Namely, a solid design with solid photography, solid player selection, and even a solid numbering scheme.

While all of that “solid” might have spelled b-o-r-i-n-g to some collectors, it was also a comfort to know what was coming.

And, in 1985, Fleer added just a touch of flair with gray borders and colorful inner borders to complement team logos.

Add in a stellar crop of rookie cards and a slight scarcity relative to their competitors, and you had the makings of a long-lasting hobby classic that still has plenty of fans today.

Here, then, are the most valuable 1985 Fleer baseball cards in PSA 9 condition as ranked by recent auction sales.

1985 Fleer Roger Clemens (#155)

Clemens may never make it to the Hall of Fame (though he still might), but there was no denying his greatness on the mound during his playing days … before we even knew what “PED” meant.

This card has been a hobby staple now for more than 35 years, and top condition specimens still draw a lot of interest.

Expect to pay $70+ for a copy in PSA 9 condition.

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1985 Fleer Kirby Puckett (#286)

Kirby is sort of the anti-Roger — a sparkplug whose career was shortened by physical ailments, Puckett’s Hall of Fame case was no sure thing on paper.

But everybody in the game, including (maybe especially) fans, seemed to love the Twins superstar, and he was a key member of two Minnesota championships.

Puck’s Fleer rookie card has stood near the top of the 1985 heap since he broke out with a .328 batting average and 31 home runs the next season, and it’s still a favorite today.

Prices generally fall in the $50-60 range for slabbed mint copies.

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1985 Fleer Orel Hershiser (#371)

As amazing as Dwight Gooden’s 1985 season was, Hershiser’s wasn’t far behind, and it had the element of surprise going for it.

I mean, who could have expected a 19-3, 2.03 performance from a guy most fans had never really even heard of.

Heck, entering the season, Orel Hershiser may as well have been Tom Niedenfuer, another Dodger with rookie cards in the 1985 sets.

By the end of the summer, though, Bulldog was the mound hero for a division winner, and his RCs were hot hobby commodities. A Cy Young Award and World Series title in 1988 only solidified Hershiser’s status, and you could make a decent argument that he was better than some hurlers enshrined in Cooperstown.

All of that, plus some late-career heroics for the Cleveland Indians keep this first Fleer Hershiser card at around $40 in PSA 9.

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1985 Fleer Dwight Gooden (#82)

Gooden didn’t need any lead-in time at all in order to burn up the hobby — he just needed some actual baseball cards.

After an amazing Rookie of the Year campaign in 1984 that included a Major League-leading 276 strikeouts, Doc had collectors frothing at the mouth for a peek at his first cards. Those came in the form of Topps Traded and Fleer Update issues that fall, but we’d have to wait until the next spring to find Gooden in wax packs.

And, when Gooden uncorked a season for the ages in 1985 (24-4, 1.53 ERA, 268 strikeouts), the frenzy only intensified.

From the beginning of that new collecting season, the 1985 Topps Gooden was a hobby favorite, followed by the black-bordered Donruss.

All these years later, though, it’s Gooden’s Fleer rookie that usually finishes runner-up to Topps, value-wise.

Expect prices in the $35-40 range.

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1985 Fleer Eric Davis (#533)

Davis was just one of many young Reds prospects who had the Cincinnati faithful dreaming about big things as new manager Pete Rose instilled some hustle into a moribund club when he arrived from Montreal during the 1984 season.

There were so many young guys, in fact, that it was hard to know who were the real talents and who would end up as bench players or traded … until, that is, Davis got his first extended playing time in 1986.

That summer, Eric the Red hit 27 home runs, drove in 71, and stole an amazing 80 bases in just 132 games.

Then, he was even better in 1987 in fewer games — 37 HR, 100 RBI, 120 runs scored, 50 stolen bases in 129 appearances.

Predictably, collectors pounced on E.D.’s rookie cards and catapulted them toward the top of hobby hot lists.

And, though Davis’ fragile frame limited his on-field time over the years, and though he fell short of the otherworldly expectations we all draped upon his shoulders, he still maintains some cardboard swagger today.

This Fleer RC sells for around $35 in PSA 9 condition these days.

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1985 Fleer Don Mattingly (#133)

Mattingly entered the 1984 season as a virtual unknown even though he’d played parts of two seasons for the New York Yankees.

By the end of May, though, Mattingly was hitting nearly .340 and stood among the A.L. batting leaders, setting off an explosion of interest in his rookie cards.

The trends held — Donnie Baseball went down to the wire with teammate Dave Winfield for the A.L. batting crown, pulling out a .343-to-.340 victory at the very end of the season.

And then, in 1985, Mattingly showed that he was among the best players in the game — batting .324 with 35 home runs, 145 RBI, and 48 doubles, and adding a Gold Glove at first base for good measure.

It was enough to snag the American League MVP award and cement Mattingly as a hobby icon.

In fact, that 1984 Donruss Mattingly RC changed the way collectors looked at rookie cards and set the stage for all the price craziness to come, including the hobby’s latest explosion in the early 2020s.

It was quite a phenomenon to behold, and one that lifted all of Mattingly’s cards to superstar status.

Like Gooden and Davis, Mattingly maintains a decent dollop of that sheen these days, with this second-year card checking in at about $30 in graded mint condition.

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1985 Fleer Nolan Ryan (#359)

In 1985, Ryan was a couple years removed from breaking Walter Johnson‘s all-time strikeout record (along with Steve Carlton and Gaylord Perry), but many observers still considered him a sort of one-dimensional fireballer.

Would he make the Hall of Fame?

There were plenty of folks who would answer a resounding “no,” and Ryan’s advanced age (38) argued that time was running out.

Of course, no one really understood at that point that the Nolan Express was constructed of actual steel, a composition extending all the way to his nerves.

After landing with the Texas Rangers as a free agent in December 1988, Ryan reeled off two more no-hitters, put the strikeout record out of reach of mortal men, and generally established himself as a living legend.

Oh, and as the hottest active player the hobby had ever seen.

All these years later, you can bet that Ryan will appear on the “most valuable” list for just about every set where he has a card.

In the case of 1985 Fleer, expect prices in the $20-25 range for PSA 9 copies.

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1985 Fleer Ryne Sandberg (#65)

Sandberg was one of the revelations of 1984, along with the Detroit Tigers, Don Mattingly, and Tony Gwynn.

And, after leading his Chicago Cubs to their first-ever division title, Ryno was named National League MVP, turning up the heat under his already-hot baseball cards.

Those warm hobby feelings lasted all through the great second baseman’s career, and beyond.

This Fleer card pictures a pinstriped Sandberg from that golden summer of ’84 and trades for $15-20 in graded mint condition most of the time.

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1985 Fleer Cal Ripken, Jr. (#187)

Ripken was still more than ten years shy of Lou Gehrig‘s record for consecutive games played when this card debuted, but he was already a hobby superstar.

A Rookie of the Year and MVP award in your first two years has a tendency to do that, and Cal also already had the reputation as a guy who showed up every single day.

By the time he copped his second MVP in 1991, Ripken was bona fide hobby royalty, and his 1982 Topps Traded card drew gasps whenever a dealer would plop one into a showcase.

This 1985 Fleer Rip card didn’t set any standards, but it’s a solid early career card that sells for about $15 in PSA 9 condition.

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1985 Fleer Rickey Henderson (#425)

This card had to have made Oakland A’s fans pretty sad in 1985, considering that their Man of Steal had been traded to the New York Yankees in December of 1984.

While painful to watch for some, though, Henderson’s stellar performance in New York only served to raise his profile in the game beyond his already lofty heights.

And Rickey would return “home” to Oakland in 1989 with time to spare before he broke Lou Brock‘s all-time stolen base record early in the 1991 season.

By then, of course, he was already generally recognized as the greatest leadoff hitter of all time, and then he went ahead and played another 12 years!

And at a high level.

Rickey’s cards will always have a strong fanbase, and this one frames him perfectly, doing his thing — disrupting on the basepaths.

It’s a $10-15 buy in PSA 9 condition.

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A (probably) incomplete listing of his pasteboards from that year include:

• 1983 Fleer #81
• 1983 Fleer Star Stickers #26
• 1983 Donruss #90
• 1983 Donruss Action All-Stars #38
• 1983 Topps #200
• 1983 Topps #201 – Super Veteran
• 1983 Topps #386 – All-Star
• 1983 Topps #651 California Angels Team Leaders
• 1983 Topps Glossy Send-Ins #29
• 1983 Topps Stickers #39

Before that summer, I was only vaguely aware of Carew — or any other player — but these cards made me feel like I knew who he was, at least a little.

