The 1991 Fleer baseball card set featured several rare and valuable error cards that are highly sought after by error card collectors. The set marked Fleer’s return to the baseball card market after a decade away, and as with any new large undertaking, some mistakes were made during the production process that created unique variants within the set.
Fleer produced cards for over 700 major and minor league players for their 1991 baseball card set, which spanned 700 total cards from #1 to #700. During the printing process at various Fleer plants, a small number of cards contained noticeable errors in design, photography, or stats/info that made those cards one-of-a-kind variants within the set. These rare error cards have achieved substantial value in the secondary market among collectors.
Perhaps the most famous and valuable error from the 1991 Fleer set is the Nolan Ryan/Darryl Strawberry error card. Card #490 in the set was intended to feature Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers. Due to an error at the Fleer plant, the final printed card showed Ryan on the front but featured the photograph and statistics of Darryl Strawberry, the star outfielder for the New York Mets, on the back of the card. It’s estimated only a few dozen of these error doubles exist today.
In pristine mint condition, the coveted Nolan Ryan/Darryl Strawberry error card can sell for well over $10,000. Even well-loved graded copies in the PSA 7-8 range will still command $2,000-4,000 due to its incredible rarity and historical significance as one of the most publicized production errors ever made in the sports card industry.
Aside from the Ryan/Strawberry mix-up, there are a few other noteworthy errors in the 1991 Fleer set as well. Card #101 featuring Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Kelly Gruber had an error where his last name was misspelled as “Gruger” on the back of the card. Estimates are that only around 10 of these Gruber name errors exist.
In top gem mint condition, the Kelly Gruber “Gruger” error has sold for over $3,000 at auction. Well-centered mint copies still bring $1,000-$1,500 on the resale market due to the sharp single-character typo making it one of the most identifiable errors of the set.
Another error seen more frequently but still quite rare involves Cardinals second baseman José Oquendo on card #620. His last name is missing the second “n”, appearing as “Oquend” on the back of some cards. Pristine PSA/BGS 10 grade examples of the José Oquendo “Oquend” error have sold for around $800-$1,200 over the years depending on the population at the time.
Aside from name errors, there are also known photo swap errors and uniform number mix-ups within the 1991 Fleer issue. One fairly prominent example involves Boston Red Sox pitcher Greg Harris on card #341. On some versions of this card, the photo incorrectly shows Harris wearing the uniform number “54” instead of his true number of “43” worn during the 1990-1991 seasons depicted on the front of the card.
In strong near-mint to mint condition, examples of the Greg Harris #54 photo error have realized $400-$600 at auction. Not quite as valuable as the name misprint errors but still a defining production anomaly within the set highly prized by error card collectors.
Other somewhat less documented but still authentic errors reported within the 1991 Fleer baseball include swapped team emblems, missing statistic categories, transposed stats, and uniform number swaps between additional players beyond the Harris incident. While more commonly encountered than the headline errors, perfectly centered mint copies of these less publicized variants remain quite scarce and command $100-300 from specialized collectors.
The 1991 Fleer baseball card set saw its fair share of errors introduced during production. While the set contained over 700 cards total, it’s estimated fewer than 200 authentic error variations have been reported to exist between the Nolan Ryan/Darryl Strawberry double, name misprints, photo swaps, and other statistical or design flaws.
For the most serious error card collectors, finding and acquiring high-grade examples of these one-of-a-kind mistakes made over 30 years ago now represent some of the most challenging pursuits and valuable possessions in the entire world of sports cards. Prices continue climbing each new generation of enthusiasts enters the market seeking these small but historic production imperfections from the early 1990s.
