The 1990 Score Baseball set is one of the most iconic and popular in the modern era of sports card collecting. Within this set exist a number of rare error cards that capture the attention of advanced collectors. The 1990 Score Baseball set saw Topps produce a flagship 792-card printed run to distribute in packs and boxes. This included team cards, player cards, minor league prospects, managers, checklists, and more. A handful of mistakes made their way into production that resulted in errors that have intrigued collectors for decades since.
Some of the more common errors seen in 1990 Score involve incorrect team logos or uniforms being printed on specific player cards. An example would be Frank Viola’s card showing him wearing a Twins uniform, despite having been traded from Minnesota to the Boston Red Sox prior to the 1990 season. Other team/uniform errors include Greg Gagne with an Expos logo instead of Rangers and Juan Nieves with a Royals logo instead of Blue Jays. While not exceedingly rare, these types of mistakes that saw outdated or incorrect team affiliations printed are among the more frequently seen variations from the standard 1990 Score release.
Perhaps the highest profile error from 1990 Score involves Bo Jackson’s traded card. Jackson was famously traded from the Kansas City Royals to the Los Angeles Angels in May of 1989. His primary 1990 Score base card mistakenly shows him in a Royals uniform despite having played the entire previous season for the Angels at that point. This is considered the flagship error from the set as Jackson was such a hugely popular player at that time. Examples with the incorrect Royals logo on his uniform are quite rare and greatly desired by collectors.
Another significant printing mistake occurred with Tony Gwynn’s rookie card in 1990 Score. The standard issue shows Gwynn in a San Diego Padres uniform as he was established as their franchise player by that season. In the errors some were printed that place Gwynn in a Milwaukee Brewers uniform, which is the team he played for very briefly at the beginning of his MLB career before being traded to the Padres. Like the Bo Jackson error, Tony Gwynn rookie variations with the misprinted Brewers logo are exorbitantly rare and highly valued.
Beyond the team/uniform errors, odder mistakes also occurred in 1990 Score production. For example, a small number of cards had the correct pictured player but with an entirely different player’s name and stats printed on the back. The most infamous involves Bo Jackson’s image on the front with Juan Nieves’ player info on the reverse. Other example pairings that exist in extreme short prints include Mark McGwire pictured with Jeff Reardon’s stats and Roberto Alomar pictured with Bob Gallaghers stats. These type of image/text swaps are considered the rarest categories of errors for 1990 Score.
The oddball errors don’t end there. Isolated cases were also reported where the printed image was drastically off. The two strangest examples involve Greg Gagne’s card having a horizontal crease across the image warping it and Darren Daulton’s card featuring another player’s picture entirely (reportedly Bobby Bonilla). A tiny handful of 1990 Score “test” cards have been reported that were supposedly evaluation samples printed on different card stock to prospective buyers – these promotional one-offs are the holy grails for collectors.
Due to the popularity and robust collecting surrounding 1990 Score, even these irregular error cards have been popularly documented and recorded over the past 30 years. While the common team/logo mistakes can still be acquired for affordable prices, examples of the high profile errors such as Bo Jackson’s Royals misprint and Tony Gwynn’s Brewers variation have sold at auction for thousands of dollars to enthusiastic collectors. Perhaps most exceptionally, the extremely rare image/stat swaps and one-of-a-kind test variations would command five figures or higher for the true erro-maniac looking to top off a rainbow set.
While the standard 792-card 1990 Topps Score Baseball release remains a cornerstone of the modern collecting era, it’s the accidentally produced irregularities that have intrigued dedicated players for decades. Almost no other single set boasts such a variety of different error types, from simple uniform goofs to completely erratic misprints. The scarcity and history behind examples like the Bo Jackson Royals or Tony Gwynn Brewers slips have made them legendary trophies for advanced collectors. Even for mainstream collectors just becoming aware, scanning through their 1990 Score commons for an anomalies remains part of the enjoyment and mystery of the hobby some 30 years later. Whether appreciated casually or prized as great rarities, the errors of 1990 Score Baseball continue defining an iconic set.