The Donruss and Topps base issues told me this was a man serious about fielding his position, even though his lithe body and in-the-dirt crouch made me think he was a second baseman.

I would later find out that he did, indeed, man the middle of the infield during his most productive years.

The base Fleer card, Topps Glossy, and Donruss All-Star inset told me that he was a focused batsman.

And, holy cow, the Topps Angels Team Leaders card and the backs of all his base cards, showed me the result of that focus. It didn’t take me long to realize that the cardboard I held in my chubby little hands depicted a living legend who could bang out 200 hits a season like he was mowing the lawn.

But Carew’s Topps All-Star card told me it didn’t all come easy.

There he is, rounding the bin toward 40 years old, wrapped up in a foil-lined sweatsuit with his Angels jersey overtop and armed with both his fielding cap and his batting helmet. This was a man clearly ready to battle age and pitchers with equal ferocity as he mounted his assault on 3000 hits and a Cooperstown plaque.

Through it all, there was an ease in his posture and a flame in his eyes that told me he loved what he was doing, that he didn’t want to be anywhere else.

And, every once in a while, as on that All-Star card or in profile as the Angels’ batting leader from 1982, Carew would flash his big, happy grin. 

“Can you believe I get to play baseball for a living?” he seemed to be asking the photographer.

To my 11-year-old eyes, nothing seemed more natural. Judging by the backs of his baseball cards, Rod Carew had been playing baseball forever.

And judging by the fronts of his baseball cards, Rod Carew would go on playing baseball forever.

Of course, we’re all human, even our Wax Pack Gods.

Sometimes, forever doesn’t last nearly as long as we thought it would, or as we had hoped.

Rod Carew only played two more seasons after that barrage of 1983 cards, and he never did hit .300 again.

He did collect his 3000th Big League hit in 1985, though.

He played his final game four days after his 40th birthday.

Carew was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1991, and more or less disappeared from public life until his recent health problems reminded us of how great he was and how human we all are.

We stop being great in our chosen fields. We get old. Sometimes, we get sick.

But for a generation of collectors, Rod Carew will always be out there in the field, turning the gears on the baseball fountain of youth under the California sun.

Just like he is in our cardboard dreams.

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There were a few reasons for that …

After an initial perceived shortage, it became clear 1988 Fleer was part of the burgeoning Junk Wax Era — these cards were pretty much everywhere.

The 1988 rookie card class was pretty weak, especially compared to the stellar 1987s.

The cards looked like Little Debbie Snack Cakes.

So, not all that inspiring.

Even so, as we sit here three-plus decades later, these cards are old and a few of them still hold a decent amount of collector appeal. (There was even a “glossy” version of this set that was much more limited but still pretty plentiful by today’s standards. Generally speaking, you might see a slight premium for the glossies, but it’s not all that dramatic.)

With that in mind, here are the most valuable 1988 Fleer baseball cards, using eBay sales for PSA 10 copies as our guide (note that raw copies of all these cards can generally be found for much MUCH less).

Let’s dig in …

(Note: The following sections contain affiliate links to eBay and Amazon listings for the cards being discussed. Check out our other posts about baseball card values here.)

25) 1988 Fleer Matt Williams Rookie Card (#101)

There was a time when Matt Williams was just about the most feared slugger in the game and the odds-on favorite to lead the charge toward Roger Maris‘ single-season home run mark of 61.

Way back in 1994, Williams sat at 43 home runs through 112 games with the San Francisco Giants, and the press and hobby were gearing up for what promised to be a historic run.

Then diamond tragedy struck — The Strike.

Not only did the The Strike wipe out the rest of 1994 (including the playoffs and World Series) and the beginning of 1995, it stopped Williams’ march in its tracks.

He was a prime-time 28 years old in 1994 and never found quite the same power stroke after the game came back online in ’95.

Even so, Williams played until 2003 and amassed 378 home runs over his 17 year career.

That power and his subsequent stint as Washington Nationals manager in 2014-2015 have kept Williams from fading completely into obscurity.

Value: $15-20

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24) 1988 Fleer Mike Schmidt (#315)

After Schmidt won his third National League MVP award in 1986, he mustered a final power surge in 1987, smashing 35 home runs to join the vaunted 500-homer club.

A rotator cuff injury sapped his power in 1988, though, and he retired early in 1989 when he couldn’t get back on track, but his legend was sealed by then.

Today, all of Schmidt’s cards remain among the most popular 1970s and 1980s cardboard, and his dramatic 1988 Fleer is no exception.

Value: $15-25

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23) 1988 Fleer Reggie Jackson (#283)

After a storied career that produced more than 500 home runs and five World Series rings, Reggie Jackson returned “home” to the Oakland A’s for one last go-round in 1987.

But, even though Reggie was one of the most beloved (or at least talked-about) players of his generation, only Fleer produced a career-capper card for Mr. October in 1988.

Value: $15-25

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22) 1988 Fleer Dale Murphy (#544)

After four straight seasons of hitting 36-plus home runs each summer, Dale Murphy dipped to “just” 29 in 1986 while also watching his batting average dip to .265.

Reports of his diamond demise were greatly exaggerated, though, as the Braves legend roared back to hit .295 with 44 dingers and drive in 105 runs in 1987. He also scored 115 times himself and even swiped 16 bases, his most since 1984.

It would be Murph’s last true superstar-level season, but it was enough to boost his cards yet again and further cement his status as a future Hall of Famer (though some of that surefire case crumbled away in subsequent years).

Value: $15-25

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21) 1988 Fleer Greg Maddux (#423)

Greg Maddux made his Major League debut for the Chicago Cubs in 1986 but failed to win more than a third of his decisions or score an ERA below 5.50 in his first two go-rounds with the Wrigley denizens.

That all changed in 1988 when the 22-year-old put together an 18-8 record with a 3.18 ERA and garnered his first All-Star appearance. That performance was enough for collectors to start taking notice of Maddux’s 1987 rookie cards, especially his Donruss Rated Rookie.

Another few mostly successful seasons in Chicago had us thinking he was a solid rotation piece until Maddux reeled off a 20-11, 2.18 line in 1992 to cop his first National League Cy Young Award.

Fast forward a quarter century, and we can look back to see Maddux’s scorched earth — a free agent deal with the Atlanta Braves after that CYA campaign led to three more CYs in a row and a 23-year career that ended with an amazing 355-227 record, 3.16 ERA, and first-ballot election to Cooperstown in 2014.

Along the way, of course, Maddux also became a collector favorite, and his 1988 Fleer second-year card is no exception.

Value: $20-25

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20) 1988 Fleer Roger Clemens (#347)

Clemens won his second consecutive American League Cy Young Award in 1987, proving that his amazing 1986 was no fluke and guaranteeing that his 1988 cards would be among the most popular in the hobby.

And, by the time Clemens hung up his spikes with seven Cy Youngs and more than 350 career victories, he was bona fide hobby royalty.

Of course, the passing years and PED stain have greatly diminished Rocket’s legacy, but there are still plenty of collectors who chase his cardboard even today.

Value: $20-30

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19) 1988 Fleer Gregg Jefferies Rookie Card (#137)

While we all knew the 1988 cards would have trouble living up to the rookie-card swagger of 1987, we held out one hope for greatness: Gregg Jefferies.

All indications were that Jefferies was going to be a superstar who could hit for average, run well, and eventually develop Big League power.

And … well, he played for the New York Mets.

All that hype and the big spotlight sent Jefferies’ rookie cards soaring before the 20-year-old could ever get his feet under him. By the time he actually stuck in the Big Leagues, in 1989, we were already sort of disappointed that he hadn’t become Mickey Mantle.

The truth is, though, that Jefferies put together a star-level 14-year career that included two All-Star appearances for the St. Louis Cardinals, nearly 1600 hits, 126 home runs, and a solid .289 lifetime batting average.

I suspect it’s the memories of the hype, though, and the hobby’s “good old days” that keep his 1988 Fleer rookie card perking along today.

Value: $25-35

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18) 1988 Fleer Mark McGwire (#286)

Mark McGwire obliterated the rookie home run record in 1987, crushing 49 long balls to far outdistance the 38 hit decades before by Frank Robinson and Wally Berger.

