The year 1990 marked a major change in the baseball card collecting landscape as it was the first year that upper deck produced cards after breaking into the industry in 1989 and competing with ‘the big three’ of Topps, Donruss, and Fleer. Upper Deck quickly became the premier brand with its high quality cardboard stock and focus on traditional design aesthetics that hardcore collectors preferred over the sometimes cartoonish styles of the other brands in the late 80s.
In 1990, Topps released its first collector’s choice set that was sold exclusively in hobby shops rather than retail stores like previous years. Collector’s choice became their high-end branded product moving forward with rarer parallels, autographed cards, and a focus on established stars over prospects. The base set included 792 cards with members of the Hall of Fame like Nolan Ryan and Reggie Jackson featured prominently. Topps traded cards also released in 1990 with designs similar to the base set.
Donruss had two main releases – its traditional sticker brand cards as well as studio which had photography on a thicker stock without the ‘sticker’ overlay. The Donruss set featured 752 cards with alternating horizontal and vertical photo sizes. Notable rookie cards included Gary Sheffield, Kelly Gruber, and Mark Grace. Donruss also experimented with ‘rookies only’ sets that included prospects that had yet to make their MLB debuts.
Fleer released two sets – its traditional thin stock design as well as Ultra which was produced on a thicker card stock. The Fleer base set totaled 756 cards led by superstars like Wade Boggs, Rickey Henderson, and Ozzie Smith. Standout rookies included Kenny Lofton, Randy Myers, and Chuck Knoblauch. Fleer also put out Update sets halfway through the season to feature first year players who debuted after the initial release.
As the premier new brand, Upper Deck raised the bar with its photography, attention to detail, and rarity. The base set included 770 cards featuring legendary stars and members of the Hall of Fame like Mike Schmidt, Johnny Bench, and Carl Yastrzemski. Notable rookie cards were Edgar Martinez, David Justice, and Andy Benes. Upper Deck also pioneered parallels like Gold Medallion cards that were 1:120 packs as well as Limited Edition Autograph cards autographed by the players themselves.
Other notable 1990 releases included Score which featured creative cartoon design elements along withstats and action photos on its cards. Score had two series totaling 792 cards led by Barry Bonds, Cal Ripken Jr., and Jose Canseco. The Sportflix brand from Impel focused more on team logos and included a World Series highlights subset.
While factory sets containing complete teams were popular, 1990 also saw the rise of factory-issued mini sets focused around specific players, themes or events. Examples included all-star collections from Donruss and Topps as well as World Series highlight inserts. mini sets predated the insert craze of the 90s but helped build excitement and sales for the manufacturers.
On the investment side, key 1990 rookie cards to watch out for included Upper Deck’s Ken Griffey Jr., The Leaf Brand’s Chipper Jones, and Topps’ Juan Gonzalez. Griffey revolutionized the hobby as one of the first true poster boys for baseball cards and his Upper Deck rookie is among the most iconic and valuable of all-time. Griffey and the debut of Upper Deck helped kick off the modern baseball card boom of the 1990s before speculation took over.
In summary, 1990 marked a watershed year as Upper Deck broke in and pushed the established brands to new levels of quality, design and collectability. Parallels, autographed cards, and factory sets gained popularity among enthusiasts. Hall of famers and rookie stars of the coming decade like Griffey and Jones debuted and set the stage for one of the greatest eras in the history of the hobby. While speculation bloomed in later years, 1990 cards represent the pinnacle of the ‘golden age’ before mass production changed the landscape.
