Saturday, October 24, 2020

Best Baseball Card Sets of the 1980s
















So this is the companion post to Worst Baseball Card Sets of the 1980s.  Just a reminder: major releases only, base cards only. Let's get to it.

10.  1986 Topps:  A front design that stands out from previous Topps releases.  I like it, though I can see how others might not.


9.  1986 Fleer:  Kind of similar to '86 Topps - good front design but not much else.  


8.  1985 Donruss:  Decent front design, with the year as a nice bonus.  Also, a white background for the stats section. 


7.  1989 Fleer:  One of my favorite front designs of the decade. 

6.  1986 Donruss:  Another one of my favorite front designs of the decade.  Again with the white background for the stats section, but this time with a better outer color than '85.    


5.  1984 Topps:  Decent front design.  A lot of action shots (with a head shot bonus). 


4.  1983 Topps:  Decent front design.  A lot of action shots.  Similar to '84 Topps, which might explain why they're adjacent in the rankings.. 


3.  1989 Score:  I like the front design.  A lot of action shots.  Color photo on the back and a white background for the stats.  

2.  1989 Upper Deck:  I like the front design.  Decent posed to action shot ratio.  Largish color photo on the back.  White background for the stats. 

1.  1988 Score:  I like the front design (which looks even better in a group).  The set is dominated by action shots, and to a lesser extent, pseudo action shots.  Color photo on the back and a white background for the stats.  

 

These rankings are indisputable!  Until I change my mind.


6 comments:

  1. I grew up collecting cards in the 1980s and some of my favorite cards from that era. I am so happy to see you give some love to the Score sets. I am trying to track down a complete 1988 Score set.

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    1. Yeah, they did some good stuff: action shots, bright colors, readable backs.

      You might try eBay.

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  2. of all these, 84 Topps is prob my fave. but what do I know? you're the man.

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    Replies
    1. Ha. You don't always have to take me so seriously.

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  3. 1987 Sportflics were nice and open collectors eyes to color photos, but when 1988 Score came out... they blew me away. My favorite would be the 1983 Topps design. And I have 1989 Upper Deck on my list too.

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, I expect '83 and '84 Topps to fare a bit better with hard-core collectors. So I'm not surprised to see you and Julie picking them.

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