The 1987 Sportflics baseball card set was released during the peak era of baseball card collecting in the 1980s. Sportflics was a unique brand that focused on producing innovative cards featuring movie-quality photographs rather than simple depictions of players. The 1987 set contained 234 cards and beautifully portrayed the greatest players of the time in posed action shots that really captured the essence of America’s pastime.
Some key things to know about the 1987 Sportflics set include that the cards were larger in size than typical issues from Topps or Donruss at 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches. This allowed for much bigger and higher quality images compared to competing brands. Another defining aspect was that each card came surrounded by a color team border that matched the uniform colors of the player featured. This added a nice aesthetic touch compared to simple white borders.
Various technological advances in photography during the late 1980s era allowed Sportflics to truly pioneer a cinematic style never seen before on cardboard. Rather than simple posed portraits, nearly every card showed the ballplayer in the midst of an actual baseball skill being performed such as batting, throwing, or fielding. Slow shutter speeds and careful lighting made it appear as if you were watching a highlight directly from a big screen movie.
Some truly iconic cards from the ’87 Sportflics set that exemplified this included Nolan Ryan’s blazing fastball, Mike Schmidt crushing a home run, and Ozzie Smith making an acrobatic backhanded play. Dozens of others placed the viewer directly on the field to observe incredible talents like Rickey Henderson’s speed, Wade Boggs’ hitting prowess, and Tom Seaver’s pitching motion. It was revolutionary for the time and set a new standard everyone else had to emulate going forward.
Beyond just the stylish photography, Sportflics also became known for including valuable statistical and biographical information on the rear of each card. Things like career stats, accomplishments, and fun facts about the player off the field helped collectors learn more about their favorite stars. Color team logos were included at the top as well to represent where the ballplayer was on that current season’s roster.
Distribution of the ’87 Sportflics set was fairly widespread nationwide through hobby shops, supermarkets, drug stores and other retailer outlets. While not quite as ubiquitous as the mega brands, availability was high enough for many kids to find and collect the entire run. Factors like the larger size, beautiful high-quality images, and added stats made Sportflics a premium brand that commanded higher prices compared to the competition on the secondary market even at release.
Some noteworthy rookie cards that debuted in the 1987 Sportflics set and would go on to become extremely valuable included Yankees’ shortstop Andy Stankiewicz, White Sox’ reliever Bobby Thigpen, and Expos’ catcher Marc Whitmore. None would approach the legendary status of perhaps the most coveted RC from the set – that of “Nasty” Boy reliever Norm Charlton of the Reds. Charlton’s intimidating windup and delivery were perfectly captured on his Sportflics freshman flick.
Beyond the iconic players displayed so cinematically on each card, Sportflics also featured several parallel and insert sets within the base checklist numbers that added to the excitement and collectibility. Special “All-Star” photo variants of the top ballplayers shone with diamond-encrusted borders. Limited “Master Card” parallels showed players in player-worn uniforms with on-card autographs. Other insert sets paid tribute to milestone achievements and postseason heroes.
While short printed compared to the juggernaut brands of the era, Sportflics made an indelible mark on the hobby with its groundbreaking cinematic photography style. Cards from the innovative 1987 set remain widely popular with collectors today due to the unrivaled action shots and wealth of information provided on the backs. For delivering baseball in such a visually stunning motion picture format well before the WWE ever branded “Sports Entertainment”, Sportflics of the 1980s true pioneers that pushed cardboard to a whole new level.
The 1987 Sportflics baseball card set pushed the boundaries of what could be accomplished in terms of photography, storytelling and overall collector experience compared to all other brands at the time. Though short-lived as a company, Sportflics’ impact on the aesthetic direction of the hobby cannot be overstated. Their revolutionary large-format cinematic cards are landmark keepsakes that perfectly captured the biggest baseball stars of the era for collectors to remember forever.
