I really love the 1980’s! I think I have made that very clear over the last two years on the blog here. I have written numerous pieces on some of the random card sets from the 80’s to go with some of my favorite memories. I have so many memories from those days; and looking at sports cards from those years takes me back and makes those memories as vivid as the cards I am looking at. When I see certain cards, I remember exactly where I was. I am able to piece together parts of my childhood that have otherwise been forgotten. Some of the events are mundane but they are almost always important in the big book of life I have been writing.
What’s so interesting to me about card sets from the 80’s can be broken down into three main thoughts.
- First, going back through those sets helps me temper expectations for some of the “big rookies” of today. In other words, I don’t easily fall victim to “recency bias” because I lived through the days of Ron Kittle and Ben McDonald. While that means I have ultimately saved some money by not over investing; it would be fair to say that I have missed on some guys too because I just had a “hunch” they would fall apart. I do collect rookies, but they are usually pack pulled and not purchased singularly. I’ll certainly sell when times are good but I am not always a big buyer unless they are PC items.
- Next, the players from the 80’s have all played out their careers. So while the thrill of prospecting isn’t necessarily there, I do know what I’m getting with every pack I am opening. I know the players I am looking for, I know the subsets I like the most, and I know all about SP’s from those days without having to read tiny codes on the back of cards. Some people believe that familiarity breeds contempt. I, on the other hand, believe that familiarity breeds comfort.
- Finally, I think every design from the 80’s is a little time capsule by itself. If you lived through those times, you understand why ’86 Donruss reminds people of “Max Headroom”, and why ’90 Topps has a “Saved by the Bell” vibe. In those moments, they were just what was popular and we didn’t expect anything different. Looking back, the designs themselves can be a snapshot of a moment in history; whether rooted in pop culture or otherwise.
That last point is why I am here with the first installment of my new series: “I Love the 80’s!” In this series, I am going to take each of the major card manufacturer releases from the 80’s and rank them by year. I’m going to start with Donruss because it was so available to me back in the day. I grew up a Donruss guy; though I have a lot of attachment to certain Topps and Fleer releases too. I might even slide into the early 90’s when I am done running this gauntlet because there are quite a few memorable, but not necessarily iconic, designs from those years as well. 
As you are likely aware, Donruss and Fleer had one less release than Topps in the 80’s because they began producing sets in 1981. I’ll rank the sets from worst to first and give my reasons for the rankings. I am combining multiple factors in ranking these sets. The foremost factor in the ranking will be the design; but I am also considering certain personal memories and memorable cards from each set as well. This is not necessarily about the checklist. It’s more about how fun the set was. I’d love to hear your thoughts and how you see the rankings differently. Let’s dive right in.
#9 – 1981
The set that comes in at #9 on the countdown was the easiest to assess. This was the first year that Donruss manufactured cards and it was nothing short of a train wreck in my opinion. The design itself was plain and boring. The colors were not consistent throughout the checklist and the photos were somewhat amateur. The set was groundbreaking in one aspect as it was the first year that Topps had competition. But overall, the set falls flat. In their defense, they only had about 6 months to put the whole set together and release it due to the timing of the court ruling. The backs of the cards look different from any other release from Donruss for the next 10+ years. I am not a fan. Tim Raines is easily the best card in the set for me, as he wound up being the only major rookie from that season, unless you include Danny Ainge.
#8 – 1982
While Donruss’ follow up release in 1982 was an improvement from the previous year, it is still not as popular as some of the later 80’s issues, as you’ll soon see. The addition of the bat and ball at the bottom of the card was a nice touch and it gave the team and player names a little more flair than in ’81. I also like the font from ’82 better than the previous release. There were better action shots in the set as well, along with a better group of rookies, led by Legendary Cal Ripken, Jr. The backs of the cards transitioned close to what we would become familiar with from Donruss. They only used 5 total seasons and a career line but it was easier on the eyes than the ’81 backs. They would choose some odd colors over the years but the blue backs were nice in ’82. You may find it odd though that I did not choose the Ripken as my favorite card from the set in 1982. From a visual standpoint, I loved this Nolan Ryan! The classic Astro’s jersey was just hard to beat!
#7 – 1983
I promise that I am not going in reverse order for this countdown. But the first 3 years of Donruss were certainly years of growth for the company. 1983 is my favorite of those first 3 years but not a HUGE change from 1982, with a glove replacing the ball, and the Donruss logo going back to the same position from 1981. The photos had become a little more vivid and the use of action shots improved. This was also the first year that they used a variation of the peach colored back that would be used several more times through the 80’s and 90’s. This was a very nice rookie set with Gwynn, Boggs, and Ryne Sandberg. My favorite from the set was this Gwynn. Like the Ryan in ’82, I loved the Padres jersey from the early 80’s. Don’t ask me why!
