The year 1990 saw some interesting errors made in the production of baseball cards. While errors are common, the mistakes from 1990 cards stand out both for their variety and collectability decades later. Let’s take a closer look at some of the more notable printing flaws and variations from cards released that year.
Perhaps the most famous error from 1990 comes from the Topps baseball card set. The card for pitcher Ken Patterson of the Chicago White Sox was accidentally printed with another player’s photo. Specifically, the front of Patterson’s card shows a picture of pitcher Bill Long of the Montreal Expos. Both players are right-handed pitchers, but otherwise look nothing alike. This photo swap makes the Patterson/Long error one of the most obvious mistakes in baseball card history. Thanks to the mistake clearly showing the wrong face, examples of this error card in near-mint condition have sold for over $1000 to dedicated error collectors.
Another Topps error from 1990 involved switching the photos on the cards for outfielders Brian Harper and Greg Briley, who both played for the Minnesota Twins that season. Unlike the Patterson/Long error, Harper and Briley look somewhat similar as they are both white males with short brown hair. As a result, the photo swap is much more subtle. Upon close examination the faces and uniforms do not match the names. Only a few of these Harper/Briley switched photo errors are known to exist today in collectors’ hands.
Score brand baseball cards from 1990 contained their own share of mistakes. An error was made where the card stock used for outfielder Darren Daulton’s Philadelphia Phillies card was incorrectly printed with statistics and text from another player’s template by the same name, pitcher Darren Daulton of the Montreal Expos. As the two players played different positions for different teams, the name matched but other details did not. Another Score error saw the photo of pitcher Danny Cox of the Cincinnati Reds mistakenly placed on the card intended to be for pitcher Danny Jackson of the Reds. Both errors involved name overlaps that led to mixed up statistics and photos.
Donruss also had some errors in their 1990 release. The biggest was an extremely rare printing error where the front of outfielder Kevin Bass’ card was correctly done, but the back of the card had completely different player information and stats for outfielder Daryl Boston of the Boston Red Sox. Only a handful of the Bass/Boston switch error cards are known to exist. Donruss also had a less exciting but still erroneous card where pitcher Joe Boever’s first name was misspelled as “Jobe” on the front of his card.
Even the premium upper-end brands released errors in 1990. The Star brand had their share of problems. The front of catcher Charlie O’Brien’s card was printed with no photo at all, just blank white space where his image should be. An error in the Fleer Ultra set saw shortstop Dick Schofield’s last name misspelled as “Schofeld” on the front of his card.
The variety of mistakes made in the 1990 baseball card production year created some interesting and valuable errors for collectors today. From full photo swaps to mixed up player stats and misspellings, the errors provide insights into the challenges of mass card production. While annoying for the companies at the time, today these flawed cards are highly sought after by error collectors as interesting anomalies from the era. The mistakes only add to the nostalgia and intrigue of the cards for many fans.