The 1991 O-Pee-Chee baseball card set was the final year Topps produced its Canadian counterpart under the O-Pee-Chee brand before losing the license to rival cardmaker Fleer. The set featured 408 total cards and was the last O-Pee-Chee issue to include both English and French text on the back of each card.
Released in the spring of 1991, the set focused on the 1990 MLB season and included rookie cards for future stars like Jeff Bagwell, Moises Alou, and David Justice. Notable rookie cards from the set often fetch high prices from collectors due to the players’ eventual success and the set marking the end of an era for O-Pee-Chee production. The design featured a primarily white border with team logo in the bottom right and player stats/accolades listed below their picture.
Some key aspects that made the 1991 O-Pee-Chee set historically significant:
It was the final O-Pee-Chee issue produced under Topps’ license before Fleer took over Canadian distribution rights in 1992.
At 408 total cards, it was one of the larger O-Pee-Chee sets of the late 20th century time period (only 1990 was larger at 468 cards).
Rated a 7.0 out of 10 on Beckett’s annual card set reviews, it was among the higher rated O-Pee-Chee issues of the late 80s/early 90s era.
Included some of the most desirable rookie cards of players who went on to have Hall of Fame careers like Jeff Bagwell (card #1) and Moises Alou (card #57).
Bagwell’s rookie is one of the key chase cards from the set since he went on to have an outstanding career and is now in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Graded mint examples can sell for thousands.
Alou didn’t emerge as a star until later in his career, but his rookie is still highly sought after by collectors focusing on the Expos players from that era.
Other notable rookies included David Justice (card #82), Jeff Conine (card #83), and Alex Gonzalez (card #84), though they didn’t achieve the same level of success as Bagwell and Alou long-term.
Marked one of the last O-Pee-Chee sets to feature both English and French text on the backs, a tradition that dated back to the brand’s origins. Starting in 1992, Fleer-produced O-Pee-Chee issues only included English.
Collectors at the time didn’t necessarily realize it would be the final year under Topps, so demand wasn’t unusually high compared to other early 90s issues upon initial release.
Recognition of its historical significance has increased secondary market prices for high-grade examples over the past 20+ years since production switched to Fleer.
While not quite as iconic or valuable as the 1952 or 1969 Topps flagship sets, the 1991 O-Pee-Chee holds an important place in card collecting history as the last under the original producer. Key rookie cards like Bagwell and Alou take on greater significance considering the careers those players went on to have. Combined with its large checklist size and the loss of the dual-language backs tradition, the 1991 issue has developed a strong cult following among Canadian and Expos collectors in particular. Graded examples in high NM-MT condition have appreciated steadily and could continue rising as its status as the finale O-Pee-Chee/Topps partnership becomes more widely recognized.
