Donruss is a prominent brand of sports trading cards that are primarily focused on baseball. The company has an interesting ownership history that has seen it pass through several different entities over the decades.

The Donruss brand was originally founded in 1981 by an entrepreneur named Sal Anastassiou. Anastassiou was interested in competing with the two dominant baseball card companies at the time, Topps and Fleer. He secured licenses from Major League Baseball and the players union to produce and distribute baseball cards under the Donruss name.

In those early years, Donruss established itself as the third major player in the baseball card market. They put out annual sets competing directly with Topps and Fleer for collectors and retailers. Anastassiou owned and operated Donruss independently for over a decade. In the early 1990s he made the decision to sell the Donruss brand and business.

In 1991, Anastassiou sold Donruss to Playoff Corp., a sports and entertainment licensing firm. Playoff Corp. wanted to acquire the Donruss brand to further expand their sports products portfolio. For the next few years, Donruss baseball cards continued to be designed, manufactured and distributed, now under the ownership of Playoff Corp.

In the mid-1990s the sports card market began to collapse from overproduction in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Many collectors lost interest which hurt sales and caused a decline. Playoff Corp. struggled with the business challenges facing Donruss and the collectibles industry. In 1997, Playoff decided to get out of the baseball card manufacturing business and sought a buyer for Donruss.

The company that acquired Donruss from Playoff Corp. in 1997 was PCA International based in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. PCA was a manufacturer and marketer of novelty items, seeking to diversify into sports collectibles. They saw potential value in the Donruss brand identity and history among collectors. Under PCA ownership, Donruss card production continued through the late 1990s and early 2000s.

During the PCA ownership period, Donruss carded went through some changes to modernize their offerings. They introduced insert sets highlighting star players, focusing more on photography and card design elements beyond just player stats. The baseball card market was still suppressed from the early 90s boom and bust.

By the mid-2000s, PCA was looking to exit the licensed sports collectibles field. In 2006, they sold the Donruss brand and card license to rival company Leaf Trading Cards International, based in Columbus, Ohio. Leaf was a leading maker of non-sports pop culture cards but sought to expand further into the baseball market. They viewed Donruss as a respected brand that could help their mission.

Under Leaf ownership, Donruss experienced a resurgence by focusing on innovative premium products that collectors and investors were demanding after the down years. Leaf capitalized on trends toward memorabilia cards, autographs and relic cards inserting pieces of game-used equipment. They also emphasized parallel and short-printed “hits” to drive chase factor sales.

By the late 2000s and 2010s, Leaf had revitalized Donruss as a top brand again through their diversified business model. In 2020 Leaf itself was acquired by The Drive Authentics, a manufacturer and marketer of authenticated memorabilia collectibles based in Irvine, California.

Today, Donruss baseball cards continue to be produced and marketed to new and vintage collectors. But it is now under the corporate ownership and licensing management of The Drive Authentics, who owns both Leaf and Donruss brands. They aim to keep the classic Donruss aesthetic alive while adapting to staying ahead of trends in the modern trading card industry through innovative products and strong MLB/MLBPA partnerships.

So in summary – Donruss baseball cards have been owned and operated by multiple corporate entities since its founding in the early 1980s, passing between Sal Anastassiou, Playoff Corp, PCA International, Leaf Trading Cards and now currently The Drive Authentics – demonstrating the volatility but also longevity of the collectibles market and this iconic brand within it.