Between the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and the Veterans Committee selections, the 1984 Baseball Hall of Fame was among Baseball’s strongest. Luis Aparicio, Don Drysdale, and Harmon Killebrew were voted in, while the Veteran’s Committee added Rick Ferrell and Pee Wee Reese. A player had to be on 75% of ballots to be inducted to the Hall of Fame; Aparicio was on 84.6% of ballots, Killebrew on 83.1%, and Drysdale on 78.4%. Seven players received votes but failed to make the 75% cutoff but were elected in future elections: Hoyt Willhelm, Nellie Fox, Billy Williams, Jim Bunning, Orlando Cepeda, Bill Mazeroski, and Joe Torre.
Here are some standout cards celebrating the 1984 Hall of Fame inductees.
Luis Aparicio
Aparicio was the first Venezuelan inducted into the Hall of Fame. He was an excellent defensive shortstop who was a 13x All-Star, a 9x Golf Glove Award Winner, a 9x AL Stolen Base Leader, and a member of the 1966 World Series Champion Baltimore Orioles team. He finished his career with 2677 hits and 506 stolen bases.
Key Cards: 1956 Topps, 1964 Topps, and 1971 Topps
1956 Topps #292 Luis Aparicio
1964 Topps #540 Luis Aparicio
1971 Topps #740 Luis Aparicio
Don Drysdale
Don Drysdale played his entire career with the Dodgers organization. He was a 9x All-Star, 3x World Series Champion, and 1962 Cy Young Award Winner. He finished his career with 209 wins, 2486 strikeouts, and a 2.95 earned run average.
Key Cards: 1957 Topps and 1963 Topps
1957 Topps #18 Don Drysdale
1963 Topps #360 Don Drysdale
Harmon Killebrew
Over his 22-year career, Killebrew was a 13-time All-Star, 6-time AL home run leader, and 1969 AL MVP. He was a prolific home run hitter, finishing his career with 573.
Key Cards: 1955 Topps, 1963 Topps, and 1967 Topps
1955 Topps #124 Harmon Killebrew
1963 Topps #500 Harmon Killebrew
1967 Topps #460 Harmon Killebrew
Rick Ferrell
Over his 18-year career, Ferrell was one of Baseball’s best catchers. He was an 8x All-Star and patient hitter, logging only 277 strikeouts over his career compared to 931 walks. He was super durable and, to this day, still ranks 12th all-time in games played as a catcher.
Key Cards: 1933 Goudey and 1940 Play Ball
1933 Goudey #197 Rick Ferrell
1940 Play Ball #21 Rick Ferrell
Pee Wee Reese
Reese was a member of the loaded 40s/50s Dodgers teams. He played 16 seasons, making the All-Star Game 10 times while winning 2 World Series. Reese also made the top ten in MVP voting eight times over his career. He was consistently productive, scoring 1338 runs in his career while playing great defense.
Here’s an incredible item I can’t remember seeing before: a 1937 Goudey Thum Movies Uncut Seet featuring 300 individual views.
Richard Wolffers Auctions, Inc. offered this sheet in their December 1994 catalog. They noted a few faults, including a few sealed tears with tape, so they offered it as a VG item. The estimated value was $5000-6000.
I can’t really make out any players on the sheet, and I’ve never seen the inside of any booklets, and while there is a 1938 Goudey Big League Baseball Movies set (R326) with the same dimensions, I’ll take the catalog’s word that these are the photos from the 1937 set (R342). Let me know if you can confirm!
In July 2000, REA sold two 1973 Topps “1953 Reissue” Test Sets in their internet/telephone auction held in partnership with eBay. The cards are awesome, but I dislike that PSA calls them reprints on the flips; they’re a little more unique than a “reprint!”
