Do you remember 1988 Upper Deck baseball cards?

No, that’s not a typo, I really do mean 1988.

But …

I did sort of messed up in this space a week or so back, making today’s Boog Powell birthday post go live before it should have. You can read that one here if you haven’t already.

My gaffe was no big deal for the on-site version of the post, but it got sent immediately to the folks who read by email.

And that meant … I had nothing scheduled to be sent out today, August 17.

And then I goofed again by forgetting I goofed in the first place.

So this “daily” scribble is coming to you a few hours late, assuming you read from your inbox.

What’s all this have to do with 1988 Upper Deck baseball cards?

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Find 1988 Upper Deck promos on Amazon (affiliate link)

Well, they’re sort of confusing and sort of wrong, too, but not really.

See … way back in that drought-stricken summer, the National Sports Collectors Convention made its way to Atlantic City. And, as usual, dealers attending the hobby gala were greeted with all sorts of promotional goodies.

Among those were two cards the likes of which none of us had ever seen — clean, crisp, thick, premium cardstock, minimal design, full-color photos on front and back … holograms, for gosh sake!

Turns out these were preview cards from an outfit called Upper Deck, and, as you might imagine, their existence buzzed through the hobby from coast-to-coast, from border-to-border, from Hawaii to Alaska to Puerto Rico.

Was there really going to be a full set of baseball cards that looked like this?

When would they come out?

Who was DeWayne Buice?

Who was Wally Joyner?

Find 1988 Upper Deck promos on eBay (affiliate link)

Find 1988 Upper Deck promos on Amazon (affiliate link)

The answers would be revealed over the coming months …

Yes, there really would be a set like this.

The first Upper Deck set would be released early in 1989.

DeWayne Buice was a California Angels reliever who was also one of the original bigwigs at Upper Deck.

And, finally …

You *can’t* be serious with that question about Wally World … right?

Right. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt on that one.

But those 1988 Upper Deck promo cards of Buice and Joyner are still out there, masquerading as 1989s, and at least potentially confusing new collectors. We tend to be an inquisitive bunch, though, so they would probably track down the truth.

Like, how these promos come in a few variations, making things even trickier.

And the big question remains …

Do you need a 1988 Upper Deck DeWayne Buice and Wally Joyner to make your 1989 UD set complete?

That’s sort of a personal choice, but eBay has you covered if you think you DO need them for your set (affiliate link).

Or, you know, just because they’re a part of hobby history.