1981 Donruss Conditions

[Hellwig]

Kind of a weird question, more of an observation but aren’t these cards “card stock” always in the worst shape when looking through a mixed box. The only thing that comes close is a stack of Kellogg’s 3Ds that are cracked more than likely.

[ALR-bishop]

Rob-the 81 set is the only Donrus set I have. It has been in sheets in a binder for many years and have not gone through it in a long time. Will have to go see what it looks like these days

[steve B]

By strict standards, the 81D were iffy right out of the pack. Thin, not as consistent on size, often cut a little crooked so the corners stuck out....

[deweyinthehall]

81 Donruss was a mess for all the reasons given - but to their credit they really pulled a great turnaround and their 82 set was better in every regard. Curiously, Fleer went the exact opposite way - good debut, lousy follow-up the next year.

[ALR-bishop]

Looked at my set and see what you guys mean. Had forgotten how many variations I ended up with for that set

[Mike D.]

1981 gets my vote for worst set design of the 80’s, across the board!

The call-out that 1982 was miles better...just a year later...is spot on and a good observation!

[steve B]

I actually really like 81 Donruss. But then, I tend to like odd things that aren't always popular.

I remember one batch the local card shop had where the collation was the worst I've ever seen or heard of. Each pack included 11 of the same card and 7 random cards. One kid got 11 Yaz cards (Totally amazing just outside Boston!)
Another got 11 of the same checklist.

They stopped selling them and were in the process of sending that whole batch back.

[Harliduck]

I remember opening packs of 81 D back when I was 11, and they seemed like a booby prize. We had a corner store and all they got was Donruss, as kids we were TICKED. Doubles in the packs, the stock felt cheap...it just didn't feel like the real deal.

Fast forward to this summer and I repurchased the set (actually bought all Donruss and Fleer, 81-90, to recapture my youth). Went to put them in a binder and all the memories of crap cards came rushing back. The cuts on some of the cards are ridiculous! I was just laughing as I was bindering this set up. Looking back though the 81 Topps set was so boring, something new was nice. I prefered the 81 Fleer when I was 11...and I had my mom go to another town just to get packs. Good times.

[mortimer brewster]

I remember back in 1981 being excited about a new card release other than Topps. Went to the Local Corner store and bought a whole box (36 packs I think). Opened each pack and to my amazement the only cards were Royals,Yankees or Tigers. I must have had 15 John Wathan cards.

I remember the gum being better than Topps. I did like the back design. nice writeups.

[deweyinthehall]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idvOXhb-9FE

Worst. Box. Ever.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by deweyinthehall

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idvOXhb-9FE

Worst. Box. Ever.

LO freaking L!!! 3 packs in and I can't stop laughing. For anybody who was around when these came out (I was), I heartily recommend the trip down memory lane.

Funny, I almost bought a box of these out of nostalgia a few weeks ago, waited a bit too long, and the seller jacked the price up 50 bucks (don't blame them at all in this market), and I took it off my watch list.

Would have been awesome if they were all Expos and A's instead of Yankees and Royals, but still, centering and quality control was appalling. Might have ended up with a stack of 99/1 centered Tim Raines Rookies.

[D. Bergin]

1981 Donruss was easily my favorite design of the three big brands................but the collation..........oh my god.

[Chuck9788]

The 1981 Donruss set holds my favorite Tony LaRussa card.

[Mike D.]

Looking at PSA graded #’s for 1981:

Topps: 85,000+

Fleer: 26,000+

Donruss: 17,000+

[Bigdaddy]

Originally Posted by deweyinthehall

81 Donruss was a mess for all the reasons given - but to their credit they really pulled a great turnaround and their 82 set was better in every regard. Curiously, Fleer went the exact opposite way - good debut, lousy follow-up the next year.

Agree, 100%. It's like the designers/production folks left Fleer in the fall of '81 and all went to Donruss, and vice versa.

I can't think of a single nice thing to say about the 1981 Donruss cards. Even the gum was terrible for sticking to the cards. We would put boxes of wax in the freezer so that the gum would 'pop' off the cards instead of tearing them.

And thanks for the video, that was a trip and not an uncommon experience in the summer of 1981.

[ALR-bishop]

Chuck-- I prefer Tony in a Cardinal's uniform. 😊. Did you ever see the What's My Line show where no one thought he was really a MLB manager ?

[insidethewrapper]

My Donruss cards in 1981 and 1982 showed a lot of mis-cuts and centering problems. They also had a grainy feel to many of them.

