1989 Donruss baseball cards were produced by Donruss in 1989 as part of their flagship baseball card issuing. Some key things to know about the 1989 Donruss set include:

The 1989 Donruss set includes 792 total cards issued in wax packs, jumbo packs, and factory sets. The design featured action photography focused around players’ faces with bold colors. Players were shown in dark uniforms against bright colorful backgrounds. The set highlighted many of baseball’s top stars from the 1988 season.

Notable rookies in the 1989 Donruss set included Dwight Gooden, Ozzie Smith, Rickey Henderson, Andre Dawson, and Nolan Ryan. Gooden, entering his 5th season, was still considered a rookie by baseball card standards. These veteran stars and icons of the 1980s helped make the 1989 Donruss set popular among collectors both young and old.

The design featured a white or blue border around each photo with the team name and player name above in bold yellow or red text. The border color would either be white or match the dominant color in the background photo. Stat lines for the previous season were listed on the bottom along with career highlights. Backs provided more stats and a baseball-themed color design.

Two parallel subsets stood out in the 1989 Donruss offering. The ‘Diamond Kings’ subset featured eight diamond-encrusted team logo variations of star players like Ken Griffey Jr., Ozzie Smith, and Nolan Ryan inserted one per wax pack. Theseparallel inserts featured glittering diamond accents and were highly chase cards.

The ‘Old Judge’ tobacco card replicas were also inserted at a rate of one per 24 packs. These black-and-white parallel cards recreated vintage tobacco era cards for legends like Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and Honus Wagner. Both parallel subsets added significant allure for collectors opening packs of the main 792-card base set.

The massive factory sets were also quite popular. Multiple box options existed including a basic 300-card box, a deluxe 500-card box, and an enormous 1000-card “Complete Master” factory set. These contained playsets of stars in plastic sheets along with starsheets for team completes. Factory sets ensured collectors could acquire stars, rookies, and inserts.

With a diverse assortment of stars from the glory years of the late 1980s, action photography designs, and popular parallel inserts – 1989 Donruss earned its reputation as one of the most iconic and collectible releases in the modern age of baseball cards. It succeeded the previous year’s Tiffany set as the top choice for both young collectors and investors.

Part of the appeal was that it captured some of the final seasons of legends like Wade Boggs, Ryne Sandberg, Dave Stewart, and Orel Hershiser in their baseball primes while also showcasing the arrival of young stars like Frank Thomas, Ken Griffey Jr., and Mark McGwire. The vintage tobacco reprints also added nostalgic collector value.

The following are some notable rookies, stars, and parallel inserts from the 1989 Donruss set that remain highly coveted by collectors and investors today:

Ken Griffey Jr. Rookie (card #1) – One of the most iconic and valuable modern rookie cards, still coveted over 30 years later.

Nolan Ryan Diamond Kings parallel insert – With its sparkling diamond accents surrounding the Astros logo, it’s the key “hit” from this popular parallel subset.

Babe Ruth Old Judge reprint – A stunning black-and-white tribute to one of the true legends of baseball that adds nostalgia and allure to this sought-after insert set.

Ozzie Smith Diamond Kings insert – Another highly popular and visually striking parallel insert from the set’s coveted 8-card Diamond Kings subset.

Roger Clemens rookie (card #640) – One of the more memorable rookie cards from this era, capturing Clemens’ beginnings with the Red Sox.

Frank Thomas rookie (card #441) – Arguably one of the top-looking rookie cards of the era with Thomas’ muscular build on full display.

Darryl Strawberry (card #531) – Iconic Dodger action shot that highlights one of the 1980s’ true five-tool stars in his prime.

While production numbers were high for the late 1980s, the 1989 Donruss set has proven to hold value extremely well over the decades. Condition-graded examples of stars, rookies, and inserts continue to sell for thousands. Its blend of proven legends, exciting young stars, and innovative inserts made the 1989 Donruss set one of the most beloved issues from the golden age of baseball cards.