The 1991 Score Baseball Card set is well known among collectors for containing several notable printing errors. While errors in mass produced sets are not entirely uncommon, the 1991 Score set stands out due to the high number of mistakes made across different cards. Some of the more prominent errors include:
Tony Fernandez Reverse Photo (Card #223) – Perhaps the most famous error card from 1991 Score is Tony Fernandez’ card, which contained a photo of Fernandez in reverse. Instead of facing towards the viewer’s right like a normal photo, Fernandez appears to be facing left. This caused his uniform number on his jersey to also appear backwards. Only a small number of cases of Fernandez cards were printed this way in error.
Ozzie Guillen with Padres Cap (Card #293) – Shortstop Ozzie Guillen is pictured wearing a San Diego Padres cap even though he played for the Chicago White Sox in 1991. Guillen had been traded from the White Sox to the Padres during the 1990 season but was reacquired by Chicago in a trade before the 1991 season began. Somehow the Padres cap photo still made it onto his 1991 Score card in error.
Randy Johnson Height/Weight Mistake (Card #492) – Future Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson’s card incorrectly listed his height as 6’11” and his weight as 240 lbs. In reality, Johnson was 6’10” tall and weighed around 250-260 lbs as an active player. This was clearly a mistake made in transcribing Johnson’s actual measurements for his baseball card stats.
Gene Woodling No Photo (Card #716) – Former major leaguer Gene Woodling’s card contained no photo at all, just a blank white space where the image should have been. Woodling last played in the 1950s and was likely included in Score’s ’60s Archives subset as a historical player rather than an active one in 1991, leading to no suitable recent photo being available.
Jim Sundberg Stat Error (Card #739) – Longtime catcher Jim Sundberg had one of his batting stats printed incorrectly on his card. His career batting average was listed as .245 when it should have been .255. A simple typo led to the .010 error in Sundberg’s career average shown on the card.
Jeff Bagwell Rookie Card Designation Mistake (Card #762) – Jeff Bagwell’s impressive rookie season performance in 1991 clearly merited his card being labeled as a “Rookie” in the set. Due to an editorial oversight, the word “Rookie” did not appear on his card even though it was undoubtedly his true rookie card issue.
Fred Lynn Photo Mistake (Card #831) – Former MVP and Rookie of the Year winner Fred Lynn was pictured on his card wearing what looked to be a Baltimore Orioles uniform, despite having played for the California Angels in 1991. Investigating the photo more closely reveals it was actually Lynn in an Angels uniform, but an unusual lighting or developing effect made the colors appear reversed like an Orioles jersey.
Steve Rogers Invalid Statistics (Card #859) – The statistics printed on pitcher Steve Rogers’ card did not match his actual career numbers. Wins, losses, innings pitched, strikeouts and other stats were all reported incorrectly. It’s unclear if made up or completely erroneous stats were used due to lack of quality record keeping.
Roger Clemens Missing Information (Card #890) – Arguably the most notorious error in the set is future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens’ card near the end of the alphabet. Clemens’ full name, team, position and other usual identifying information was completely absent from the front of his card. Only his player photo and card number were present in another strange production mistake.
Errors of this magnitude in one release were highly irregular for the time. Score was one of the largest and most prominent sports card manufacturers of the late 80s-early 90s period. Their quality control protocols evidently broke down dramatically for this particular 1991 set to contain so many glaring mistakes across different areas of key player cards. With photography fouls, invalid stats, missing text and reversed images, it showcased a lack of proofreading or oversight during the design and printing stages. As a result, error gems from this ill-fated set have become popular targets of collectors seeking one-of-a-kind oddities within the hobby. While not always desirable from the company’s perspective, the numerous follies within 1991 Score serve as a memorable case study for how even the biggest names in the business were fallible to production flaws on rare occasions.
The widespread erroneous cards spanning this particular Score baseball release have cemented it as an infamous anomaly that collectors still eagerly pursue imperfect specimens from over 25 years later. With such a blend of oddly reversed photos, invalid stats, bare omissions and other bloopers, it represented an almost impressively high degree of missteps for a mainstream company card production of that era. Examples containing the errorsretain lengthy intrigue for enthusiasts due to their status as unique documentation of the mistakes made long ago. While unfortunate for Score at the time, the proliferation of errors within the 1991 set have granted it an everlasting place in hobby discussions as one of the most botched editions from a major brand in modern trading card history.