I’m not sure if there’s been some more modern research into the cards, but here’s what my Standard Catalog says about them:
Long before Topps reprinted virtually the entire 1953 set in its “Archives” program in 1991, selected cards from the ’53 set had been reprinted in a rare eight-card issue. Some sources say the cards were produced as table favors at a Topps banquet, while at least one contemporary hobby periodical said they were sold on a test-issue basis in Brooklyn. It was said only 300 of the sets were made. Unlike the original cards in 2-5/8” x 3-3/4” format, the test issue cards are modern standard 2-1/2” x 3-1/2”. Three of the players in the issue were misidentified. Card backs feature a career summary written as through in 1953; the backs are formatted differently than original 1953 Topps cards and are printed in black-and-white.
Sounds like something more unique than a re-print to me!
Here’s a complete PSA-graded set that REA sold for $1,140 in the spring of 2018, the description for which hypothesized that the cards came out of Sy Berger’s personal collection of Topps banquet keepsakes, “lending credence to the Topps banquet theory.”
REA also sold the following uncut panel of the cards for $1,080 in the fall of 2018.
I’ll have to do more research on this set; it’s fantastic but still a bit mysterious! Let me know if you have more details.
Sports Card Magazine’s monthly auction report highlighted an incredible item in its April 1998 issue: the sale of a completely signed 80-card 1959 Fleer Ted Williams Set!
Based on the magazine’s date, the Sportsworld “All Boston” Auction must have been in December 1997 (I can’t find any other references to the auction). And, as you can read, the set of signed Williams’ Fleer baseball cards sold for $11,694.
While they highlighted card no. 69 in the text; I think they meant 68 because that’s the actual number for the “Ted Signs for 1959” card they featured in the image.
REA has recently sold a pair of these signed cards for some modern market context. This first example is a PSA 5, which sold for $1,920 in the spring of 2024.
The second example was this PSA 2, with a much nicer signature, that sold for $1,560 in October 2024.
Card 68 is definitely the key card in the set; other signed 1959 Fleer Ted Williams cards sell for a lot less; for example, this “Ted Reaches 400th Homer” sold for $276.50 on eBay back in November 2024.
Kit Kiefer was a former editor of Baseball Cards Magazine and the VP of Professional Hobby Consultants, so he knows a thing or two about sports cards. Here’s his list of the 10 most significant action photos of all time, in order of importance. Not bad, huh?
The list was part of a much longer article in the February 1997 issue of Sports Card Magazine, in which he mentioned that “action photos on sports cards were non existent for the first 100 years, but today they are as common as a new pack of cards.”
In terms of popularity, you have to consider adding the 1991 Topps Carlton Fisk card featuring Cecil Fielder barreling toward him; here’s the Desert Shield version (4 Sharp Corners was offering it on eBay for $759 in November 2024).
With their 1989 baseball set, Upper Deck brought the hobby its first premium product. They backed that up with another innovation in 1990 with the first major chase card. But Upper Deck also innovated in how they marketed their products. All the major brands put ads in hobby publications and sports magazines along with providing sell sheets and pamphlets directly to dealers, but Upper Deck decided to target collectors directly in another way by distributing promotional/commemorative sheets.
This article kicks off a four-part series dedicated to these Upper Deck sheets, starting with those for baseball sets (later, I’ll cover hockey, basketball, and football sheets). There are two categories when it comes to baseball. In 1989 and 1990, Upper Deck provided Limited Edition Commemorative Sheets at card shows, announcing their entrance to the hobby, while from 1991-1994, they had commemorative sheets and Heroes of Baseball sheets that they distributed at sporting events. They’re all ~8 1/2″ x 11″ and blank-backed.
In 1989, Upper Deck distributed a pair of Limited Edition Commemorative Sheets at two events to promote their first set. The first was at the 10th National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago, held from June 29 – July 2. The sheets are numbered out of 25k.
Upper Deck gave out the other sheet at the National Candy Wholesalers Association Exposition in Washington, D.C., between July 27 and 29. This sheet is scarcer and costlier (probably because it includes the Ken Griffey Jr. card photo) than the NSCC one.
