The 1990 Fleer baseball card set was the company’s first issued since their 1985 release and marked their return to the baseball card market after a five year absence. Fleer debuted a modern design style that departed from their classic look of the 1970s and 1980s. The set included photos of 792 different players and managers on 770 total cards, with player cards numbered 1-700 and manager/team cards numbered 701-770.
The design featured a gray and white border around each photo with team colors and logos prominently displayed. Statistics for performance in the previous season (1989) were printed on the bottom along with player identifiers like name, position, born, bats/throws. Card backs kept it simple with player bios focused on career highlights and stats without unnecessary filler text or essays. The brand new style was well received by collectors and breathed new life into the Fleer brand that was looking to regain market share lost to competitors like Topps, Donruss and Score during their absence.
Rookie cards included Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr, Sandy Alomar Jr, and Frank Thomas. Fred McGriff also had his rookie card in the set. Other notable rookies included Larry Walker, Derek Bell, Gregg Olson, and Tim Belcher. Stars of the day like Jose Canseco, Nolan Ryan, Wade Boggs, Kirby Puckett, Ozzie Smith and Roger Clemens each had autographed versions inserted randomly in packs at a ratio of around 1:1000 packs. These were highly sought after by collectors.
Error cards were quite scarce in the set but some notable ones included Robin Yount missing his team logo on card #112 and Mike Marshall missing his stats on the back of card #440. The Wes Chamberlain card #450 was accidentally printed twice. A miscut card featuring half of Frank Viola and half of Von Hayes on the same card surfaced as well. The 1990 Fleer set broke new ground by including the first baseball card of a star player whose career was cut short – Steve Dalkowski on card #697.
With no new Fleer set in five years, collectors and investors were eager to get their hands on packs to build or complete their collections. With far fewer print runs compared to competitors at the time, the 1990 Fleer cards appreciated in value much quicker. Especially the rookie cards of soon-to-be superstars Griffey Jr and Frank Thomas. within a few years of release, their rookie cards in PSA 10 Gem Mint condition were worth hundreds if not over $1000 on the secondary market.
While the design wasn’t as wildly innovative as the score and studio brands of the early 90s, it achieved what it set out to do which was differentiate Fleer from the others and bring them back into serious contention in the trading card industry. The brand was now in a position to use this new modern look as a foundation to build on in future releases. The 1990 set was the launching point for Fleer’s baseball resurgence over the next decade. They would improve on the template, add more technology like embossed letters and more experimental parallels in ‘91 and ‘92 to continue establishing themselves.
By the mid 1990s, Fleer was back on equal footing with the likes of Topps and Donruss once again. Having key licenses to both MLB and the MLBPA no doubt helped. The nostalgia some collectors have for the classic Fleer designs of the 70s and 80s never fully went away either. That brand loyalty combined with the scarcity and appreciation of the ‘90 set over the years solidified its place as one of Fleer’s most historically important releases. Even with raw cardboard appeal waning industry-wide in the digital card era, the 1990 Fleer cards remain a revered part of the hobby’s past and collectors actively seek out its stars and errors to this day.
Fleer’s return with this set three decades ago played a major role in shaping the sports card market landscape we see today. While production techniques, competition and collecting trends have changed dramatically since then, the influence of 90Fleer on the hobby is still felt. It showed that with the right plan and execution, a brand could rise from the ashes. For anyone with an appreciation of baseball cards and their history, leafing through the 1990 Fleer set offers a snapshot into the evolution of the industry at a pivotal moment.
