The 1991 Fleer baseball card set is considered by collectors to be one of the most error-filled issues in the modern era. Compared to typical years that may include only a handful of miscuts, missed cuts, or color variations, Fleer’s 1991 release stands out for containing a dizzying array of production flaws that make error cards from that year some of the most sought after on the hobby.
Most attribute the unusually high number of errors to changes that occurred at Fleer’s plant in Richmond, Virginia in 1990. That year, Topps lost its exclusive license to produce MLB cards opening the door for Fleer and Score to enter the market. In preparation for their inaugural baseball card release in over a decade, Fleer underwent expansions and upgrades to their facility. The tight deadline and insufficient time for the machinery and new employees to properly break in led to quality control issues that carried over into the 1991 sets.
While error cards had always been present even in sets from the well-oiled Topps operation, Fleer ’91 took production flaws to another level. Some specific errors collectors hunt include:
Missed cuts: Cards missing all or part of the image on one side. Some are cut entirely too high or low leaving only a sliver of photo.
Miscuts: Cards cut off-center leaving part of the next player visible. Ranging from subtle overlaps to nearly half of another player showing.
Inverted backs: A small number of cards had their front printed correctly but with the backs upside down.
Missing foil: A scarce few cards lacked the usual foil treatment on the player’s name on the front.
Missing/incorrect statistics: A handful of player stats on the backs were either totally absent or flawed in some way such as swapped batting averages.
Wrong tinting: A select group of players had their uniform colors altered. Most notably Ozzie Smith with a brown instead of white home jersey tint.
Gum stains: Excessive coloring from the gum wiped off onto some cards during packaging discoloring portions of the images.
Printer jams: Splotches or lines where the printing machine had trouble and left marks on cards.
Card stock variations: Ranging from pre-production paper types to completely different shades/textures between identical players.
Perforation errors: Miscut or missing perforations between cards still attached in sheet form.
While shocking at the time, the prevalence of errors in Fleer ’91 served to greatly increase collector interest in the set over the decades. With production estimates around 500 million cards, even errors comprise exceptionally rare oddities. Most single error cards now sell for hundreds to sometimes over $1,000 depending on the specific flaw. Invert backs can reach $5,000+, while the sole known example of an Ozzie Smith brown uniform error resided in a private collection for years until a reported $25,000 sale.
For patient collectors, locating error cards of their favorite players in the Fleer ’91 offers a true modern relic hunt. While sets of the 1960s and 1970s naturally hold allure due to their place in baseball card history, the widespread flaws in Fleer ’91 present a chance at uncovering remarkable one-of-a-kinds from the early 1990s boom period. Similar to the errors that emerged from Topps’ landmark 1952 issue, this most flawed of Fleer releases has become an iconic chapter in the story of the modern hobby. Its multitude of flaws may have frustrated the Quality Control department at the time, but for today’s collectors those mistakes represent opportunities to discover true gems still emerging from the case breaks and collection collections of Fleer ’91.