And a final version, and the toughest to track down, was available at the 1990 All-American Sports Collectors Convention, August 31-September 3, in San Francisco, CA.
Around this time, The Upper Deck Company replaced Equitable Financial Companies as the sponsor of Baseball’s Old-Timer Series – which was renamed the Heroes of Baseball Series.
The following article from The Journal Times in Racine, Wisconsin, from February 1991, explains that the 1991 24-game exhibition series benefits the Baseball Assistance Team (BAT) and that Upper Deck would donate $10k to BAT for each of the Heroes of Baseball games that were set to begin on April 14.
Old Timers Series Renamed
So the next Upper Deck sheet is this single version dedicated to BAT, the Foundation of Baseball, and is numbered to 1500. Notice that it’s dated to 1991 on the seal.
1991 Upper Deck Commemorative Sheet
1991 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheets
TCDB lists 23 total sheets in the 1991 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheet series, including two cover sheet versions with the schedule. One is numbered to 10k, the other to 20k, and both feature the same Reggie Jackson Heroes of Baseball card. The seal has a 1991 date, but the Upper Deck logo says 90/91.
1991 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheet – Cover Sheet Version 1
The rest of the items were distributed at various events throughout the year. Interestingly, and perhaps it was based on expected attendance, the sheets are numbered to different totals. Here are a few examples.
1991 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheet – Battle of Missouri
1991 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheet – 1971 Pirates vs. Orioles
1991 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheet – A Tribute to Joe DiMaggio & Ted Williams
1992 Upper Deck Commemorative Sheets
TCDB describes this series of five 1992 commemorative sheets as those distributed at Upper Deck-sponsored events but doesn’t include the Heroes of Baseball series, which they listed separately. The five events were the Yankees Second Annual Fan Festival (Jan/Feb 1992), Opening Day at Oriole Park at Camden Yards (April 6, 1992), two versions were available at the All-Star FanFest in July 1992, and the last version honored the Atlanta Braves 1991-1992 Back-to-Back National League Champions.
1992 Upper Deck Commemorative Sheet – Yankees Fan Fest
1992 Upper Deck Commemorative Sheet – Opening Da at Camden Yards
1992 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Commemorative Sheets
The following article from the Tampa Bay Times, from February 1992, explains that in 1992, the Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball “tour” would be visiting all 26 stadiums plus Mile High Stadium (the original home of the Rockies who would join MLB the following season). Again, Upper Deck Co. donated $10k to BAT for each game.
Old-timers – Tampa Bay Times
TCDB lists 31 items in their checklist for this series of sheets. Here are a few examples, and again, serial numbering varied.
1992 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Commemorative Sheet – The 200 Club
1993 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheets
Again, Upper Deck gave these sheets away during the Heroes of Baseball Tour. The checklist on TCDB includes 27 blank-backed sheets that again have varied serial numbering.
1993 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheet – Inaugural Season
1993 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheet – May 15, 1993
1993 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheet – A Tribute to Billy Martin
1994 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheets
The following article from the Journal News in White Plains, NY (March 1994) explains that Upper Deck was now donating $225k for every Heroes of Baseball game played to BAT and that in 1993, they donated $300k.
Sports Collecting – Journal News
TCDB’s checklist includes just eight sheets in 1994 that the article explains Upper Deck gave away to every fan attending the various games.
1994 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheet – Brewers Silver Anniversary Season
1994 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheet – Hollywood Softball Game
I’m unsure what happened to the Hereos of Baseball series; Wikipedia implies the final game was played in June 1995 at Dodgers Stadium. And while the following ad from the LA Times from Tuesday, June 6, 1995, still includes Upper Deck’s sponsorship, the advertisement shares regular Dodgers games and the Saturday game against the Phillies at 7:35 (that they lost 3-0). I’m unsure if there was a Heroes game before the first pitch or if it was just a sponsored night where stars of the past appeared. Commemorative sheets aren’t mentioned in the ad for the Saturday game, and I haven’t found any from years after 1994.
Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Night Ad – LA Times
Conclusion
You can find most of these Upper Deck baseball commemorative sheets for just a few dollars, but they hold a lot of historical value to the hobby and baseball. So whether you’re an Upper Deck card collector or just looking to make a display piece, these sheets would be an excellent way to spice up a collection or hobby cave. Ultimately, they’re a fantastic journey through Upper Deck’s contribution to the sports card industry. Don’t forget to revisit the blog over the next few days since I’ll be covering Upper Deck’s hockey, basketball, and football commemorative sheets, too.
This article marks the conclusion of my series on collector issues, which began a few weeks ago with my look at Mike Aronstein and TCMA and was followed by an article about Larry Fritsch. This week, I’ll be looking at Mike Cramer, who, as T.S. O’Connell wrote, “parlayed his initial foray into minor league cards and collector issues into full-fledged licenses with baseball, football, and hockey. In other words, a collector-issue company became one of the big boys, no small feat when considering the size of some of his competitors.”
Hobby Figure Mike Cramer
Cramer was a fan of baseball cards from an early age. The details for his book Cramer’s Choice: Memoir of a Baseball Card Collector Turned Manufacturer note that before high school, he had a mail-order trading card business before founding Pacific Trading Cards.
Cramer’s Choice Book Cover
In his early days, Cramer would buy vending cases of Topps baseball cards and collate sets from them. In a Sports Collectors Daily article, he shared that his wife Cheryl did a lot of the work while he was off crab fishing to make money.
After doing this for a while, Cramer started making his own sets and also innovated collecting a bit around that time. They produced plastic sheets to put cards in binders and cardboard boxes designed for cards.
Key Mike Cramer Collector Issues
Before getting those big licenses with the major sports leagues, Cramer got his start with a few minor league sets and Baseball Legends releases.
1975 Phoenix Giants Minor League Set
1975 Circle K Phoenix Giants Michael J. Cramer
It seems Cramer actually produced a few different sets for the Phoenix Giants, but his first is cataloged as the Circle K Phoenix Giants set and included a card of Cramer from the Phoenix Giants thanking him for his work in helping produce the card set. It added that his collection had almost half a million cards!
A search on TCDB also turned up a 1976 Cramer Phoenix Giants set that included a sponsorship from CocaCola.
1976 Cramer Phoenix Giants Horace Speed
Some of his other late 70s minor league sets included ones for the Seattle Rainiers, Tucson Toros, Salt Lake City Gulls, Spokane Indians, Tucson Toros, Albuquerque Dukes, Tacoma Yankees, and Hawaii Islanders.
1980-83 Baseball Legends
1980 Cramer Baseball Legends #5 Joe DiMaggio
From a collector issue perspective, Cramer is probably best known for the four Baseball Legends sets he released between 1980 and 1983. The cards have a sepia-toned photo on the front with a black frame. The backs are brown and include personal data, stats, and career summary. The key cards across the series include Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson’s portrait card, Roberto Clemente, Ted Williams, and Joe Jackson.
Each series had 30 cards, but the 124-card total comes from the four fourth series cards Cramer printed on this box in 1986.
Baseball Legends Box Bottom
Baseball Legends Box Top
Notice the ad for Pacific Trading Collector Sheets on the wrapper! The wrapper and box have a 1985 copyright, but I usually see them advertised as a 1986 product.
Baseball Legends Wax Wrapper
Cramer would develop another series of Baseball Legends cards from 1988-90 under the Pacific name that were printed in color.
Conclusion and Further Reading
Along with Mike Aronstein and Larry Fritsch, Mike Cramer was pivotal in moving the hobby forward since they were creating many of their now-famous collector issues at a time when Topps had their monopoly. However, the role of collector issues slowly diminished after 1981 when three major companies, Donruss, Fleer, and Topps, started competing to produce the most popular cards. Given the current market consolidation under Fanatics, one has to wonder if the hobby might need collector issues again.
