The 1988 Fleer baseball card set featured over 600 player and playoff cards encompassing all 26 Major League Baseball teams of the time. Compared to earlier Fleer releases, the 1988 set marked a transition to higher quality cardboard stock and focused photography that produced some of Fleer’s best and most iconic cards of the late 1980s era.
Some key aspects of the 1988 Fleer baseball cards checklist and set included:
Size: The standard sized cards were 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches, the same dimensions used by most card manufacturers at the time including Topps and Donruss.
Design: Fleer’s designers opted for simplified black borders around full bleed color action shots of players. Player names and positions were printed clearly above the photos while team logos ran along the bottom. Overall it was a clean, crisp look that allowed the vibrant photos to take center stage.
Photography: Fleer employed top sports photographers who captured players in dynamic on-field action or unique posed portraits. The photos had a high-quality glossy finish and really captured the personalities and styles of individual ballplayers. Notable snapshots included Ozzie Smith backflipping, Dwight Gooden’s windup, and Wade Boggs in his batting stance.
Roster: The set included all 30 Major League teams from 1987. This was the last year before divisional realignment and addition of the Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies franchises in 1993. Notable rookies included Mark McGwire, Barry Larkin, and Charles Nagy.
Serial Numbers: Cards were serial numbered on the front from 1 to approximately 650. The numeric stamp was on the lower right corner and helped differentiate between duplicated common players across the set.
Variations: The 1988 Fleer set featured several popular parallel and short print variations. The Gold Medallion parallel subset featured embossed gold foil stamping around the borders and was one of Fleer’s most coveted insert sets. Other minor variations popped up due to photo and stats errors.
Inserts: Fleer included playoff recap inserts highlighting the 1987 World Series and LCS matchups between the Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals as well as the ALCS between the Tigers and Twins. Additional non-sports inserts covered topics like endangered species and 1988 Olympic medalists.
Rarity: While some stars like Gooden, Strawberry, and Canseco had over 10 different cards due to update and special set inclusions, most common players topped out around 4-6 different base variants. Key short prints and parallels ensured the set had sought after chase cards for collectors.
Checklist: Some of the more notable and valuable stars featured in the 1988 Fleer set included Ozzie Smith, Wade Boggs, Rickey Henderson, Dwight Gooden, Kirby Puckett, Roger Clemens, Don Mattingly, and Ryne Sandberg. Rookies like McGwire, Larkin, and Todd Stottlemyre also gained popularity.
In subsequent years, Fleer baseball cards adopted glossier photo stock, experimented more with parallel subsets, and added rookie cup inserts. But the 1988 checklist remained very popular long after its original release date thanks to the enduring photography and simpler yet functional design elements. Today complete high-grade 1988 Fleer sets still command huge price tags while individual stars, inserts and short prints continue to entice collectors and investors. The set marked a creative high point and transition year for Fleer that showcased the talents of top baseball players through memorable on-card snapshots.
