The 1989 Topps baseball card set is one of the most iconic and valuable issues in the modern era. While the base cards themselves rarely fetch big money, the set is renowned for its abundance of rare and valuable errors. Perfectly mint examples of some of the rarest 1989 Topps errors can sell for tens of thousands of dollars or more.
One of the biggest errors from the ’89 Topps set is the Mark McGwire photoshop error card. McGwire’s regular base card shows him in a St. Louis Cardinals uniform as normal, but a small number of cards were accidentally printed with his picture seemingly altered using primitive 1980s photoshop technology. In the error version, McGwire appears to be wearing a collage of uniform parts from different teams sloppily Frankenstein’d together. Only a handful are known to exist in pristine condition and they routinely sell for $30,000 or more when they hit the market.
Another hugely valuable error is the oft-referenced Nolan Ryan/Ozzie Smith blank back card. A small print run of Ryan and Smith cards were accidentally produced without any statistical information or writing on the back. While the front is normal, the completely blank white back makes these essentially one-of-a-kind collector items. In a PSA 10 Gem Mint grade, they can sell for over $50,000 each.
The 1989 set is also home to arguably the rarest error card of all-time, the famed “Turk Wendell” error. This highly specialized miscut features Boston Red Sox pitcher Wes Gardner’s photo and stats on the front. But on the back, the name is replaced with “Turk Wendell,” an unissued prospect card that was never supposed to be in the set. Only one is known to exist and it has never been professionally graded or publicly sold. Its estimated value ranges from $100,000 up to 7 figures depending on condition.
Another exceedingly rare miscut involves the cards of Chicago Cubs pitching prospect Shawn Boskie and starting catcher Damon Berryhill. A minuscule number of these two relatively no-name players were cut and trimmed in an unusual diamond shape rather than the standard Topps rectangle. Pristine specimens could sell for over $25,000 in the current market.
Outside of miscuts and photoshops, switching of statistics between players is another popular 1989 Topps error. The Keith Hughes/Roberto Alomar error involves cards where the stats and team affiliations are accidentally flipped between the two second basemen. High grade examples sell for $15,000+. A similar valuable error saw the stats of Phillies teammates John Kruk and Von Hayes mistakenly reversed.
Several errors also involve the omission or misplacement of special subsets found throughout the flagship Topps set. The missing “Traded” banner is one, showing players in the uniforms of new teams post-trade without the typical marking behind their name. One of the rarest shows Ozzie Smith’s “gold bond” traded subset card without the naming rights logo. Low pop errors from insert sets like Topps All-Stars or Record Breakers also command huge premiums.
Of course, the ultimate 1989 Topps error prize remains the elusive 1/1 “Incident at Busch Stadium” security sticker misprint found on the McGwire/Will Clark leaders subset card. It shows an MLB holographic sticker partially printed directly over Clark’s bat but not existing elsewhere in the set. Its estimated value is well into the six-figure range or potentially higher depending on the circumstances of any eventual sale.
While most 1989 Topps cards hold relatively little value today, the abundance of desirable mistakes and misprints make it one of the most hunted sets by error collectors. Spectacular high-grade specimens of the set’s rarest errors like the McGwire Frankenstein card, turk Wendell miscut, or Busch Stadium misprint could sell for record prices even by today’s lofty modern standards if they ever become available. The chance to uncover hidden gems still lurks in every unsearched 1989 pack three decades later.