And, even though Aaron Judge and Pete Alonso have since passed Big Mac’s mark, neither one of them quite captured the magic that McGwire conjured up during that long-ago summer.

Suffice it to say, then, that McGwire’s cards were royalty when wax packs started hitting shelves in 1988, and they still maintain some hobby swagger all these years later, even after his run at Roger Maris’ record and the steroid scandal that followed.

Value: $25-35

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17) 1988 Fleer Mark McGwire Record Setter (#629)

McGwire surpassed the previous rookie record for home runs in August of 1987, leaving him more than a month to add to the total.

And boy, did he ever! By the end of the season, McGwire stood atop the Major League leaderboard with 49 long balls, 11 more than first-year mark that Wally Berger and Frank Robinson had shared for decades.

No way were card companies going to miss the opportunity to squeeze another Big Mac card into their 1988 sets, and no way were collectors going to pass on this record breaker, which still has plenty of fans even after all these years and all the scandal.

Value: $25-35

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16) 1988 Fleer Tony Gwynn (#585)

If anyone thought Tony Gwynn was “merely” a .320 hitter after a couple of seasons at that level, he more than set the record straight with his second National League batting title in 1987 … a .370 batting average is hard to ignore.

No surprise, then, that Gwynn’s cards were hot commodities once again in the spring of 1988 and pretty much remained that way as Mr. Padre marched toward 3000 hits and six more batting crowns.

Value: $25-35

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15) 1988 Fleer Wade Boggs (#345)

After winning three batting titles in the four seasons leading up to 1987, Wade Boggs did it again – he won another crown in ‘87.

But he ALSO smacked 24 long balls in that summer of the home run.

So the question entering 1988 was, would Boggs continue his assault on Babe Ruth in the coming seasons?

And the answer came on quickly, in the form of five dingers in 1988. Boggs did do a pretty good Ty Cobb impression, though, hitting .366 to win his fifth and final batting title and cement his place in the hobby firmament.

Value: $25-35

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14) 1988 Fleer Mark Grace Rookie Card (#641)

Aside from Greg Jefferies, Mark Grace was about the best that 1988 Fleer had to offer us in terms of rookies in the moment.

Three decades on, Grace has been surpassed by a few others from this set — Glavine and Martinez, for example — but the fact remains that he turned in a stellar career: 2400+ hits, more than 500 doubles, a lifetime .303 batting average.

Had Grace been able to tack on another 100 home runs or so to his total of 173, he might have been a Hall of Fame lock.

As it is, Grace is popular with fans of the Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks, and his best cards still enjoy nice collector interest in pockets.

This 1988 Fleer Major League Prospects card — which Grace shares with Darrin Jackson — has enjoyed the 2020s boom right along with most other cards.

Value: $30-35

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13) 1988 Fleer Cal Ripken Jr. (#570)

The Baltimore Orioles were an all-time terrible team in 1988, eventually finishing with a 54-107 record.

Even great players like Cal Ripken, Jr., struggled that summer, with the Iron Man hitting just .264 with 23 home runs and 81 RBI.

But Cal was already a legend by that point, having copped the 1982 AL Rookie of the Year Award and the 1983 AL MVP while also building some buzz around his still-youthful streak.

These days, the Hall of Famer’s cards aren’t “hot,” exactly, but they’re always popular and collectible.

Value: $30-40

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12) 1988 Fleer Gary Carter and Mike Schmidt (#636)

What do Mike Schmidt and Gary Carter have in common that would warrant their appearing on this 1988 Fleer card together?

Well, they were both the best at their positions during the 1980s (roughly).

And they were both, um, “tried & true sluggers.”

Really, though, we should just revel in the glory of this card and forget trying to impose any rhyme or reason.

Value: $30-40

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11) 1988 Fleer Rickey Henderson (#209)

After rounding out his game with a serious power stroke and big batting averages during his first few seasons with the Yankees, Rickey Henderson sort of went back to his baseball roots in 1988.

To wit, Rickey swiped 93 bases that summer, the first time he stole more than 90 since the 108 he posed for the A’s in 1983.

Fitting, then, that Henderson’s 1988 Fleer card shows him slinking toward yet another bit of larceny on the basepaths.

Value: $30-40

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10) 1988 Fleer Barry Bonds (#322)

In 1988, Barry Bonds was still just a budding superstar with a world of potential — great speed, good batting eye, developing power, supreme family pedigree.

But collectors honestly weren’t all that excited by the complete package that Bonds offered up because the Pittsburgh Pirates weren’t winning anything, Bonds wasn’t hitting monster (or a lot of) home runs, and there were other players who were clubbing homers left and right.

It was hard to keep up with Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, and the likes back then, and even Bonds’ teammate Bobby Bonilla was more highly regarded in some circles (see New York Mets, circa 1992).

Uh, yeah.

Love him or hate him, it’s hard to deny that Bonds developed into one of the absolute greatest players that game has ever seen.

Value: $25-50

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9) 1988 Fleer Nolan Ryan (#455)

In 1987, Nolan Ryan put together a rather remarkable pitching line — his 2.76 ERA and 270 strikeouts in just shy of 212 innings left him with an 8-16 record.

That, at 40 years of age and pitching for a Houston Astros team that had romped to a division title in 1986. Wow!

For his efforts, Ryan finished fifth in the NL Cy Young vote and then walked in free agency after the 1988 season … all the way to the Texas Rangers.

In Arlington, of course, Ryan cemented his legend and became something of a superhuman figure in the game, one whose cards always rise to the top of whatever issue they appear in.

In the case of his 1988 Fleer card, that amounts to enough to make this list.

Value: $35-40

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8) 1988 Fleer Tom Glavine Rookie Card (#539)

While Maddux was finding his place in the Friendly Confines, Tom Glavine was taking his lumps with the awful Atlanta Braves teams of the late 1990s.

By the time Maddux joined him in 1993, Glavine was a two-time 20-game winner (with a third on the runway) and the 1991 Cy Young recipient.

Together with John Smoltz, Glavine and Maddux would form the backbone of an Atlanta pitching staff that would rack up division title after division title all through the 1990s.

Glavine’s 1988 Fleer rookie card is an understandably popular hunk of cardboard, even if it’s a the Hall of Fame cupcake issue.

Value: $30-45

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7) 1988 Fleer Kirby Puckett (#19)

By 1988, Kirby Puckett was well on his way to the Hall of Fame, having garnered two All-Star appearances, plenty of MVP votes, and Rookie of the Year consideration during his four-year career.

He was always a threat to win the batting title, won a Gold Glove in center field in 1986 and 1987, and had started to show some power, too.

Oh, and then there was that 1987 World Series he helped his Minnesota Twins win.

Yep, Kirby was a fan and collector favorite whose star hardly seemed to dim at all when his career was curtailed by health problems or even when domestic issues came to light after his untimely death in 2006.

Even in this mass-produced set, Kirby stands out, with PSA 10 copies of his 1988 Fleer hammering down for hefty sums.

Value: $30-50

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6) 1988 Fleer Edgar Martinez Rookie Card (#378)

Edgar Martinez got a late start on his Big League life — he didn’t debut for the Seattle Mariners until 1987, when he was nearly 25 years old, and he didn’t log his first full season in the Majors until 1990, when he was 27.

From that point on, Edgar spent more than a decade as one of the best hitters in the game, garnering two batting titles, two doubles titles, and one RBI crown.

In all, his 18 years in the Bigs yielded 2247 hits, 309 home runs, and a .312 batting average.

But … among the 2000+ games he played with Seattle, more than 1400 of them were logged as a designated hitter.

Will Martinez become the first — or second, if you count Frank Thomas — career DH to make the Cooperstown cut?

After being named on 70.4% of ballots in 2018, Martinez pushed through to Hall of Fame election in 2019.

And, as always, he’s a Seattle legend and hobby favorite whose 1988 Fleer rookie card continues to draw plenty of collector interest.

Value: $35-45

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5) 1988 Fleer Don Mattingly (#214)

When this card was issued, Mattingly was coming off his fourth straight MVP-caliber season, but what we didn’t know then was that it would be his last truly standout campaign.

A bad back sapped his power in 1988, ,knocking nearly 100 points off his slugging percentage, and, though he rebounded slightly in 1989, the slippage marked the beginning of a downward spiral that would lead to Mattingly’s early retirement at age 34 in 1995.

