1989 Upper Deck Needs

It is difficult to describe in a modern sense what it was like when the 1989 Upper Deck series was released. Baseball card collecting, as a hobby, was nearly at its peak. The hobby brought in both kids and established adult collectors. Topps was still the market leader, but upstarts such as Fleer, Donruss, and Score, had been around for several years.

When Upper Deck hit the market, it was clear that the hobby had changed. There were many reasons for this, including much improved cardstock (and in the case of Topps. no bubble-gum stained cards), better photography, brightly printed cards, and of course, the anti-counterfeit hologram.

Looking at the cards today, they seem a little plain, and the hologram isn’t much more than a gimmick, really. But in 1989, this was mind-blowing quality.

The packs were expensive. As I recall, they were over $1 per pack, which was over double the price of Topps. But it was obvious they were a premium, high-quality, set, and people wanted Upper Deck badly.

This set also had local appeal, as Card # 1, Ken Griffey Jr., resonated with us kids. Besides being one of the most hyped top draft picks in Major League history, he also played with the local San Bernardino Spirit Class-A minor league team. We went to a lot of Spirit games at Fiscalani Field, and we all got to see Griffey play. That being said, he only stayed for a couple months before being promoted, and would be on his way to Rookie of the Year the next season.

The cards aren’t quite as high-end today. While the centering of the stock cuts are more even than Topps, you can still find unevenly cut cards. Upper Deck also had a curious habit of randomly bundling the same card multiple times in a single pack. There are also numerous “rookie mistakes,” as a number of errors and reverse negatives exist throughout the set, which are still quite collectable.

I remember the jealousy when my friend Jeremy got the Upper Deck complete set for Christmas, and he also managed to pull 2 Ken Griffey Jr. rookie cards out of one pack. All I had at that time was Griffey’s Fleer Card, which wasn’t worth nearly as much.

Fast forward to adulthood, and alas, the unopened 1989 Upper Deck packs and hobby boxes are easily available. They are also less expensive than one would think due to the excesses of the Junk Wax era. So I have made good progress on completing the set. Will I finish the entire Low Series and collect the holograms, reverse negatives, and prototypes? Only time will tell.

1989 Upper Deck Low Series (370 Remaining Needs)

1989 Upper Deck High Series (Complete)

Team Hologram Logos (Missing 14 of 26 Stickers)

Boston Red Sox
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Houston Astros
Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Dodgers
New York Mets
New York Yankees
Oakland Athletics
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers

Errors and Reverse Negatives

Need all errors and reverse negatives.

Prototypes

Need bot the DeWayne Buice and Wally Joyner Prototypes

Baseball Card Pages

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