The 1987 baseball card season brought plenty of nostalgia for collectors as many of the classic card brands produced new sets included with packages of bubble gum. While players, teams, and the baseball card industry itself had changed a great deal in the decades since the heyday of the 1950s, ’87 marked a return to the simple pleasures of finding cards in packs of gum. Topps, Fleer, and Donruss all had mainstream releases, while smaller independent brands also tried to carve out space in the collectible card world. The designs, photos, and included players reflected both the traditional and modern aspects of baseball as the 1980s drew to a close.
Topps led the 1987 market as always with their flagship 552-card base set. The vertically-oriented design was simple but effective, featuring a color team photo in the background. Statistics on the bottom third of the card provided key info for fans and collectors. Some of the biggest stars to grace the ’87 Topps set included Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, and Ozzie Smith. Rookies like Frank Viola and Mark McGwire also debuted in the set. Topps also produced their traditional oddball and short print subsets like Traded and Stamps. The gum was still present inside the iconic yellow, red, and blue wrapped packs.
Fleer went with a more futuristic and abstract style for their 1987 design compared to Topps’ retro vibe. A rounded black and white photo appeared on a colored splatter paint background in various hues. Stats again appeared on the bottom edge. The 462-card Fleer set featured the same players and team photos as Topps but with a very different aesthetic. Rookies Kent Hrbek and Wally Joyner were highlights for collectors. Like Topps, the traditional pink wrapped Fleer packs included a piece of bubble gum alongside the cards.
Donruss took a more basic direct-image design approach like their 1986 release. A full color photo without backgrounds topped each card along with simple black text for player names and stats. The set had 504 total cards and also included rookie cards for slugger Mark McGwire and pitcher Orel Hershiser. Donruss packs came wrapped in blue and included a stick of bubblegum.
Other brands tried mixing it up as well. Score released a set of glossy issue cards with a die-cut team logo on each in addition to their standard paper release. Topps even experimented outside their main set by issuing a smaller 99-card Traded and Rookies set which focused on newcomers like McGwire outside the flagship release.
Buying packs of baseball cards alongside bubble gum was still a popular and iconic part of the late 1980s baseball experience for both kids and collectors. While the players, teams, and larger culture were constantly changing during that transitional decade, elements like the anticipation of opening wax paper wrapped foil packs never seemed to get old. The 1987 season saw some evolution in card designs from the major brands alongside nods to tradition that still resonate with collectors today.
While companies like Upper Deck would come to dominate the burgeoning sports memorabilia industry in the late 80s and early 90s, 1987 marked one of the last hurrahs for the classic era of Americana baseball cards distributed alongside sticks of bubble gum. Kids could still enthusiastically flip through their new cardboard pickups looking to add to their collections, trade duplicates with friends, or just admire the photos and stats of their favorite players from that season long ago. Though production and collecting trends moved in new directions afterward, the fun and nostalgia of 1987 gum packs remain a cherished memory for baseball card fans of a certain generation.
The 1987 season represented both evolution and tradition for the baseball card industry. While designs, inserts, and parallel releases grew more sophisticated, the core experience of finding fresh cardboard in packs alongside chewing gum still held strong appeal. Rookies like McGwire offered a glimpse of baseball’s future, but familiar names like Clemens, Boggs and Mattingly also anchored the present. The major brands found their own respected niches and the era of the classic bubble gum-included packs was drawing to a fitting close. For collectors and casual fans alike, the 1987 sets remain a snapshot of a transitional period leaving an indelible mark on the hobby.