Still, the magnitude of his impact on the hobby cannot be overstated, and a hefty dose of that afterglow remains even decades later.

Value: $45-`

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4) 1988 Fleer George Brett (#254)

After leading the Royals to their first World Series championship in 1985 on the back of an MVP-caliber season, Brett settled in as “merely” an uppercrust All-Star in 1986 and 1987.

Brett bumped his game up again in 1988, though, treating fans and collectors to a Silver Slugger season to accompany his sort of suspicious-looking Fleer base card.

Value: $35-40

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3) 1988 Fleer Ryne Sandberg (#431)

Sandberg entered a bit of an offensive lull during the middle 1980s after winning the National League MVP award in 1984, but he remained a Gold Glove second baseman and more than capable with the bat … even if no longer Morganesque.

When Ryno turned on the power starting in 1989, though, all of his cards jumped forward again, including this nifty fielding shot.

Value: $35-40

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2) 1988 Fleer Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire (#624)

After Canseco smashed 33 home runs to light up the baseball world in 1986, McGwire upstaged him with 49 of his own the next summer.

But, while there may have been a budding rivalry between the teammates, the real excitement was about to erupt on the field, as the Bash Brothers would lead the A’s to a string of World Series appearances over the next three seasons.

And, though the actual “bash” didn’t come about until the new season began, Fleer got the jump on everyone else by featuring the Bros on this dandy Super Star Special.

Value: $40-45

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1) 1988 Fleer Bo Jackson (#260)

By the spring of 1988, Bo Jackson had long since captured collectors’ imaginations, thanks to his prowess on the football field and his growing adeptness on the diamond.

And, after smacking 22 home runs in 1987, Bo served notice that even better days lay ahead – he delivered on that promise with 25 dingers in 1988 and 32 in 1989, when he made it to his only All-Star Game.

Today, Bo Jackson cards are as popular as ever as the hobby continues to ponder what might have been had a hip injury suffered on the gridiron not (ultimately) ended his run in both sports.

Value: $40-45

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1988 Fleer Update

By 1988, Fleer Update had become an annual part of the hobby landscape, joining Topps Traded and, later Donruss The Rookies, as fodder to feed our collective rookie card craze.

This particular version featured a few standout cards right off the bat, and some that took awhile to warm up.

Here are the cream of the crop more than three decades later.

5) 1988 Fleer Update John Smoltz Rookie Card (#U-74)

Back in 1988 when this card was issued, Smoltz was sort of a sore spot for some Braves fans – after all, he had cost Atlanta Doyle Alexander, who went on to help the Tigers win a division title in 1987.

The good news was that Smoltz had made his big league debut by the time the Fleer Update set was issued.

The bad news was that he went 2-7 with a 5.48 ERA in Atlanta.

The perception began to turn around the next summer, though, when Smoltz made his first All-Star cut on the way to a Cy Young Award (1996), a World Series ring, and a Hall of Fame plaque.

Value: $75-125

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4) 1988 Fleer Update Craig Biggio Rookie Card (#U-89)

Fleer was late to the Biggio show, as Donruss and Score had already scooped them on the Astros’ young catcher.

But at least they squeezed in a Bidge rookie card before the backstop broke out his first Silver Slugger performance in 1989 on his way to Cooperstown.

Value: $30-50

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3) 1988 Fleer Update Mark Grace Rookie Card (#U-77)

At 24, Grace was sort of old for a “prospect” in 1988, but he stepped into the Cubs lineup like a veteran, batting .295 and finishing second in voting for the National League Rookie of the Year award.

He bumped that average over .300 in 1989 as the Cubs won their second-ever division title, and he pretty much stayed there for the rest of a 16-year career that produced more than 2400 hits and a devoted swath of collectors who still chase his cards.

Value: $30-40

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2) 1988 Fleer Update Roberto Alomar Rookie Card (#U-122)

In some circles, Roberto Alomar suffered in comparisons with his brother, Sandy, whom many pundits pegged as a future Rookie-of-the-Year, MVP-type of player.

And, while Sandy did eventually cop ROY honors with the Indians, it was the younger Robbie who made his mark in the majors first, and who eventually made it all the way to Cooperstown.

Little wonder, then, that Alomar’s rookie cards (Roberto’s, that is) are among the most popular of all 1988s.

Value: $25-30

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1) 1988 Fleer Update Chris Sabo Rookie Card (#U-87)

At age 26, Chris Sabo was a longshot – to say the least – to even make the Cincinnati Reds roster in 1988.

But thanks to his hustle and pluck, Sabo made a fan of manager Pete Rose and then took advantage of every opportunity he could find, scratching out a .271 batting average, 11 home runs, 44 RBI, 74 runs scored, and an impressive 46 stolen bases.

Along the way, Spuds gained legions of fans and copped 1988 NL ROY honors, helping his 1988 Fleer Update RC debut as one of the hottest cards of the fall.

Value: $25-30

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That was the year, you might remember, that Fleer and Donruss joined Topps as major manufacturers, each pushing out a full set of 600+ cards. That advent was made possible by the culmination of Fleer’s lengthy antitrust suit against Topps the previous summer.

Fleer won their court battle and was awarded the hefty sum of $1. The real prize, though, was the end of Topps’ monopoly.

Of course, with the verdict coming late in the baseball season, Fleer might have been forgiven for taking some time to gather their wits and resources and set their sights on 1982. But they had waited too long for this opportunity to wait one second longer.

In fact, both Fleer and Donruss went into scramble mode and managed to pull off the impossible — they planned, designed, manufactured, and released their first sets within the span of several months.

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It was a cardboard miracle, really, though collector opinions at the time were mixed.

On the one hand, it was fabulous to suddenly have roughly three times as many cards to pursue.

On the other, the new sets were predictably, um, challenged.

The photos were dark and grainy, the latter a considerable weakness for Donruss.

The cardstock was suspect — Donruss cards were printed on Bible pages and Fleer cards tended to warp.

Both Fleer and Donruss cards came packed with gum, which was great, but plenty of old collectors tell stories about card fronts ruined by cemented-on pink slabs. (Topps successfully blocked other manufacturers from issuing cards with gum the next year, so that concern soon passed.)

But hobbyists didn’t really mind any of that. These shortcomings were a small price to pay for the largesse bestowed upon us by the wax pack gods.

Beyond all of these missteps, though, the 1981 card-collecting season was marked by a major turn of events: the error card craze found its footing — and its face.

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As you might expect with such a cardboard rush job, Fleer and Donruss made all sorts of mistakes — I mean beyond a few terrible choices and Donruss backs that read like War and Peace.  (If you’re getting the idea that Donruss was the bottom of the commons barrel, well, there’s a reason for that.)

Just take a look at the list of 1981 Donruss errors and variations over at The Trading Card Database: http://www.tradingcarddb.com/Errors.cfm/sid/83/1981-Donruss

There are 77 entries if you’re counting.

And Fleer didn’t fare much better with 73 lines on their E & V list.

It didn’t take long for collectors to notice, either, and we were chasing down Pete Rose with that number and this photo or Steve Carlton with or without his Golden Arm on the right or wrong card number.

But of all the errors that flooded wax packs and dealer tables that summer, none captured the imagination like the 1981 Fleer “C” Nettles card.

Now, Graig Nettles admittedly spells his first name funny, so it’s easy to see why someone at Fleer might have thought his name was actually “Craig.”

And so that’s how it appeared on the back of his card, #87, in the first print run.

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Nettles was a pretty popular and productive player for the New York Yankees, though, and it didn’t take long for this gaffe — and others — to get noticed. Fleer scrambled to correct the error, and in no time at all Graig Nettles was back where he should have been, on both sides of his 1981 Fleer baseball card.

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But enough of the “C” version escaped into the wild for stories of its existence to spread throughout the hobby, and soon everyone was clamoring for a copy of this rare card.

Thanks to card show buzz and press in Sports Collectors Digest and other publications, the hype built around “C” Nettles quickly and lasted for years.

At its height, collectors willingly paid $20 or more for a copy, and the Nettles error helped usher in a mad search for any other card mistakes we could find. Throughout the rest of the 1980s, error card mania was rivaled by only the rookie card craze in terms of collector fervor.

Today, the “C” Nettles card still draws hobby interest and can pull in decent money in higher slabbed grades. In raw form, it usually fetches $10 or less.  (You can find current prices for this hobby trendsetter on both eBay and Amazon — note that these are affiliate links).

