Your Favorite Donruss Sets from 1981-1991

[Bigdaddy]

1984 - Don Mattingly and Strawberry, need I say more?
1983 - the first year that Donruss finally put it all together
1987 - great players and good photography and design
1986 - good design, but photography could be discolored
1990 - great photography and I liked the design, just not so much the red color
.
.
.

and last but not least -

1981 - oh my, tons of errors, gum sticking to the cards, blurry photography, terrible distribution in the packs, two and three of certain players for no apparent reason, thin card stock, etc. Fleer's first effort in 1981 was much better.

[sbfinley]

84 and 86 are the classics, but 1991 was the first year I really got into collecting and I opened so much Topps and Donruss that year.

[Rich Klein]

1984 was the set which changed Donruss "for the better". The difficulty of finding the cards, the gorgeous design and the two key rookies (Mattingly and Strawberry) made this one of the sets of the 1980's.

Now, Topps had a nice 1983 set, but the card world evolved quickly after the 1984 set, including the prominence of the "Rated Rookies" cards.

So between the importance of the set and the design, 1984 is by far the best and most important Donruss set of that time period.

I will also say, I just received a donation in which there was a significant amount of 1992 Donruss cards in the pile and the 1992 sets is in my opinion, very underrated as to the non monetary aspects. Clean design, lots of space for the pictures, great information on the back with a second player photo. And, while the value may never be there except for the tougher inserts, that set is going to be 25 years old next year and deserves some recognition as well.

[Troy Kirk]

I have to disagree with Rich on 1984 Donruss, I have always disliked that set because Donruss cut off supply early on that set, artificially creating a card shortage for the first time. The card companies have been manipulating collectors ever since.

[bbcard1]

The amazing thing about 87 cards in general is that it was at the top of the hype and it was virtually impossible to open a pack that didn't make you a "profit."

[Rich Klein]

Originally Posted by bbcard1

The amazing thing about 87 cards in general is that it was at the top of the hype and it was virtually impossible to open a pack that didn't make you a "profit."

That fact and inexpensive tables at many local shows, helped to create a whole new generation of dealers and store owners, a few of them are still active to this day

[bmattioli]

1984 is the set I remember most. I was stationed at the time overseas in Spain and the Base shopette only had Topps. My Dad sent me the set for Christmas and I was like Wow..

The 86 set had Canseco who's card I chased after would be second..