[Harliduck]

Originally Posted by deweyinthehall

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idvOXhb-9FE

Worst. Box. Ever.

WOW...that brought back memories...getting doubles in the same pack was simply unreal to an 11 year old! But triples? That was undoubtedly the worst box ever. John Wathan, Bill Caudill...that was unreal and entertaining...thanks for the link!

[Chicosbailbonds]

I remember it was the last to come out, think they got their license late. I liked the set (warts and all) since most of the photos were from Chicago. Very few Topps were from Chicago. As a Cubs fan, the first box I opened didn't have a single Cub in it, nor any from #500 on - and thats with 18 cards/pack. The sizes were all over the place on these.

[t_vguy]

Originally Posted by deweyinthehall

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idvOXhb-9FE

Worst. Box. Ever.

Wow!! LMAO! Now THAT is something! I was cracking up watching that. I don't remember anything like that with '81 Donruss. I will say this; that's a LOT of Reggie Jackson & George Brett cards.

[Kevin]

I was 8 years old and was really into the 1980 Topps. 81 Topps was beautiful with that little cap at the bottom. For some reason, I had about 22 Ed Glynn cards. Dad was a pharmaceutical salesman and I gather he did someone a favor and he brought home boxes and boxes of Donruss and Fleer cards. Of course, over the course of a 3 or 4 years, I opened every pack.

[deweyinthehall]

Originally Posted by insidethewrapper

My Donruss cards in 1981 and 1982 showed a lot of mis-cuts and centering problems. They also had a grainy feel to many of them.

By grainy, you mean to the touch as opposed to photo quality right? Because they did have that feel. I bought a NM set a few years ago (it looked to be factory packed because the cards had a zebra pattern to the edges like Topps vending does - didn't think they made factory sets then, although it's the second set I've seen packed like that). Anyway - cards were really nice NM/MT, but many did have the feel of very, very, very fine sand-paper (can't be gum - maybe the dust from the sheets during the cutting process?)

[swarmee]

In case you guys haven't seen this thread, it's worth reading:
https://forums.collectors.com/discus...ss-psa-10-sets

[Exhibitman]

I busted a box a few years ago for fun (when unopened was really cheap). Had a nice nostalgic trip there but the cards were appallingly miscut. Most were crisp and clean but hardly any with 60:40 or better centering. At shows (remember those?) if I run across a nice stack of them I sift through looking for cheap centered HOFers. Funny thing is, I remember comparing them to 81 Topps and liking them better because of the card stock and the cleaner graphics. But I was 15 when they came out, on my last legs of collecting for a few years, so WTF did I know?

[judsonhamlin]

I still have a soft spot for this set, if only for the errors and the inclusions of coaches and managers. But horrible photos (Tim Stoodard looks like someone took the photo of the TV broadcast of him warming up, for one) and collation will keep it as a novelty set at best

[swarmee]

In case you guys weren't aware... some shots were taken by Keith Olbermann before he became famous.
https://petapixel.com/2016/01/25/kei...aseball-cards/

[insidethewrapper]

Yes grainy to the feel, like sandpaper.

[nat]

In c. 1991 my LCS sold packs of "old" cards. You could get 1981 Donruss for, I think, $2.50. Similarly aged Topps cards were like $4, so, as a kid, I always went with Donruss.

The quality of the set is low, and my brother cut his tongue on one of the pieces of gum, but I did pull Rickey Henderson and Nolan Ryan, so I was happy with the chance to bust some 10 year old packs.

[homerunderby]

Originally Posted by Kevin

I was 8 years old and was really into the 1980 Topps. 81 Topps was beautiful with that little cap at the bottom. For some reason, I had about 22 Ed Glynn cards. Dad was a pharmaceutical salesman and I gather he did someone a favor and he brought home boxes and boxes of Donruss and Fleer cards. Of course, over the course of a 3 or 4 years, I opened every pack.

That makes total sense, Ed Glynn was double printed in 1981 Topps. Along with 65 other cards.

[Exhibitman]

I just realized, these cards are 40 years old...sigh.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

I just realized, these cards are 40 years old...sigh.

Yup. I always think about that in the context of cards.

I opened those packs when they came out.

How come I was opening those instead of investing in 1941 Unopened as a 10 year-old.

[GasHouseGang]

Originally Posted by swarmee

In case you guys weren't aware... some shots were taken by Keith Olbermann before he became famous.
https://petapixel.com/2016/01/25/kei...aseball-cards/

I'm surprised he would admit it! Actually, his photos aren't even the worst in the set, so he shouldn't feel bad.