The 1990 Upper Deck baseball card set was the third series of cards released by the Upper Deck Company. Known for their high quality paper stock and photography, the 1990 Upper Deck cards became one of the most popular and valuable sets of the late 80s/early 90s baseball card boom.
Upper Deck released their inaugural set in 1989, shaking up the baseball card industry that had been long dominated by Topps. The 1989 set featured bright, colorful photography on a thicker card stock that provided a superior product to what fans had become accustomed to from Topps. The 1989 Upper Deck rookie cards of Ken Griffey Jr. and Frank Thomas immediately took the collecting world by storm and helped cement Upper Deck as a major player.
Riding this wave of momentum, Upper Deck had huge expectations going into their 1990 design. They chose to continue with the innovative style that made their previous set such a hit – premium materials and cutting edge photography. The 1990 cards featured vibrant full color action shots of players on a heavy, high gloss 100 point card stock. The photography towered over what Topps was producing at the time in terms of quality and sophistication.
Upper Deck included over 700 players in their 1990 set, divided into Series I, Series II, Traded, and Update issues released throughout the baseball season. Some of the most notable rookie cards included Edgar Martinez, David Justice, Chuck Knoblauch, Mike Mussina, and Todd Van Poppel. Veterans like Nolan Ryan, Ozzie Smith, Rickey Henderson, and Kirby Puckett anchored the set with their star power.
Even with over 700 total players included, the 1990 Upper Deck checklist contained several notable omissions. Due to an ongoing licensing dispute, Upper Deck was denied the rights to include Roberto Alomar, Sandy Alomar Jr., or Craig Biggio in their set that year. This contributed to those players rookie cards being much less common than their peers. Upper Deck also did not sign deals with a handful of top stars like Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, or Wade Boggs – a decision they would quickly come to regret.
The design and photography of the 1990 Upper Deck cards is still revered today for its artistry and attention to detail. Each player’s portrait was shot specifically for their card against vivid colored backdrops of team logos or fields of play. Creative angles and unusual close-ups brought new energy to static baseball card photography. The signature border design incorporated team colors and logos into intricate patterns around each image.
On the back of each card, Upper Deck provided thorough statistical and biographical information on the player in an easy to read format. A brief fun fact or quote was included to give fans extra insight into each athlete. The reverse design, statistics, and additional content set a new standard that is carried on by modern baseball card manufacturers to this day.
While the 1989 Upper Deck rookie cards of Griffey and Thomas drove immediate demand, it was the 1990 rookie cards that ended up having more significant long term value. The Mickey Mantle-like mystique built up around Griffey’s prospect status had reached its peak in ’89. Players like Martinez, Justice, and Knoblauch developed into perennial All-Stars that made their ’90 rookies the true foundation for building a collection.
The height of the baseball card speculative bubble occurred in 1991. At the peak of madness, unopened 1990 Upper Deck boxes were selling for upwards of $5,000 due to unrealistic expectations of future profits. When the market finally crashed in the early 1990s due to overproduction, the 1990 Upper Deck set maintained its popularity due to the quality and historical significance of the cards within. Today, mint condition examples of stars from the set still command prices well into the triple digits.
Now in its fourth decade, the 1990 Upper Deck set remains one of the most iconic releases in the hobby’s history. It pushed the industry forward with its emphasis on premium materials and artistic design elements. Rookie cards like Edgar Martinez paved the way for new Hall of Fame collections to be built. Even through the ups and downs of the speculation boom/bust, 1990 Upper Deck has endured as one of the standards all other baseball card sets continue to be measured against. For collectors and fans of the late 80s/early 90s era of the game, it was truly the high water mark release that sparked childhood memories and defined card collecting for a generation.