So, is “C” Nettles really all that rare?

Well, as of this writing, PSA had graded 59 of the Graig Nettles variation and 69 of the “rare” Craig Nettles error card. Now, part of this discrepancy is due to the increased collector interest in the error version, but there seem to be enough of both to go around these days.

Demand ain’t what it used to be, after all.

Still, how often have you known a baseball card to have its own nickname?

It’s a rare honor, indeed, but the mere mention of “C” Nettles still makes any veteran collector’s heart go pitter-patter.

But then, history makers do tend to have that effect on folks.

(Check out our Fleer card posts here.)

As in years past, the entire 132-card update issue was available only as a complete box set, usually from hobby dealers. Although the 1990 Fleer Update set was produced in large numbers, similar to the base set and many other issues of the time, it nevertheless features a few Hall of Famers, including Lee Smith, Gary Carter, Dave Winfield, and Nolan Ryan.

Most notably, the set features the first Fleer card of Chicago White Sox legend and Hall of Famer Frank Thomas (though Thomas had rookie cards from other manufacturers issued during the season).

Today, the complete set can usually be found for affordable prices, though top-grade copies of the Thomas rookie can bring decent money.

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Checklist

U-1 Steve Avery
U-2 Francisco Cabrera
U-3 Nick Esasky
U-4 Jim Kremers (RC)
U-5 Greg Olson (RC)
U-6 Jim Presley
U-7 Shawn Boskie (RC)
U-8 Joe Kraemer (RC)
U-9 Luis Salazar
U-10 Hector Villanueva (RC)
U-11 Glenn Braggs
U-12 Mariano Duncan
U-13 Billy Hatcher
U-14 Tim Layana (RC)
U-15 Hal Morris
U-16 Javier Ortiz (RC)
U-17 Dave Rohde (RC)
U-18 Eric Yelding
U-19 Hubie Brooks
U-20 Kal Daniels
U-21 Dave Hansen (RC)
U-22 Mike Hartley
U-23 Stan Javier
U-24 Jose Offerman (RC)
U-25 Juan Samuel
U-26 Dennis Boyd
U-27 Delino DeShields
U-28 Steve Frey
U-29 Mark Gardner
U-30 Chris Nabholz (RC)
U-31 Bill Sampen (RC)
U-32 Dave Schmidt
U-33 Daryl Boston
U-34 Chuck Carr (RC)
U-35 John Franco
U-36 Todd Hundley (RC)
U-37 Julio Machado (RC)
U-38 Alejandro Pena
U-39 Darren Reed (RC)
U-40 Kelvin Torve (RC)
U-41 Darrel Akerfelds
U-42 Jose DeJesus
U-43 Dave Hollins (RC)
U-44 Carmelo Martinez
U-45 Brad Moore (RC)
U-46 Dale Murphy
U-47 Wally Backman
U-48 Stan Belinda (RC)
U-49 Bob Patterson
U-50 Ted Power
U-51 Don Slaught
U-52 Geronimo Pena (RC)
U-53 Lee Smith
U-54 John Tudor
U-55 Joe Carter
U-56 Thomas Howard
U-57 Craig Lefferts
U-58 Rafael Valdez (RC)
U-59 Dave Anderson
U-60 Kevin Bass
U-61 John Burkett
U-62 Gary Carter
U-63 Rick Parker (RC)
U-64 Trevor Wilson
U-65 Chris Hoiles (RC)
U-66 Tim Hulett
U-67 Dave Johnson (RC)
U-68 Curt Schilling
U-69 David Segui (RC)
U-70 Tom Brunansky
U-71 Greg A. Harris
U-72 Dana Kiecker (RC)
U-73 Tim Naehring (RC)
U-74 Tony Pena
U-75 Jeff Reardon
U-76 Jerry Reed
U-77 Mark Eichhorn
U-78 Mark Langston
U-79 John Orton
U-80 Luis Polonia
U-81 Dave Winfield
U-82 Cliff Young (RC)
U-83 Wayne Edwards (RC)
U-84 Alex Fernandez (RC)
U-85 Craig Grebeck (RC)
U-86 Scott Radinsky (RC)
U-87 Frank Thomas (RC)
U-88 Beau Allred (RC)
U-89 Sandy Alomar, Jr.
U-90 Carlos Baerga (RC)
U-91 Kevin Bearse (RC)
U-92 Chris James
U-93 Candy Maldonado
U-94 Jeff Manto
U-95 Cecil Fielder
U-96 Travis Fryman (RC)
U-97 Lloyd Moseby
U-98 Edwin Nunez
U-99 Tony Phillips
U-100 Larry Sheets
U-101 Mark Davis
U-102 Storm Davis
U-103 Gerald Perry
U-104 Terry Shumpert (RC)
U-105 Edgar Diaz (RC)
U-106 Dave Parker
U-107 Tim Drummond (RC)
U-108 Junior Ortiz
U-109 Park Pittman (RC)
U-110 Kevin Tapani (RC)
U-111 Oscar Azocar (RC)
U-112 Jim Leyritz (RC)
U-113 Kevin Maas
U-114 Alan Mills (RC)
U-115 Matt Nokes
U-116 Pascual Perez
U-117 Ozzie Canseco
U-118 Scott Sanderson
U-119 Tino Martinez
U-120 Jeff Schaefer (RC)
U-121 Matt Young
U-122 Brian Bohanon (RC)
U-123 Jeff Huson
U-124 Ramon Manon (RC)
U-125 Gary Mielke (RC)
U-126 Willie Blair (RC)
U-127 Glenallen Hill
U-128 John Olerud (RC)
U-129 Luis Sojo (RC)
U-130 Mark Whiten (RC)
U-131 Nolan Ryan (Three Decades of No-Hitters)
U-132 Checklist

Namely, they are slick and fancy, but without much character.

And, thanks to a rush to squeeze rookies in as early as possible, ’93 Fleer is ironically devoid of top-tier RCs since most of the big names debuted earlier (or slightly later, like Derek Jeter in Fleer Excel).

Of course, they were also overproduced to the hilt, meaning none of them have a ton of value these days.

The good news about all this is that you can pick up Hall of Famers all day long for less than ten bucks, even in perfect graded condition (PSA 10, for our purposes).

And, 1993 Fleer baseball cards are fairly loaded with Hall of Famers, like …

1993 Fleer Tony Gwynn (#138)

One of the main gut shots from the 1994 strike that still stings fans even today is the thought that Gwynn had a shot at hitting .400.

Through 110 games (117 team games for the Padres), Gwynn hit .394 that summer, and he was on a slight upward trajectory when the players went on strike.

Would he have made it to the magical .400 mark?

The odds and record books say no, but Gwynn was a driven man and, with the chance to make some history, you know he would have poured his soul into the chase.

That 1994 run and what might have been are just two reasons Gwynn remains popular with collectors today.

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1993 Fleer Frank Thomas (#210)

Thomas did things in the first half of his career that baseball hadn’t seen since the days of Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio.

Things like hit .300 with 30 home runs, 100 runs batted in, and 100 runs … pretty much every season.

In the process, the Big Hurt won two American League MVP awards and set himself on a beeline for Cooperstown.

Oh, and he made himself into a collector favorite.

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1993 Fleer George Brett (#236)

It’s sort of ironic that Gwynn made his run at .400 the year after Brett retired, because the Royals great had been the last to seriously challenge the mark.

Brett’s staggering .390 came in a 1980 season marred by time on the disabled list (hemorrhoids!) that limited him to 117 games played.

That was just enough for George to win both the AL batting crown and MVP, and he helped Kansas City all the way to the World Series.

And … the whole performance elevated Brett to a sort of mythical status that never left during the remainder of his Hall of Fame career.

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1993 Fleer Robin Yount (#260)

Yount and Brett turned in eerily similar careers, starting when they both debuted for recent (1969) expansion teams in the mid-1970s.

From there, they both snagged single rookie cards in the iconic 1975 Topps set, both won AL MVP Awards (two for Yount), both smashed their 3000th hits in 1992, both retired in 1993 …

… and both breezed into Cooperstown in 1999.

While Yount never held quite the hobby sway that Brett did, he wasn’t far behind … and he still isn’t.

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1993 Fleer Kirby Puckett (#273)

By the time this card was issued, Puckett had won two World Series with the Twins and a batting title of his own, in 1989.

