The 1994 baseball season saw Major League Baseball continue its rise in popularity following the cancellation of the 1994 World Series due to a player strike. baseball card manufacturers were riding high on the renewed interest in the sport and were looking for innovative ways to attract collectors. One of the most unique baseball card releases of the 1990s came courtesy of Score trading cards and their “Score Select” parallel subset from 1994.
Score Select cards featured similar designs to the base 1994 Score issue but with enhanced photography and added embellishments. Instead of the standard team logo depicted on the uniforms of base Score cards, Score Select parallels showed the actual pinstripe or piping patterns of specific teams in intricate detail. Additionally, Score Select cards included metallic foil embellishments on certain elements of the design like uniform numbers or logos for added visual pop. Of particular interest to collectors was the rarity level of these parallels compared to the base cards.
While Score released traditional sets with hundreds of base cards each year, Score Select subsets only featured the biggest stars and most popular players of that season. The 1994 Score Select checklist totaled just 50 cards, making completes sets highly coveted among collectors both then and today. Players included in the inaugural 1994 Score Select run were superstars like Ken Griffey Jr., Tom Glavine, Gregg Maddux, Cal Ripken Jr., and Derek Jeter among many others. With highly limited print runs compared to the mainstream base issue, these special parallels garnered significant premiums in the marketplace.
Beyond the enhanced photography and rarity factor, another aspect that added cachet to 1994 Score Select cards was the premium stock quality used. While standard Score base cards were printed on thinner stock comparable to other trading card brands of the era, Score Selects utilized a thicker, higher grade card stock. This gave the parallel cards a premium feel in the hand that separated them further from common issues. The sturdier stock also led to Score Selects holding up better to the test of time in terms of condition compared to contemporarily printed base cards after decades of collection and handling.
When first released in 1994, Score Select parallels retailed for significantly more than basic Score packs and boxes. A single Score Select card could easily fetch five to ten times the cost of a typical issue from that year’s base set due to their limited counts. As with many short print subsets from the junk wax era, the initial speculative boom drove values sky high. As the glut of mass-produced cards from the early ’90s wore off, the intrinsic qualities of Score Selects kept them prized by collectors where many other parallels faded.
Three decades after their original release, 1994 Score Select cards remain among the most visually striking and investment-worthy parallels released during baseball’s magazine era. Helped by factors like their star-studded checklists of only the best players, superior production values, and exponentially rarer print runs compared to base issues, these 50 cards have retained residual value better than expected for cards of their time. In top grades, key 1994 Score Selects of superstars like Griffey, Maddux, and Jeter can still command three-figure prices or more today. For set collectors, completing even a lower-grade example of the full 50-card checklist remains a prized and prestigious accomplishment.
When Founder of Score Trading Card Company, Allen & Ginter, launched Score Select parallels in 1994, they helped invigorate the market and excite collectors with a premier limited edition subset. While many short print specialty issues have faded over time, the 1994 Score Selects endure as some of the most visually striking and collectible parallel cards released during the junk wax era. Their showcase photography, premium materials, and ultra-short print runs gave the inserts an air of exclusivity that created residual value when most contemporaries crashed. For both investors and set builders alike, finding and holding examples of the innovative 1994 Score Select checklist remains a meaningful pursuit for baseball card collectors nearly 30 years later.
