The 1985 OPC baseball card set was a landmark release that expanded the horizons of what a trading card set could be. Produced by the fledgling Ontario-based company O-Pee-Chee (OPC), the 1985 issue took collector hobby by storm with its innovative foil designs, team-by-team breakdown, and inclusion of prospect cards for future major leaguers.
At the time, Topps held a monopoly on the baseball card market in both the United States and Canada. But in the mid-1980s, competition arose as OPC gained the Canadian license away from Topps. Wanting to make a splash in its debut season, OPC leadership pushed designers to think outside the box and create a set that collectors had never seen before.
The end result was 272 total cards broken down into individual team sections, with each team getting its own distinctive foil color. This was a first for any trading card set. The Baltimore Orioles section had orange foil, the Chicago White Sox section blue, and so on. Within each team section, players were arranged alphabetically by last name.
Standout rookie cards that appeared in the 1985 OPC set and would go on to have tremendous value included Bret Saberhagen of the Kansas City Royals, Will Clark of the San Francisco Giants, and Barry Larkin of the Cincinnati Reds. All three players went on to have Hall of Fame caliber careers.
The set featured minor league prospect cards mixed in with each team’s major leaguers. This allowed collectors to potentially get in early on future stars like Mark McGwire, David Justice, and Juan Gonzalez before they made the big show. Prospect cards were a rarity in the mid-80s, so their inclusion marked another innovative move by OPC.
Beyond just its card composition, the foiled team backgrounds themselves were a spectacle to behold. The swirling foil patterns caught the light in a way cardboard never had before. Even experienced collectors were awestruck flipping through the rainbow of foil designs. It completely changed the tactile experience of going through a trading card book or box.
While Topps remained king due to its long history and relationships with MLB and the Players Association, the 1985 OPC issue put the upstart Canadian brand on the map. Collectors flocked to find OPC products on store shelves alongside Topps, and the foil backgrounds became a collector favorite that OPC would continue to use for several future seasons.
Buoyed by the popularity of its ’85 debut, OPC gained more licenses and expanded its baseball, football, and hockey offerings in subsequent years. By the late 1980s it was considered a true competitor to industry leader Topps. Cards from that landmark 1985 set remain highly sought after by vintage collectors to this day, especially with their innovative foil technology now over 35 years in the past.
At auctions today, a complete set in Near Mint condition could sell for well over $1000 USD given its historical and aesthetic significance. Key rookie and star player cards command even higher premiums. The O-Pee-Chee brand faded away by the 2000s after ownership changes, but it indelibly left its mark on the trading card industry thanks to that legendary first baseball issue in ’85. Without pushing boundaries as it did, the collector’s hobby may not have evolved in the visually stimulating directions it has.
In summarizing, the 1985 OPC baseball card set was a pivotal release that changed the collecting game. Its team-specific foil patterns, inclusion of prospect cards, and overall innovative design blew collectors away and thrust OPC into the spotlight. Standards like star rookie cards and visually striking designs that we see in modern issues were pioneered over 35 years ago in that classic OPC set. It remains one of the most recognizable and fondly remembered vintage releases in the history of sports cardboard.