The dude who looked like a fire hydrant and played with pure joy had been a fan favorite for nearly a decade, but he was also nearing the end of the line, though we didn’t know it at the time.

After hanging up his spikes due to health issues in 1995, Puckett continued to loom large in the hobby and was a first-ballot Cooperstown selection in 2001.

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1993 Fleer Don Mattingly (#281)

By 1993, Mattingly was deep into his injury-induced decline phase that would eventually lead to his early retirement at age 34 in 1995.

He did manage a final mini power burst (17 home runs) in ’93, but that balky back of his was just too far gone.

Not that any of that really mattered to collectors … Donnie Baseball and his 1984 Donruss rookie card rewrote all the hobby rules and helped precipitate the boom of the late 1980s and 1990s.

For better or worse, we wouldn’t be where we are without Mattingly, and collectors still mostly adore him today.

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1993 Fleer Ken Griffey Jr. (#307)

After a few years of teasing us with glimpses of his full potential, Junior burst into baseball beast mode in 1993.

Tagging 45 home runs and leading the American League in total bases (359), Griffey served notice that he was every bit as talented as we always dreamed he would be.

Over the next 15 years or so, he went ahead an built out a case as one of the handful of greatest players of his generation and drove his 1989 Upper Deck rookie card to the top of the hobby Mount Olympus.

All of Griffey’s other cardboard came along for the ride, too, including lesser issues like this 1993 Fleer card.

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1993 Fleer Dale Murphy (#496)

Like Mattingly, Murphy followed a burst of 1980s brilliance with a steep decline in the 1990s.

The two-time MVP as a member of the Braves spent the first three years of the new decade with the Phillies, then landed with the expansion Rockies in 1993.

That would be his last hurrah in the Majors, and, though he missed out on the Phils’ World Series run, Murphy appeared in liberty burgundy on cardboard all summer long.

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1993 Fleer Cal Ripken Jr. (#551)

When this card was issued, Ripken was halfway between winning his second AL MVP award (1991) and breaking Lou Gehrig‘s record for consecutive games played (1995).

Cal was already a hobby staple, though, and all his cards — even 1993 Fleer — remain collector favorites today.

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1993 Fleer Nolan Ryan (#690)

Even though it seemed like he would pitch forever, Ryan finally retired following the 1993 season.

But he gave us one last shot of his greatness that summer, and this 1993 Fleer card was there for every pitch.

Today, it’s a small part of the Ryan fabric, but historic for having been born at just the right time.

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All these years later, not too much has changed … but it sort of has.

We all knew right out of the gate that Donruss had upped their game, and that Topps was trying to duplicate their picture-in-picture magic from 1983.

But Fleer? It was just sort of there — clean and bright, but not really special.

Of course, Don Mattingly‘s emergence that summer coupled with the scarcity of Donruss to build a hobby classic and change how we all looked at rookie cards, particular those of young up-and-comers.

Donnie Baseball’s Topps and Fleer RCs got pulled along for the ride to some degree, and then the debut Fleer Update set changed things again that fall.

With first cards of Dwight Gooden, Roger Clemens, and Kirby Puckett, that little set caught on quick, but we learned even more quickly that it was hard to find.

Up went prices, and that helped boost the value of the base set, too, for awhile, at least.

These days, 1984 Fleer and Topps are roughly equivalent in the market, and your preference largely depends on aesthetics and a few wins in card choices by one company or the other.

Whatever the case, these most valuable 1984 Fleer baseball cards are still popular after all these years, as evidenced by recent eBay sales prices for PSA 9 copies (reflected here).

Play ball!

1984 Fleer Don Mattingly Rookie Card (#131)

Like I said above, and like you already know unless you’re a few weeks old, the 1984 Donruss Don Mattingly rookie card changed the whole hobby.

This Fleer Mattingly RC didn’t have quite the same impact, but carried its own weight for a lot of years.

And, even though Mattingtly fell short of Cooperstown, this baby still brings around $20 in graded MINT condition today.

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1984 Fleer Pete Rose (#46)

By the time this card was issued, Pete was playing north of the border, for the Montreal Expos.

Weird stuff, but he did collect his 4000th hit in a ‘Spos uniform before heading back to the Reds to continue his pursuit of Ty Cobb.

Like every other Rose card, this one moved up the value ladder with every hit Pete collected.

Today, even with Charlie Hustle’s fall from grace, this is a $15 card in PSA 9.

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1984 Fleer Nolan Ryan (#239)

In 1983, Ryan broke Walter Johnson‘s all-time strikeout record, then was followed to that milestone by Steve Carlton and Gaylord Perry.

It was Carlton who owned the record by the end of the season, though, and a lot of folks thought Lefty would keep it for all time.

You can see Nolan here, on this $12 card, explaining why that theory is more bogus than a bull with utters.

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1984 Fleer Darryl Strawberry Rookie Card (#599)

Along with Ron Kittle, Strawberry brought back major power to the rookie scene in 1983 after several seasons of pitchers and middle-infield types taking home Rookie of the Year hardware.

By the time his RCs hit the mainstream in the spring of 1984, Straw had the Mets thinking like contenders, and he would team with Dwight Gooden (and others) to make New York one of the most exciting clubs in the Majors.

Like Mattingly, Strawberry fell short of the Hall of Fame, but this classic rookie card still hammers down for $10+ in PSA 9.

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1984 Fleer Bench & Yaz Super Star Special (#640)

After the ’83 season, Perry retired, but he wasn’t the only legend to hang up his spikes.

Wasn’t even the most legendary, in fact.

That was an honor shared between Carl Yastrzemski and Johnny Bench, who bid adieu to the Red Sox and Reds, respectively.

The next year — 1984, if you’re keeping score — Fleer honored the two future Hall of Famers together on this now-$10 card (PSA 9).

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1984 Fleer Rickey Henderson (#447)

By 1984, Henderson owned the single-season stolen base record, had three 100-steal seasons to his name, and was already talking about breaking Lou Brock‘s career record.

Rickey was also starting to be talked about as one of the greatest leadoff hitters of all time, a title he would eventually claim outright by general consensus.

This Fleer card of the Hall of Famer sells for around $10 these days in PSA 9 condition.

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1984 Fleer Ryne Sandberg (#504)

This card found its way into collector’s hands just in time to accompany Sandberg’s breakout season, when he hit .319, smacked 19 homers, and sped his way to 19 triples as he helped the Cubs snag their first-ever division title in 1984.

All that earned him the National League MVP award and sent collectors scurrying to find his 1983 rookie cards.

And, if we got our hands on a few 1984s — like this $10 Fleer card — along the way, then all the better.

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1984 Fleer Johnny Bench (#462)

Fleer didn’t stop with a combo card for Bench and Yaz, the way Topps did (the 1984 Topps tribute card also pulled in Perry with the two sluggers).

Nope, Bench appears here on a single career-capper card, the sort of thing Topps just didn’t do in those days, and that Donruss skipped out on, too.

The last regular-issue baseball card of the game’s greatest catcher is a $20 item in PSA 9.

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1984 Fleer Carl Yastrzemski (#412)

Same exact story for Yaz, except he wasn’t a catcher.

He did win the 1967 Amercian League Triple Crown (and MVP), though, and he is a Boston legend.

Yastrzemski’s career-capper also lines up at ten bucks (PSA 9).

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1984 Fleer Cal Ripken Jr. (#17)

In the spring of 1984, Ripken was on top of the world …

After all, he was coming off a two-year stint that had seen him win the AL Rookie of the Year award (1982), AL MVP (1983), and a World Series title with the Orioles (1983).

What could be better?

Well, eventually, another MVP award (1991) and taking down Lou Gehrig‘s record for consecutive games played (1995), that’s what.

This sunny card of a young and peaking Ripken sells for close to $10 in slabbed MINT condition these days.

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Uh … well …

The plan sounded good, but the execution had some flaws — lackluster design, dark and grainy images, tons of errors (still).

Even so, there was plenty of Hall of Fame star power and a bevy of high-profile rookies to keep collectors interested.

Today, these most valuable 1982 Fleer baseball cards highlight a set that gets little love but is still part of our cardboard history.

(Prices based on recent eBay sales for PSA 9 cards. And, by the way, this set had some doozy error-corrected combos — not going to include those here … maybe later.)

1982 Fleer Cal Ripken Jr. Rookie Card (#176)

This card shows young Cal standing tensed in the field, probably waiting for a ball to be smashed his way, given the unfamiliar position designation under the photo — THIRD BASE.

