The 1989 Fleer baseball card set was a significant release that marked both change and nostalgia for collectors. The set size was 660 cards and included rookie cards of future Hall of Famers such as Barry Larkin, Greg Maddux, and Tim Raines. It was also the final year that Fleer had an exclusive license to produce cards for the Topps Company before they lost rights to produce cards beginning in 1990.
Fleer had been producing baseball cards since 1956 but in 1989 they were still seen as the underdog compared to the dominant Topps brand. They made the most of their final year with some innovative designs and attention-grabbing photography. For example, the base card design switched to a vertical format compared to the traditional horizontal layout of most other brands. This gave each player’s image more prominent real estate on the card rather than having it squeezed into a narrow horizontal space.
Beyond the new vertical design, Fleer also featured creative action shots and unique photography. For example, the Nolan Ryan card showed him winding up for a pitch with the baseball appearing as a blur. The Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card depicted him leaping high against an outfield wall to make a catch. Such dynamic photography helped Fleer cards stand out on the racks compared to the often more static images used by Topps.
While the designs and photos innovated, Fleer also tapped into collector nostalgia by including retro design subsets. The “Turn Back The Clock” subset featured 60 cards with a design inspired by the look of 1950s cards complete with team logo backgrounds in team colors and a classic ball-and-glove logo at top. Similarly, the “Traded” subset recreated the look of 1960s and 1970s traded sets with a white border and team name arch at top along with player stats on the reverse. Such nods to the early decades of the hobby resonated with older collectors.
Perhaps the most coveted rookie cards in the set were those of Barry Larkin, Greg Maddux, and Tim Raines. All three would go on to have Hall of Fame careers and their rookie cards from the 1989 Fleer set are still some of the most sought after by collectors today. Other notable rookies included Randy Johnson, Edgar Martinez, and David Justice. For Raines, Maddux, and Johnson, their Fleer rookies were the only ones produced that year since they did not make the Topps set.
While the set size of 660 cards may seem modest by today’s standards, it was actually one of the largest Fleer had produced to date. The sheer volume included inserts, parallels, and variations that added to the challenge of completion. Notable subsets included “Diamond Kings”, “Traded”, “Turn Back The Clock”, “Team Leaders”, and “Team Checklists”. Fleer also produced rare “Gold” parallels and promotional “Super Traded” cards inserted one per case of wax packs.
When Topps regained the exclusive MLB license starting in 1990, it meant the end of Fleer’s long run producing licensed baseball cards. In their final year they went out with creative designs, innovative photography, and rookie cards of future stars. While the 1989 set lacked the official MLB logos and uniform designs found in Topps sets, it carved out its own nostalgic identity that still resonates with collectors today. Key rookie cards like those of Larkin, Maddux, and Raines guarantee the set a place in card history. For both innovation and tapping into the nostalgia of earlier decades of the hobby, 1989 Fleer baseball cards remain a standout among collectors.
The 1989 Fleer baseball card set marked both the end of an era for Fleer’s MLB license but also one of their most creative designs and photography. Rookie cards of future Hall of Famers like Larkin, Maddux, and Raines give the set lasting appeal for collectors. Between innovative vertical card designs, action photography, and nostalgic retro subsets, Fleer went out on a high note creatively before losing rights to produce licensed baseball cards beginning the next year.
