1981: Topps, Donruss or Fleer?

[Exhibitman]

In the San Fernando Valley, Fleer was the hot one because of the error cards. I remember chasing down Craig Nettles and to this day enjoy all of the wrong caption superstars. Topps was...Topps. Boring and kinda uggo. Donruss simply wasn't around at retail. No market penetration. I didn't get any of those packs until I went to NYC for a visit. One pack had several of the same card in it.

[angolajones]

If my memory is correct, I think Donruss had the best gum for that year. It was softer than Topps. But it may have been Fleer.

As to which set, I think Topps had the better product in 81 although Fleer and Donruss caught up quickly in the next few years.

[bk400]

The Topps cards feel a bit nicer in hand to me also, but the Donruss and Fleer sets avoided the Future Stars, multi-player cards that Topps seemed to really like. I was surprised that 1981 Tim Raines Topps rookie commands such a large premium to the 1981 Donruss (single player), which to me is clearly a better looking card.

[PittOhio]

Grew up in NE Ohio and did not have a problem finding any of the companies. Donruss was the strangest, it took quite a while for their “last series” cards to be in any of the boxes. Then all of a sudden a box would only include their last series. The other strange thing was getting maybe 15-20 cards in a pack. I never got less than I was supposed to but would sometimes get way more cards than I was supposed to. The third strange thing was getting multiple cards of the same player in a pack. I recall getting packs with numerous Mike Schmidt’s and Pete Rose’s and it was a pack with way too many cards. I still have way too many 81 Fleer and Donruss sets and cards.

[Bigdaddy]

It certainly was a unique time in the spring of 1981 as boys around the country had their choice of three different companies offering full sets of baseball cards.

From my experience, the Donruss cards were by far and away the worst cards I had ever seen. Blurry pictures, funky design, thin cardstock and the aforementioned packaging problems. Sometimes you'd get 3-4 of the same cards in a single pack, or maybe 10-15 in a box. And what was with multiple cards of the same players??? Just very poor execution, though they made great strides in 1982.

The Topps cards were mostly uninspiring except for the All-Star cards and the multi-player rookie cards, notably Fernando and Rock.

I personally thought Fleer produced a nice product and had the single player RC of Fernando (but no Raines). Some of the photos were really nice and the cards seemed to have a bit more gloss than Topps or Donruss. But Topps was the reigning champ, and you have to convincingly beat the champ to take the belt.

[bk400]

Some iconic (for me) rookie cards from those sets. I like the back of the Mookie -- a lot of detail for an unheralded rookie.

[tulsaboy]

Your question about which one is most popular now is interesting to me. The prices for unopened product might give some insight there. The Topps wax, rack, and cello all is valued significantly more than the Donruss or Fleer wax (the only option from those manufacturers in 1981.) Wax right now is easily $750. Cello about the same. Rack anywhere from $750-1000. You can get a Donruss FASC (from a sealed case) wax box for $275, non-FASC for less. Fleer is similarly priced. So just from that perspective, the winner is clearly Topps.
kevin