1988 Score: A Forgotten Gem

[Rich Klein]

I guarantee you there are less 1988-91 Score cards in the hobby than any of the other major companies of that time.

Not that they are rare or scarce but they do show up much less than Donruss or Topps and 1989-91 Fleer.

Rich

[steve B]

This set is one I collect, perhaps in a less than sane fashion.

There were three different sorts of die cuts used to cut the sheet into cards.
Plus the listed variations
Plus different printings that were screened differently.

And of course, the scans on Ebay can't show enough detail to know which one you're looking at.
The second type of die cut is actually pretty hard to find.

Steve B

[insidethewrapper]

The 1988 Score Glossy Regular Set and Update is a tough set. Low production.

[swarmee]

Most valuable? There are about 10 cards that were samples that the main (only?) difference is that the previous year stats are all zeroes. Some may also have different border colors.

[Rich Klein]

Originally Posted by swarmee

Most valuable? There are about 10 cards that were samples that the main (only?) difference is that the previous year stats are all zeroes. Some may also have different border colors.

John:

I just noticed your comment. Those were promo cards with those zeroes. And yes they are much more difficult than cards out of packs.

Rich

[ALR-bishop]

I have the Larkin, is there a list of the others ?

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

I have the Larkin, is there a list of the others ?

I know there is a Wade Boggs. Would love to have one but not at the insane price I have seen one listed at in the past.

[jacksoncoupage]

Originally Posted by Rich Klein

John:

I just noticed your comment. Those were promo cards with those zeroes. And yes they are much more difficult than cards out of packs.

Rich

Rich,

There are also a number of promos/prototypes that either have no back photo or front photo (or both) but all of the design elements still visible, with missing 1987 stats. They affect the same 10 players as mentioned previously (McGwire, Larkin, Mattingly, Boggs, etc).

Al,

There are several more errors and variations in this set beyond the 8 caught by Beckett back in the day. Even the Greg Walker has a 3rd variety.

[ALR-bishop]

Dylan-- I do have a 3d Walker but it is just a color difference on the back. Do the other variations you mention involvie changes by Score to correct the card, or recurring print defects or differences ? I collect variations and recurring print defects for all my Topps sets, but try to stick to "true" variations for non Topps sets

[Rich Klein]

Originally Posted by jacksoncoupage

Rich,

There are also a number of promos/prototypes that either have no back photo or front photo (or both) but all of the design elements still visible, with missing 1987 stats. They affect the same 10 players as mentioned previously (McGwire, Larkin, Mattingly, Boggs, etc).

Al,

There are several more errors and variations in this set beyond the 8 caught by Beckett back in the day. Even the Greg Walker has a 3rd variety.

You know my mantra, if we have variations at COMC, let me know and I'll add them to the data base. Always in favor of showing there are interesting quirks in the over-produced era.

[Bigdaddy]

Oh man, when those came out, they were the bomb. Loved the colors, the action photos and especially the backs of the cards - color photo, stats and an awesome writeup. And the cardstock was a bit more robust than most of the other manufacturers.

Really loved the Mattingly, Larkin and Glavine cards.

And with the times in those days, I think my dad and I bought a whole case of either factory sets or boxes of '88 Score. We just knew, with all our being, that they would appreciate and make a nice down payment on a house some day.

[nolemmings]

I have always been one of the collectors least impressed by action photos. