Steve Lyons was a utility player in Major League Baseball who played primarily as a second baseman and third baseman from 1985-1995. While he was never a true star player, Lyons had a lengthy MLB career thanks to his versatility and defensive abilities. He is best remembered today by baseball card collectors thanks to the many cards featuring his likeness that were produced during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Lyons was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 4th round of the 1982 amateur draft out of the University of California, Los Angeles. He made his MLB debut with Boston in 1985 and would play his first 5 seasons with the Red Sox. Lyons demonstrated early on that he could play competently at both second base and third base, earning him regular playing time in a utility role. His rookie card was issued by Topps in 1986 as part of the standard Topps set that year, featuring a photo of him in a Red Sox uniform from his rookie 1985 season.
After the 1989 season, Lyons was traded to the Chicago White Sox. He continued providing defensive versatility from the middle infield positions for Chicago over the next 4 seasons from 1990-1993. During this time with the White Sox, Lyons appeared on numerous White Sox team and individual player cards from Topps, Fleer, and Donruss. Collectors at the time could find Lyons featured on White Sox team and individual player cards in the flagship Topps sets as well as in various special parallel and insert sets from the early 1990s.
Perhaps the most notable and collectible Lyons cards from his White Sox period feature photos from the infamous 1990 Fleer set. The 1990 Fleer set is legendary among cardboard collectors due to the poor photo quality featured on many cards. Lyons’ 1990 Fleer card epitomizes this, showing him with an oddly blurry and askew photo that distorts his features. This miscut has made Lyons’ 1990 Fleer card a highly sought after vintage issue among collectors looking for oddball and error cards from the set.
After the 1993 season, Lyons signed as a free agent with the New York Mets. Entering his late career phase, he provided utility infield ability off the bench for the Mets from 1994-1995. As a member of the Mets, Lyons received recognition in the standard new player issues from Topps, Fleer, and Pinnacle during 1994-1995. Collectors from this period generally rate the Lyons cards from his Mets tenure as less visually appealing or collectible than some of his earlier White Sox and Red Sox issues.
Overall, Steve Lyons had a 10 year MLB career as a light hitting but steady defensive infielder. While he never achieved stardom as a player, Lyons ended up achieving a measure of fame among baseball card collectors. The many cards released featuring Lyons during his playing career from the 1980s and early 1990s, especially his iconic 1990 Fleer photo, have become notable in their own right. Today, complete career Lyons card sets can be put together relatively inexpensively given his supporting role status as a player. But individual key rookie and error cards still command interest from collectors due to their scarcity and quirks. As such, Steve Lyons manages to maintain name recognition decades later primarily through the cardboard collections he inspired.
In summary, Steve Lyons may not have been a hall of fame caliber player, but his long minor league career playing for multiple teams allowed for many baseball cards to be produced in his likeness. Certain issues like his flawed 1990 Fleer photo have become legendary among collectors. While never a star on the field, Lyons achieved a unique measure of fame through the baseball cards that commemorated his decade-long big league career in the 1980s and 90s. As such, his cards continue to be among the most sought after and discussed issues for collectors of the late 20th centurycardboard era.
