year. This rarity premium underscores how the limited Kmart distribution elevated otherwise very similar cards into a unique and eagerly-sought specialty subset.
It’s clear that when Topps produced 1989 Topps Kmart cards as an exclusive retail partnership, they created something that yielded further collecting opportunities far beyond the one year they were originally on Kmart shelves. Even after over 30 years since, the 100-card horizontal layout, unique photos, subtle design elements, and super-limited print run have allowed this otherwise modest release to retain strong nostalgic appeal among both vintage collectors and specialists seeking challenging scarcity pieces. For these reasons, the 1989 Topps Kmart baseball card set deserves recognition among the most interesting and coveted limited-run niche issues in the whole hobby.
