1989 Fleer Bill Ripken White Box

[jp1216]

Oh boy. Great topic. Time to put the coffee down and type:

My opinion has always been - 'Whiteout' or 'White Box' etc cards are all Post Production creations. Without question, some/many came from inside Fleer. Some were even inserted into packs but most were backdoored by employees.

These are not to be confused with the authentic White Scribble version!

White Box, White Blob, White smudge, White line, White Stripe - there are lots. Believe it or not - many of these came from within Fleer, but are all Post Production creations. Why? I know Fleer offered 'replacement' cards through the mail for those that found the FF too offensive to own. What were these replacements? I've heard anything from Whiteouts (by employees), to standard Black Box (real) versions to even Paper Hole Punched cards. Fact is - Fleer people did 'create' these but they are nothing more that Post Production human altering and should never be slabbed/graded. Some are easy to notice in hand, others are not so much - but they are all Altered/Authentic cards and not true versions or variations. Kind of like that 1952 Mantle where someone drew glasses on his face. (pic added)

They could have been dispersed to create a buzz for the '89 Fleer product after sales declined with the introduction of standard Black Box corrected cards. Fleer was sold later in 1989 so maybe they were trying to boost numbers. Who knows?

Do I own a few 'graded' Whiteouts? Sure. But they are just part of my collection. Part of the FF story. PSA, BGS and SGC to be exact.

This was years before everyone had the internet. For some time, Whiteouts and White Scribbles were being mixed up and confused. White Scribbles are real but also are faked. Buyer beware. 10 years ago, there was a rash of these popping up.

I have received dozens of these cards from people that either worked at Fleer or had direct contact. From within the plant, but Post Production / altered.

One of my favorite FF cards was obtained from the estate of the late former head of Fleer - Frank Mustin who died in 2018. It's a Black Box cards with a whiteout smudge on the front. Someone also wrote "Make it look Professional' on the surface. Pretty cool card that resided with Mr. Mustin for 30 years. Smoking gun? You never know. Cool card though.

The Gilkeson article mentions 'White Box' but not 'Whiteout'. I have seen square-ish, oval, circle, smooth, fuzzy etc white knobs. Maybe he was simply referring to one or a few box-ish examples he had seen.

Great topic!