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NINETEEN NINETY BASEBALL CARDS

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The 1990 Major League Baseball season saw the startup of multiple expansion teams and marked the beginning of a new era of baseball cards. The decade of the 1990s brought great change to the baseball card industry that had boomed throughout the late 1980s.

Two new National League franchises began play in 1990 – the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins. This expanded Major League rosters and provided new players to showcase in that year’s baseball card sets. Iconic stars like Ken Griffey Jr., Nolan Ryan, and Cal Ripken Jr. remained hugely popular, but fans were eager to learn about the next generation of talent as well.

1990 Topps was the flagship baseball card release of the year and featured 782 total cards in the base set. Some notable rookies included by Topps in their 1990 offerings were Bobby Bonilla, Gregg Olson, and Darrin Jackson. Topps also included “Traded” cards in their set for the first time to account for players who had been dealt to different teams after the original photo shoots. Randy Johnson, Alex Rodriguez, and Derek Jeter were yet to debut in the major leagues but would become defining stars of the 1990s and 2000s.

Fleer took a different aesthetic approach in 1990 by utilizing horizontal card formats and brushstroke lettering/logos on many of their designs. Their 585-card set had stronger photography than recent Fleer issues and incorporated team logo pennants on the borders. Rookies included by Fleer were Melido Perez, Gregg Jefferies, and Bill Pecota. Donruss also stuck to traditional vertical card layouts while putting a focus on action shots for their 660-card release.

Score was among the first companies to experiment with new dimensions, cutting their cards down slightly while improving photography. Their 365-card set highlighted exciting plays through tight cropping. Score also featured the debuts of players like David Justice, Jeff Bagwell, and Eddie Murray in different uniforms. The Score Traded set provided another 84 cards to track midseason player moves.

Upper Deck greatly disrupted the baseball card landscape when they debuted in 1989 by offering premium collector-oriented cards. For their 1990 set, Upper Deck upped the photo quality and cut the base number down to a 300-card checklist. Their inserts highlighted top prospects like Bobby Witt and college standouts like Jason Giambi before they reached the majors. The rarity and preservation of Upper Deck cards also helped spawn the interest in PSA/BGS grading in the early 1990s.

Other notable 1990 offerings included Stadium Club from Fleer with innovative dual images, ProCards which focused on action close-ups, and Triple Crown from Score which was distributed through convenience and grocery stores. Major League Baseball Properties also issued throwback player collections under the Diamond Kings and Diamond Anniversary brands.

The increasing diversity and specialization of baseball card products demonstrated how the industry was evolving beyond the traditional “big three” of Topps, Fleer, and Donruss. Pack sales remained strong through the early 90s but the arrival of collectors now obsessed with condition, scarcity, and investments foreshadowed changes ahead. The unforgettable stars and stories featured in 1990 baseball cards helped usher in a new age.

NINETEEN EIGHTY FIVE TOPPS BASEBALL CARDS

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The 1985 Topps Baseball Card set was a transitional year for the premier baseball card brand. Topps produced several popular and iconic sets in the late 1970s and early 1980s that featured memorable rookie cards and aesthetic designs. Production costs were rising and sports memorabilia was becoming big business. The 1985 set would see Topps make changes aimed at reducing costs while maintaining fan interest in the cards.

The set includes 792 total cards and was printed on a thicker, higher quality paper stock compared to previous years. The cards featured individual player photos on a white background with the team logo and player information formatted similarly to 1984 Topps. Variations included ’84 Topps-style action shot parallel cards and sepia-toned ‘Traded’ cards for players who changed teams. While not terribly creative from a design perspective, the classic Topps visual style remained intact.

Notable rookie cards in the ’85 set included Bret Saberhagen, Mark McGwire, Tony Fernandez, and Albert Belle. None would have the cultural impact of the 1984 Kirby Puckett or 1987 Griffey Jr. cards in terms of aesthetics, rarity, and the players’ future Hall of Fame careers. Still, these players helped shape baseball in the late 1980s and 1990s.

The biggest changes for 1985 Topps regarded photo sourcing and copyright. Faced with rising photography licensing fees, Topps made the unprecedented move of using team-submitted photos instead of hiring their own photographer for every team. While technically legal, some see it as the beginning of Topps’ eroding commitment to creative, high-quality card design standards. It also marked the first time the copyright was attributed directly to the MLBPA instead of Topps.

Topps further trimmed production costs by replacing the “Diamond Kings” premium insert cards of past years with a simpler team logo parallel variation called “Glossy All-Stars.” While well-received by collectors at the time due to their rarity compared to the base cards, they lacked the visual wow-factor of premium inserts from the early 1980s.

The reduced photo budget is also evident in the set’s action shot selection. Many cards featured relatively generic batting or throwing poses compared to the more dynamic action photos of decade’s start. Meanwhile, the lack of a dedicated photographer resulted in inconsistent photo quality across the set—a marked departure from Topps’ previous high standards.

Distribution of 1985 Topps was originally in the familiar green wax packs of 3 cards but later in the pink wax “factory sets” containing 102 randomly assorted cards. These pink wax boxes forever changed the primary method of distribution in the hobby away from loose wax packs. While more consumer friendly, some argue it diminished the fun of the trading card chase.

When released in 1985, the entire issued set retailed from $1.49 for a pack of 3 to $19.95 for a 102-card factory set. In todays inflated sports memorabilia market, a complete set in Near Mint condition can fetch over $1,000 while a BGS/PSA Gem Mint 10 graded rookie card of certain star players can sell for thousands more.

The 1985 Topps Baseball Card set represented a transitional period as costs cut into design quality and standard photo production. It maintained the essential Topps visual formula that made the brand an institution. Landmark rookie cards of McGwire, Saberhagen and others also gave the set long-term collector interest. While not the most creatively executed set of the time, it highlighted Topps’ struggle between maintaining creative standards and financial viability amid an evolving memorabilia industry landscape. While not an iconic design year, 1985 Topps remains an important bridge between the early vintage era and modern baseball card production methods still used today.