The 1987 baseball card season was a transitional year for the hobby. While the mega-companies like Topps, Fleer, and Donruss still dominated production, several smaller independent companies entered the market testing new ideas and designs that would influence the industry in future years.

1987 saw Topps continue as the dominant baseball card producer for over 50 years. They produced their traditional design of individual player cards with photos on the front and stats/career highlights on the back. The set totaled 792 cards as was standard for Topps issues in the 1980s. Notable rookie cards included Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, and David Justice. The designs were clean and classic Topps style that collectors had come to expect.

Fleer took a different approach in 1987 with a photo centered design that showed more of the player than previous years. They also included action shots for the first time. The set totaled only 336 cards but featured quality glossy stock. Rookies included Chuck Knoblauch and David Wells. This new photo-heavy style would become a Fleer trademark that set them apart from the boxy designs of Donruss and Topps.

Donruss also went photo-centric in 1987, moving away from their earlier illustrated style. They featured larger crisp images on a gray backdrop. The set included only 330 cards but had a premium feel. The brand struggled to catch on fully with collectors at this stage. Notable rookies were Scott Erickson and Jeff Bagwell.

Two of the new independent companies in 1987 were Score and Stadium Club. Score produced the first season of their short-lived baseball card run, featuring creative action shot designs and quality paper stock. The set was only 144 cards but is now quite collectible from this early Score period. Stadium Club also came out with only 132 cards but featured gorgeous high-gloss stock and unique posed photography, foreshadowing the premium styles they would later become known for.

Another new brand was Fleer Ultra, a subset produced within the main Fleer set. These parallel cards featured the same photos but in an embossed foil treatment that added luxury appeal. Ultra cards became highly coveted by collectors. The 60 card set within the larger Fleer issue featured some of the best rookie cards from that year.

Two other interesting releases were the Sportflics and Leaf brands. Sportflics produced cards with motion-capture photography, an innovative concept before animation on cards became common. Their 84 card set showed players in mid-swing or mid-throw. Leaf also experimented with action photography and produced regional sets for certain cities rather than a full nationwide release.

The 1987 season was a transition to a more photo-realistic aesthetic across the main manufacturers after years of illustrated styles. It also saw the rise of independent companies exploring new premium concepts before the baseball card market exploded in the late 80s. Prices today reflect the debut rookie cards and early releases from Score and Stadium Club that started important subsets. The 1987 season planted seeds of changes that would define the future of the hobby.

While the 1987 Donruss, Fleer and Topps sets dominated production, they also faced new competition from innovative brands pushing the creative boundaries of card design. The photo-heavy styles of Fleer and Donruss that year would influence the main manufacturers for decades to come. Parallel subsets like Fleer Ultra also introduced the concept of premium parallel inserts within the core releases.

Score and Stadium Club in particular took baseball cards in a luxury direction with their high-end paper and unique photography. Their early issues from 1987 are quite collectible today showing how they presaged the ultra-premium card trends of the 1990s. Even smaller experimental brands like Sportflics and Leaf explored new concepts before animation and regional sets became standard.

The rookie class of 1987 was also a notable one. Future Hall of Famers like Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux had their first cards produced. Other impact players like Jeff Bagwell, Chuck Knoblauch, and David Justice also debuted. While prices may not have been extremely high in 1987, cards from players who went on to have great careers hold value for collectors today.

In many ways, 1987 was a bridge between the classic illustrated styles that defined the early 1980s and the photo-realistic premium concepts that would explode baseball card popularity later in the decade. The mixture of traditional brands continuing established designs alongside newcomers pushing creative boundaries marked it as a transitional year. Cards from 1987 remain an interesting segment of the hobby showing the seeds of changes that reshaped the entire sports card industry.