The 1991 Bowman baseball set was one of the most highly anticipated releases of the early 1990s. Coming on the heels of Bowman’s return to the baseball card market in 1990 after a decades long absence, collectors were excited to see what the 1991 cards would bring. While not quite as legendary as some of the other vintage sets from the late 80s and early 90s, the ’91 Bowman issue delivered some true classics that are still highly coveted by collectors today. Let’s take a closer look at some of the standout rookie and star player cards from this beloved issue.
Perhaps the most famous rookie card from the 1991 Bowman set is the Ken Griffey Jr. While Griffey had broken into the majors in 1989 and put up solid numbers in his rookie season of 1990, his debut Bowman card in 1991 truly captured collectors’ attention as “The Kid” began showing signs of becoming one of the game’s all-time greats. Griffey’s effortless left-handed swing and game-changing skills in center field made him an instant fan favorite. His classic posed action shot rookie card, showing off his smooth athleticism, is one of the hobby’s true heavy hitters to this day. PSA 10 Gem Mint examples regularly sell for well over $1000.
Another future Hall of Famer who debuted in 1991 Bowman was Chipper Jones. Like Griffey, Jones’ future greatness was still unclear at the time but collectors saw his 5-tool potential. His striking card image depicting his smooth, effortless left-handed swing is still one of the most recognizable from the set. High grade Chipper rookies remain quite valuable in the collector market. Other notable rookies included Bobby Higginson, Chad Mottola, Mark Lewis, Joe Girardi and Steve Avery, who was coming off his World Series heroics as a rookie starter for the 1991 champion Atlanta Braves. While none reached the superstar heights of Griffey or Jones, they are still popular pickups for team and rookie collectors.
In addition to the exciting rookie class, 1991 Bowman was loaded with star studded veterans from the game’s best teams of the early 90s. Kirby Puckett’s sharp action shot remains one of his most beloved cards. He was coming off back-to-back batting titles and would help lead the Twins to two more World Series championships following the 1991 season. Perennial All-Star and then- Yankee captain Don Mattingly’s card shows him posing in his classic pinstripes, a favorite of New York collectors. And Roberto Alomar’s electrifying defensive play and batting prowess made him one of baseball’s brightest young stars – his terrific on-field image card captures this.
Future Hall of Famers like Ryne Sandberg, Eddie Murray, Rickey Henderson and Tom Glavine all had classic cards, as did then-emerging talents like David Justice, Bobby Bonilla, Barry Larkin and Bret Saberhagen. Atlanta Braves fans loved the fierce game shots of their star pitchers Tom Glavine and Steve Avery. The strong starting rotation would be a driving force behind the Braves’ success in the 1990s. Colorado Rockies fans also found something to cheer as the debut 1991 Bowman set included cards featuring stars like Andres Galarraga and Charlie Hayes, included as they were members of the Rockies in their expansion season having been selected in the 1990 expansion draft.
While stars and future Hall of Famers populated the set, collectors also enjoyed chase cards highlighting then-popular league leaders or Bowman specific parallels. The Diamond Kings acetate parallel became especially popular. Short prints like the Checklist cards or Draft Picks insert also captured collector interest. Overall production and print runs on 1991 Bowman were lower than previous boom years of the late 1980s, making high grade examples and certain chase cards all the more difficult to acquire in the current market.
Despite being over 30 years old, 1991 Bowman baseball cards remain a profoundly popular release in the hobby. Future HOFers like Griffey, Jones,puckett, mattingly, alomar, sandberg and henderson anchor the true elite cards that still command huge prices to this day. While sets produced during the first baseball card boom may get more media attention, aficionados consider 1991 Bowman among the very best mainstream issues of the early 90s for its star power, photo quality, design aesthetic and rookie selection. For team collectors, it also marked the excitement of new franchises like the Colorado Rockies entering the league. All in all, the 1991 Bowman baseball set celebrates its third decade as one of the true classics that any vintage collector would love to own.
