Appreciating 80's Cards

[nolemmings]

I was a huge fan of the 1983 Fleer set, and still like it best of the sets from that decade, along with the 1984 Fleers. Actually, I thought 1983 was a great year for cards all around.

What I liked most about Fleer was their innovation. Not all of these were first-time occurrences, but taken together they showed an attempt to create a better baseball card, IMO.
1) 1983 used team logos on card fronts for the first time in 18 years--I thought this enhanced the look dramatically.
2) Card numbers were in team order, with the World Series teams first to boot. I always sorted my cards by team, so it was an easier way to track and display.
3) The use of the non-white border was nice, especially a non-obtrusive tan. Things got crazy with Fleer and Donruss borders toward the end of the decade, but I liked the subdued look of 1983.
4) An emphasis on posed pics instead of action shots that barely showed the guy’s face. As a kid, I practically memorized what each guy looked like from his card–couldn’t do that very easily with “action” shots of that period. However, a confession–the Ripken and Sandberg cards are classic.
5) The backs. Vertical info is easier to read for me, the stock was white, the columns had shaded columns for differentiation, and they included a small b&w photo of the guy on the back as well.
6) Maybe I was just lucky, but the collation was 1000% better than Topps and Donruss. Buy a box of Fleer and you got few dupes–not so with the others. Of course, no one cares this many years later and with ebay making everything available, but back then it was a consideration for at least some of us.

[Jayworld]

I always liked the 1981 Topps baseball set due to the caps on the front (a look that was later emulated by the Japanese 1984 Calbee set, series 2 or 3). I also liked the 1981 and 1983 Fleer sets as well as the 1984 Donruss set, purely from a design perspective. 1984 was the last year I collected U.S. cards....

[DeanH3]

'88 Score and '88 Topps had some really cool photography. '83 was my first year collecting so I have a soft spot for Topps and Fleer. '84 & '85 Donruss were cool as well.

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

Awesome stuff, Dean. 2018 has been the year of me rediscovering cards such as these. I have rarely been happier in my collecting life.

Originally Posted by DeanH3

'88 Score and '88 Topps had some really cool photography. '83 was my first year collecting so I have a soft spot for Topps and Fleer. '84 & '85 Donruss were cool as well.

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[conor912]

This thread makes me happy.

[DeanH3]

Thank you Robert. I understand completely. I really enjoy the nostalgia as well.

Originally Posted by vintagebaseballcardguy

Awesome stuff, Dean. 2018 has been the year of me rediscovering cards such as these. I have rarely been happier in my collecting life.

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[CobbSpikedMe]

I have boxes of 1988 and 1989 Topps on my dresser and pull a pack every now and then and open it for old time's sake. It's quite fun even though the cards are basically worthless.

I also collect rookies from the 80's in PSA 8 slabs because I remember not being able to afford them as a kid or never being lucky enough to pull them from packs. So now that I'm older, I'm picking them up. In PSA 8 they aren't that expensive but are still very nice examples. That way I can get more of them for the same price as say a PSA 10 example.

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

Originally Posted by CobbSpikedMe

I have boxes of 1988 and 1989 Topps on my dresser and pull a pack every now and then and open it for old time's sake. It's quite fun even though the cards are basically worthless.

I also collect rookies from the 80's in PSA 8 slabs because I remember not being able to afford them as a kid or never being lucky enough to pull them from packs. So now that I'm older, I'm picking them up. In PSA 8 they aren't that expensive but are still very nice examples. That way I can get more of them for the same price as say a PSA 10 example.

I can relate! This year I have picked up really nice condition sets that I never could have as a kid, like '84 Fleer Update and '84 Donruss to name a couple.

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[Gary Dunaier]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

2) Card numbers were in team order, with the World Series teams first to boot. I always sorted my cards by team, so it was an easier way to track and display.

I always thought it would be cool if the cards were numbered in alphabetical order by player.

I also thought it would be cool if there was a set where the card numbers were determined by length of major league service. So the person with the most MLB time would be given card #1, and so forth.