Tales of the Unknown: 1991 Playball Ken Griffey Jr.

Set size: Beckett lists 50, but it looks like the set might go into the 60s. It also appears that while Playball may have manufactured 66 or more cards, those cards are most likely distributed between other players (see below).

Front Design: Designs through the set differ, though several use the design seen here: a full bleed color photo with a two-tone bar at the bottom listing the player and team. Most cards also have a matching bar across the top identifying this as a Playball set in varying sizes. The cards I found that number in the 60s are usually identified as promos and contain a colored border around the card.

Back Design: The backs are very plain, with Griffey's name, team, and the year of issue in large print. The MLB and Mariners logos fill the bottom half of the card.

Parallels and Similars: It seems that a glossy version of the set was released in limited numbers (15,000?) and serial numbered on the back; the glossies may be identified by a line of text in place of the card number. The glossies might also have a holofoil border, but my sample size is too small to determine if this is consistent throughout. The promos mentioned above are identified on the back with a line of text between the year and card number.

Distribution: Cards would have been released through hobby channels, most likely sold as complete player sets to dealers who would then sell the sets at shows and card shops. As mentioned above, the entire "set" containing several players appears to number around 66 (plus unnumbered promos). Identified players include Griffey, Don Mattingly, Will Clark, and Darryl Strawberry, and numbering is spotty at best. It is entirely possible only 40 regular cards, plus glossy and/or gold issues of 26 cards, were released. This could hint that two players were eliminated from the release for whatever reason - the Mattingly gold cards appear to be numbered 4 and 5, and the Griffey glossies seem to be numbered in the 60s.

Thoughts: This release is quite complicated for such a minor issue in the overproduction era. I may have to go through some even deeper research to fully determine what card numbers exist for what players, and in what format. If a bit more thought was put into the back of the card, Playball's issue could have been good competition for Star, if such a thing was necessary. The individual player set never really caught on, though I wonder if it might today - there seem to be more player collectors than set collectors, and a well-developed series of player issues might do well. It's already looking like some manufacturers are moving that way - after the success of sets featuring artists like KISS and Michael Jackson, Pete Rose has his own issue, and Leaf Metal sales might be driven almost entirely by the chase for an Ichiro autograph.

1983 ASA Duke Snider

Set size: 12 cards

Front Design: A color or black and white photo of Duke Snider appears in a thin black frame, and his name appears beneath the photo in an identical frame. A thicker red line surrounds both in the white borders, with red bunting in the upper corners.

Back Design: A red and black border surrounds part of a "story" of career highlights that carries over from card to card.

Parallels and Similars: None.

Distribution: Cards were most likely sold through hobby means - either by ASA or through distributors and dealers. Card number 1 is available autographed and serially numbered to 2000, but entire unsigned sets were also available.

Thoughts: The design feels like a TCMA issue, and ASA might have been inspired by TCMA. ASA stands for Authentic Sports Autographs, a company which issued several similar sets in 1983 including stars like Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron. Mickey Mantle had a 72-card set in 1982, also issued with an autographed version.

1988 Star McGwire Green and Yellow

Set size: 12 cards for the yellow set, 11 for the green

Front Design: Both sets are identical - a color photo is framed by a small black and white lined border, with the A's logo in the lower-left corner and McGwire's name and the card's title along the bottom border. The cards have either a green or yellow border, depending on the set. "Star '88" appears in the upper-right corner.

Back Design: The backs are identical and all printed in a green ink, repeating McGwire's name, the card title, and the A's logo at the top. The majority of the card is devoted to statistics, one season's highlights, career highlights, or other information about McGwire. These two sets are identified by the 1984 copyright date (despite the Star '88 notation on the front).

Parallels and Similars: All 1988 Star sets follow the same design, and there are two more sets issued that year with Mark McGwire.

Distribution: Cards were distributed by Star through dealers as complete sets. It is very rare to find a set broken up, especially given that most sets feature only one player.

Thoughts: While none of the cards would win an award for best photo, trying to fill forty cards with different photos of the same player means some of the photos are rarely seen on cards. Well, back in the 1980s, I suppose Fleer was really good about getting photos of players in the dugout, but these days images like the two above don't show up often on cards. Given the amount of recycling Topps does with photos, you would think some more (interesting/fun) dugout and non-action shots would make it onto cards. If you'd like to see more of this set, head over to my main blog, where a post hit earlier today with more photos from the set.

Additional Images:
card backs