Derek’s (Re)collections As a fan of the Fleer design for the first five years that I collected baseball cards, the 1988 Fleer design stands out in a negative way to me. It was a bland, boring, by-the-book choice which in…

Derek’s (Re)collections Topps incorporated a “retro” wood grain border design in ‘87 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 1962 Topps set. While I was not a big fan of this set at the time, I appreciated the concept. As…

Derek’s (Re)collections While the changes from the previous year’s effort were subtle, I immediately appreciated the design of the 1987 Fleer baseball cards. I made multiple attempts to acquire the cards but they were very difficult to track down. My…

Derek’s (Re)collections It’s possible that the Topps’ brass were in denial but their competition made significant strides in the first half of the Eighties while the “leader of the pack” seemed to stagnate in terms of design and innovation. Looking…

Derek’s (Re)collections My collecting days began as Fleer really hit their stride. Following an uneven debut in ‘81 and a lackluster ‘82, Fleer ironed out the rough spots and delivered a solid effort through the next half-decade. The ‘86 effort…

Derek’s (Re)collections Impressed with both the standard and subsets of Donruss products from the two previous years, I anxiously awaited the release of the 1986 cards. They did not disappoint! I rushed to my local card shop and other vendors…