#6 – 1988
I sort of feel bad about this one because the design isn’t terrible. The set itself just does not evoke warm and fuzzy feelings. 1988 Donruss has received a bit of a bad rap and I suppose I am not helping the cause much with this ranking. I am just not blown away by anything in ’88 Donruss other than the Glavine and Gant rookies. I actually love the 1988 Retro Design in the 2018 Panini Football sets but I think that is more based in nostalgia than fondness of the set itself. The backs were good with Donruss returning to blue again, and they were no longer using the white border on the back, as that had changed by 1985. This is one of my favorite Ron Gant cards because it is a true rookie. I think the jersey matched up with the color scheme of the design well and I have always enjoyed this card.
#5 – 1984
This is really more of a love/hate design because of the competition with ’84 Topps and Fleer. It was the worst design of 1984 between the companies but I rank it 5 because it was the first major change in design for Donruss in their early production years. They removed the multi-color borders and went with a one piece white border, which was as close to a full bleed as you could get in the early 80’s. I like the move of the logo to the bottom of the card and within the team logo “swoosh”. The backs had an odd aqua color and this was the last year there would be a border there. This set hit on 2 key rookies with Darryl Strawberry and Don Mattingly but missed out on Puckett, Clemens, and Gooden, who would be found in either the update or traded sets with Fleer and Topps. Strawberry was a big chase for me in the 80’s as he was a legitimate superstar. This was my favorite card from the ’84 set, beating out the Don Mattingly.
#4 – 1987 Donruss
As you’ll see from the countdown, I really preferred the Donruss sets with the darker design. While they were hard to keep in mint condition, they were just different than anything else that was being produced at the time. I have 1987 lowest on the ranking for dark border design because I didn’t really like the baseballs on the side of the card. The backs were a variation of that peach color I mentioned with 1983 but closer to the color used in 1989, which we’ll see in a moment. One of the most infamous Donruss cards of the 80’s is found in this set; the RJ Reynolds/Barry Bonds error card. But my favorite is this Bo Jackson Rated Rookie. I will never pass up a Bo Jackson RC, no matter who manufactured it.
#2(B) – 1989 Donruss
Ok, so I have a tie in the second spot. I just couldn’t choose one of these over the other. This is one of the first full sets I put together, as I was 12 years old when it was released. It comes in at #2(B) on the countdown for multiple reasons. I really like the design because it has a clean and classy look to it that gets down to business. While the colors didn’t always match up as well as this Ken Griffey Jr., pictured above, many of the card colors complimented the player’s jersey nicely. The backs had that familiar Donruss peach variation, with this one being almost iconic (for Donruss) in my eyes. This is a VERY memorable Donruss set from the 80’s for me, just because of the timing. I was at peak collecting in 1989 and the chase for Ken Griffey, Jr. was unlike anything I had ever been a part of. This card is likely the most important card in my collecting history as it really cemented my love for the hobby.
#2(A) – 1985 Donruss
The other half of the tie for second is a vastly underrated set in collecting lore. The design is spectacular with the black border and red lines. The team logos are nicely done and the player names are clean. I should probably have more ’85 Donruss in my collection but the set is often overlooked with the true rookies of the big guys being found in ’84 Fleer Update and ’84 Topps Traded. Guess what we find on the backs? Why, it’s that familiar peach color with a little lighter tint. The back I’m showing here is actually a Leaf back and has English and French text. The Kirby Puckett card was an easy choice for me as I was a huge fan of Puckett in the 80’s. I do wish he had played with a different team but those Twins uniforms make some of his mid-80’s cards look even better.
#1 – 1986 Donruss
I gave consideration to ’89 Donruss for the top spot just because of how important it was to me and my growth within the hobby. But the 1986 Donruss design is one of the most popular designs of the ‘80s. There was really no way I could not put this set as #1. The front design was very “Max Headroom” and really encapsulates 1986. And while the front is awesome, the back uses that nice soft blue as well, making this design the total package; front and back. While the ’89 Ken Griffey Jr. is legendary, perhaps there is no card during the late 80’s that was more sought after than the Jose Canseco Rated Rookie from ’86. This was one of the first cards from the 80’s that hit triple digits in the Beckett Price Guide and was a MUST HAVE for collectors. The set actually produced two more stud rookies with Fred McGriff and Andres Gallaraga, but they couldn’t compete with Jose. This is such a beautiful and memorable card!
Bonus – 1988 Donruss Baseball’s Best
While ’88 Donruss checks in way down at #6 on the countdown, I had to include the 88 Donruss “variation”, Baseball’s Best. It had the same general design as the base ’88 Donruss, but it used an awesome orange color on the front that gave it some extra pop. This was such a fun design! I still have this set unopened in my stash because of how much I enjoyed it!
Donruss was really fun in the 80’s. 1990 started off rough with the ketchup red set and junk wax really started to take over. The did keep the sets lively with the introduction of “The Elite Series” but 80’s Donruss couldn’t be matched. What are your thoughts on one of the new kids on the block from that era? What do you think about the ranking? Let me hear from you!
J-Dub