My 1991 Collection is Complete!

So, what do I mean by that?  My stated collection goal is to own at least one card from each set produced in each year. Since it's my goal, I get to set the parameters. I'm pretty much talking about sets of major league players released by the major card producers. Although I like to get odd-ball cards (like those produced by food companies and the like) I don't include them.  It's too much effort to track all that stuff. Plus, it's a hard enough goal. By my count, there were 52 unique types of cards produced in 1991. That includes all the major releases (Bowman, Donruss, Fleer, Leaf, Score, Stadium Club, Studio, Topps, Ultra and Upper Deck) plus inserts included in those releases, update sets (which I count separately) and some other odds and ends.  Last week I acquired the last two cards I needed.

1991 Classic III #52 Greg Maddux

The front of this looks pretty much like Classic I and Classic II from 1991, except for the color. Each was a 100-card set which was only available as a boxed set.  Classic I was blue and Classic II was red. The other visual change was the back.

1991 Classic I #73 Mark McGwire

Classic II and previous years of Classic also had this back. Classic III was a real departure. The other major difference in Classic III that you can't see in the scanned image is the card finish. Unlike all previous issue of Classic, the 1991 Classic III had a nice glossy surface, front and back.

I'm not sure that the Classic sets are much remembered today but they were widely available at the time which is why I've included them in my want list.


1991 Score Mantle #2 Mickey Mantle - Triple Crown

This was a 7-card insert in 1991 Score Series 2. I did not buy a single pack of Score in 1991 as I acquired a boxed set sometime during the year. 1991 was, of course, many years before Topps locked up the right to produce Mantle baseball cards.

I've been concentrating my buying the past few years on new issues. This year, I'm going to cut back on new stuff and start trying to complete my early 1990 releases. I just bought a bunch of 1992 issues on eBay which I'll have posted in a week or so.

I am considering running a series (5-6 posts) to highlight my 1991 collection.