Of course, Ripken would soon take his place at shortstop, helping to turn the position into a viable landing place for big, athletic players.

In short order, Cal won the 1982 American League Rookie of the Year award, the 1983 AL MVP, and a World Series with the Orioles under Joe Altobelli in 1983.

That rookie season (1982), Ripken would also begin the games-played streak that eventually brought him right to Lou Gehrig’s doorstep.

Today, this grainy RC is a $35 card in graded MINT condition.

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1982 Fleer Lee Smith Rookie Card (#603)

Smith had to wait awhile to join Cal in the Hall of Fame, but he was another big dude who helped change his position during the 1980s and 1990s.

Along with hurlers like Rich Gossage, Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter, Dan Quisenberry, and others, Smith crafted the image of the closer as the late-inning, shutdown guy who finished off games for his team.

Usually through mound-born intimidation.

It didn’t hurt Smith’s reputation that he was part of that 1984 Cubs team that finally won a division title.

Expect to pay about $15 for Smith’s Fleer rookie card (PSA 9).

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1982 Fleer Nolan Ryan (#229)

Ryan is going to sit near the top of the value list for just about every set he appears in, and that holds here for 1982 Fleer.

This card shows The Ryan Express pitching against a pole barn background with a military rucksack at his feet.

I don’t know.

I do know this card will set you back around $10 in PSA 9.

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1982 Fleer Pete Rose (#256)

Rose led the Major Leagues in hits (140) in 1981 at age 40, and in games played (162) in 1982 at age 41.

Those were the last two times Charlie Hustle was tops in any semi-major categories, but he was ready to take dead-aim on Ty Cobb’s all-time hits record.

After picking up his 4000th safety in 1984 with the Montreal Expos, Pete headed back to the Riverfront to wrap things up with the Reds.

Before that, though, and before he fell from grace, Pete doffed his cap and let his caveman locks flow all over this 1982 Fleer card.

You can usually find it today for under $7 in PSA 9.

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1982 Fleer Terry Francona Rookie Card (#188)

Tito Francona was a fine hitter in the 1950s and 1960s, so his son Terry came to the Majors in the early 80s with at least a little hype.

Terry had a rough time duplicating Dad’s success, but he did spend ten years in the Majors before embarking on his managerial career.

That’s where Francona started to shine, and it was under his leadership that the Red Sox finally got over Babe Ruth and broke their World Series “curse” in 2004.

Today, this Tito’s rookie card sells for $5-10 in PSA 9.

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1982 Fleer Reggie Jackson (#39)

By the time this card saw the light of day, Reggie was getting ready to debut for his new team, the California Angels.

In Anaheim, Jackson would win the 1982 AL home run crown and help the Angels capture the AL West title.

That makes this the last Fleer card showing Jackson with the Yankees, and it lines up in the $5-10 range (PSA 9).

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1982 Fleer Rickey Henderson (#92)

Rickey had served notice that he was an elite speedster by topping 100 stolen bases in 1980.

After the strike-torn 1981 season, Henderson came out with his jets on fire and saled past Lou Brock’s single-season record on his wan to 130 steals.

Henderson’s path to Cooperstown was set, and he would never look back.

This card from his record-breaking season sells in the $5-10 range for PSA 9 copies.

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1982 Fleer Mike Schmidt (#258)

Schmidt had won both the 1980 and 1981 NL MVP awards and looked poised to win another in 1982 when this card debuted.

If not for Dale Murphy’s breakout with the Atlanta Braves, Schmidt would have nabbed that third piece of hardware, too, but he’d have to wait until 1986 for that.

By that time, he was pretty much universally regarded as the game’s best third baseman, and he was a hobby staple.

This is about a $5 card in PSA 9 today.

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1982 Fleer Dave Stewart Rookie Card (#24)

Stewart holds the dubious distinction of winning 20 games four seasons in a row as the A’s built a mini dynasty in the late 1980s … without ever winning a Cy Young award.

That didn’t keep collectors from digging his RCs out of commons bins when he broke out at age 30, though, and this Fleer version sells for about $5 in slabbed MINT condition.

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1982 Fleer Tim Raines (#202)

Raines always sort of played in the shadow of Rickey Henderson, checking in as the second best base-stealer and second best leadoff hitter of his generation (if not all-time).

The obscurity of Montreal didn’t help his fame, either.

But Raines is a Hall of Famer and a $5 member of this list (PSA 9).

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See, after a first set (in 1981) that looked OK but was riddled with errors and print problems, Fleer grunted out a 1982 turd that didn’t look OK, was riddled with errors and print problems, and featured photos that would make your optometrist cringe.

In 1983, though, Fleer cleaned up the photos and errors, gave us an understated design that featured gray/beige borders, and even added photos on card backs.

Holy 1971 Topps, Batman! These things were something different, and something good.

As you’ll see below, Fleer also hit on the summer’s big rookie card while the other two card companies slept.

Today, thanks to how various careers played out and the general overall excellence of 1983 Topps, the third Fleer set is an afterthought most of the time.

But these most valuable 1983 Fleer cards (according to recent eBay sales for PSA 9 copies) are still popular with collectors and will take you back in an instant.

So, step up to the plate, and let’s get started …

1983 Fleer Tony Gwynn Rookie Card (#360)

It took Gwynn another year after this card was issued to start gaining national attention, but he turned on his hitting jets at just the right time.

As he stormed through the summer of 1984 toward his first National League batting title, his San Diego Padres did the same on their way to their first-ever division title … and National League pennant.

Only the juggernaut 1984 Detroit Tigers kept Gwynn from a ring, but that Olympic year set in motion a hobby love affair with Mr. Padre that continues today.

Expect to pay $25 or more for a Fleer Gwynn rookie card in PSA 9 condition.

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1983 Fleer Wade Boggs Rookie Card (#179)

Boggs got a year’s head start on Gwynn in the batting title department, hitting a scorching .361 for the Red Sox in 1983 to pace the American League.

That summer, collectors were pulling Boggs’ rookie cards from fresh wax packs, so they’d already found their way into plastic sheets and top-loaders across the land by the time we started drooling over Gwynn.

Today, Boggs’ 1983 Fleer RC is a $20 card in graded MINT condition.

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1983 Fleer Ryne Sandberg Rookie Card (#507)

Like Gwynn, Sandberg was a 1984 breakout star who helped lead his team to the playoffs. Because that team was the Chicago Cubs, Ryno garnered even more attention than his San Diego counterpart.

In fact, Sandberg won the NL MVP award in his second full season with the Cubs, and the race was on to rescue his 1983 rookie cards from the monster boxes where forgotten prospects go to gather dust.

Over the next 15 seasons or so, Ryno established himself as a future Hall of Famer, and his rookie card sits at about $20 in PSA 9 today.

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1983 Fleer Cal Ripken Jr. (#70)

By the spring of 1983, everyone figured Ripken was going to be a superstar … because he already was!

Indeed, Ripken had won the 1982 AL Rookie of the Year award on the strength of 28 home runs and 93 RBI.

He followed that up with an MVP season in 1983 that helped the Orioles win the World Series, and he also played in 162 games for the first time.

That, of course, set him on a path toward Lou Gehrig‘s consecutive games-played record and Cooperstown, and solidified his place in the hobby.

Iron Cal lines up here at $10+ in PSA 9.

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1983 Fleer Nolan Ryan (#463)

In 1983, Nolan Ryan broke Walter Johnson‘s all-time strikeout record … and then lost that record to Steve Carlton by season’s end.

(Gaylord Perry also passed the Big Train that summer.)

It was a nice milestone for the 36-year-old Ryan, and he could wrap up his career over the next few seasons and then see if the Veterans Committee would throw him a bone somewhere down the line.

Yeah, right!

The Ryan Express, of course, turned on the afterburners, played for another ten seasons, and just continued to pile up the wins, strikeouts, no-hitters, and awe.

This card from one of Ryan’s record-breaking summers hammers down for about $10 in PSA 9.

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1983 Fleer Rickey Henderson (#519)

Speaking of record breakers, Henderson topped Lou Brock‘s single-season stolen base record in 1982 by nabbing an otherworldly 130.

Rickey also stole 100 in 1980 and would pilfer 108 more in 1983. Within a few years, he had established himself as the greatest leadoff hitter ever, and he eventually broke Brock’s career steals mark.

