Fleer started by focusing on boxing cards but gained significant success after entering the baseball card market in 1956. They debuted their first post-war baseball card set featuring current players that year and became the first serious competitor to long-dominant Topps. Fleer’s innovative design choices and photography helped make their sets highly popular with collectors. Throughout the 1960s and 70s, Fleer was able to carve out around a third of the baseball card market share as they dueled with Topps annually to sign players to contracts and release new sets. Fleer pumped significant resources into signing star players and developing premium young talent to attract collectors.
Some of Fleer’s most famous and iconic early sets included the 1957 rookie card run which featured future Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, and Hoyt Wilhelm among others. They also debuted the first-ever card featuring an active player in color in 1961 with a Nellie Fox card. In 1981, Fleer scored a huge coup by signing a licensing deal with the MLBPA to use active players’ names and likenesses after Topps’ exclusive deal expired. This allowed them to issue highly successful sets in 1982 and 1983 that threatened Topps’ dominance.
However, Fleer began facing serious financial issues in the mid-1980s as the trading card industry began an eventual downturn. After nearly going bankrupt, Fleer was bought by cardmaker Mediatech (later Leaf) in 1990. They changed hands a few more times, being owned by Fleer Brands and then The Topps Company. Throughout these ownership transitions, Fleer struggled to keep up with the rapidly changing sportscard landscape. The market was flooded by competitors and new products like memorabilia cards. Meanwhile, young collectors were migrating to different hobbies and fads.
By the mid-2000s, Fleer had shrunk to a small share of the baseball card market. Their last major license was for NBA products which ended in 2001. Unable to compete on contracts or innovate enough, Fleer released its final baseball card set in 2007 to lackluster sales and fanfare. They were unable to bounce back from overproduction that led to plummeting resale value and collector disinterest. Later that year, Fleer shuttered completely after failing to find a buyer, bringing an end to the iconic brand’s long and memorable run producing America’s favorite collectible.
While Fleer cards of the ’50s-‘80s remain very popular with nostalgic collectors, the company fell victim to the same challenges that saw the overall baseball card industry contract over 90% in value between the 1990s and 2000s. Without a return to profitability, the storied cardmaker eventually faded from existence after half a century creating memorable cardboard for fans. Fleer made an indelible mark during its peak that baseball card aficionados still appreciate today, even if the company itself was unable to survive the turbulent trading card industry evolution.