This still-early Henderson is a $10 buy in PSA 9.

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1983 Fleer Pete Rose (#171)

Rose was heading into his final season with the Phillies when this card was issued, and he made the most of it.

Not only did Philadelphia win the National League pennant, but Rose combined to go 11-for-32 in the NLCS and World Series to cap off his postseason career in style.

From there, it was on to the Montreal Expos (?) and then back home to the Reds for a run as player-manager and an assault on Ty Cobb‘s all-time hits record.

Despite his banishment from baseball, Rose remains a hobby heavyweight and pushes $10 with his 1983 Fleer card (PSA 9).

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1983 Fleer Mike Schmidt (#173)

If it hadn’t been for Dale Murphy and his part in pushing the Atlanta Braves to a division title in 1982, Mike Schmidt would have been a three-time defending NL MVP winner when this card was issued.

As it was, Schmidt had to settle for the 1980 and 1981 awards for the time being before nabbing a third MVP in 1986.

And, you know an easy romp into the Hall of Fame and the unofficial title of “Greatest Third Baseman Ever.”

Oh, and a $5 card on this list.

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1983 Fleer Reggie Jackson (#93)

In 1982, Reggie Jackson took his old-man talents to Anaheim and led the American League with 39 home runs as the California Angels took home the AL West title.

Though Reggie got an Angels card in the 1982 Topps Traded set, all his other cards were with the Yankees that year, so this pasteboard is something of a historical piece.

Today, this Reggie sells for about $5 in slabbed MINT condition.

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1983 Fleer Ron Kittle Rookie Card (#241)

While Darryl Strawberry was tearing up the National League as a rookie in the summer of 1983, Kittle was smashing bombs on Chicago’s south side.

But, while Strawberry’s Mets were an afterthought in the standings, Kittle and the White Sox powered to a division title before bowing out to the O’s in the ALCS.

And there was another key difference … collectors had to wait until the Topps Traded set was issued that November to get a look at Strawberry on a baseball card.

Kittle, though, was right there with us all summer long thanks to this 1983 rookie card that we could “chase” in real live wax packs right through the pennant race.

This card may be only a $5 buy (PSA 9) today, but it’s an important part of hobby history.

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For the first few years of its existence, Topps wasn’t able to get Williams’ name on a contract at all. Then, when they did, in 1954, rival Bowman went ahead and issued a Teddy Ballgame card anyway.

That led to a cease-and-desist type thing, which led to that ’54 Bowman being super scarce.

Then, after a solid five-year run with Topps, Williams signed an exclusive deal with upstart Fleer, who we would soon learn had designs on something much more expansive in the card market.

Indeed, the 80-card Williams set also became the opening salvo in Fleer’s two-decades-long battle for the right to produce full sets of current players.

But before any of that could happen, collectors were treated to these 12 beauties, the most valuable 1959 Fleer Ted Williams baseball cards, as listed for PSA 7 copies in the PSA Sports Market Report Price Guide.

1959 Fleer Ted Williams – Ted Signs for 1959 (#68)

This card has vexed collectors for decades, because it’s so much harder to find than the rest of the Williams set.

So … what’s the deal, here? Why is this a $475 card in PSA 7 while none of the other cards in the set push much past $100?

Well … it turns out you can blame the Topps monopoly.

See, Williams appears on this card with Red Sox general manager Bucky Harris, who was still under contract with Topps. Evidently, Topps had a problem with the card when they learned about it (however that may have happened).

The story goes that, when collectors who were trying to complete the set in 1959 couldn’t find #68, they contacted Fleer. The company responded that they’d had to pull the card due to “legal overtones” — but they sent a copy to the inquiring collectors, anyway.

“Just don’t sell it!”

So, there you go — scarcity, not impossibility.

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1959 Fleer Ted Williams – The Early Years (#1)

What can we learn from this card?

That young Ted and his buds used a baseball bat as a makeshift maypole?

That people actually live — and grow up — in a land of palm trees and blue skies?

That it takes several boys to pick the price tag off the end a baseball bat knob?

That old #1 cards purporting to show Hall of Fame players can carry a premium (rubber bands and scuffing, don’t ya know?), regardless of what the card actually looks like?

Yeah, that’s it.

This #1 is a $100 card in PSA 7.

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1959 Fleer Ted Williams – Ted’s Idol (Babe Ruth) (#2)

Has there ever been more talent on a two-player baseball card than this one showing Williams and The Babe?

Has there ever been one with a higher combined saltiness-plus-hard-living quotient?

Hard to say for sure, but it’s easy to see why this card sits near the top of the 1959 Fleer value tree, at about $75 for copies in PSA 7.

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1959 Fleer Ted Williams – Ted’s Goals for 1959 (#80)

What do you do to psyche yourself up for your 21st season in the Majors when you’re already one of the greatest hitters ever to play the game?

Following the Splendid Splinter model, you marvel at your likeness in a painting proffered by fans of another team (Baltimore Orioles), and you set some goals.

Like … 500 home runs, 2600 hits, 1800 RBI, 2000 walks.

Ho hum. Just another mediocre season on the road to Cooperstown.

This is a $50+ buy in slabbed NM condition.

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1959 Fleer Ted Williams – Ted’s All-Star Record (#63)

Man, that Teddy Ballgame really crumbled under the pressure of All-Star Games, where his average slid all the way to .317 in 14 contests through 1958.

Only hit four dingers, too.

Still took a mean bat-on-shoulder portrait, though, like the classic one on this $50 card.

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1959 Fleer Ted Williams – First Spring Training (Jimmie Foxx) (#11)

You think spending Spring Training in 1938, and then his first few seasons with the Red Sox, playing alongside the great Jimmie Foxx had any effect on Williams?

Think it helped the Splinter set some goals?

I don’t know, but consider that Foxx finished with a .325 batting average, 2646 hits, and 534 home runs … and that Williams went .344, 2654, 521.

Hmmm …

Whatever the case, this is about a $40 card in PSA 7.

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1959 Fleer Ted Williams – Williams’ Value to Red Sox (#75)

What was Ted Williams’ value to the Red Sox over the years?

A photo op with Eddie Collins and Babe Ruth, based on the cardboard evidence here.

Or, like, 123 wins, according to Baseball Reference.

Po-tay-toe, po-tah-toe.

Whatever. This Ted Williams is worth, like, $40 to collectors in slabbed NM condition.

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1959 Fleer Ted Williams – Ted Williams/Jim Thorpe (#70)

Put Jim Thorpe and Ted Williams on a baseball card and you have enough talent in one little rectangle to …

• Fly a fighter jet
• Go pro in football and baseball … and win all sorts of Gold at the Olympics
• Hit .400
• Be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
• Be inducted into the College football Hall of Fame

And all that for the low, low price of $35 in PSA 7.

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1959 Fleer Ted Williams – Two Famous Fisherman (#67)

What do two guys with legendary swings in different sports do when they get together in the off-season?

Why, they go fishing, of course!

And, in the case of Ted Williams and golfer Sam Snead, they start a fishing supply and equipment company.

That would be Ted Williams, Inc.

Didn’t think Teddy would lose naming rights to Sammy, did you?

Heck no!

Anyway, the two swingin’ fishermen bring in about $30 in PSA 7 condition.

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1959 Fleer Ted Williams – First Step to the Majors (#9)

This card details how Red Sox General Manager Eddie Collins visited San Diego in 1936 to check out a second baseman the Padres were grooming.

While there, a young outfielder with an out-of-this world caught Collins’ eye, and the GM came calling with a buyout check the next year.

I’ll let you guess who that lad was.

And, no — no word that I can see on what happened to the keystone guy.

This “first meeting” card is a $25 buy in PSA 7.

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1959 Fleer Ted Williams – How Ted Hit .400 (#17)

“Basically, for every ten at-bats, I just made sure to pick up at least four hits.”

Um, thanks, Ted.

Asking Ted Williams how to hit .400 is a bit like asking Bud Selig how to coif the perfect comb-over — some guys just have it, and there’s nothing they can do to impart their talent to you.

You could pay $25 for this card, though, and dream about what that kind of glory must feel like.

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1959 Fleer Ted Williams – Where Ted Stands (#79)

Judging by the image on this card, I think it’s pretty clear that Ted Williams stands at the top of the alpha male pyramid.

Thanks for asking, though.

And thanks for the nightmare visual, Fleer.

You can buy your own PSA 7 version of this bad dream for around $25.

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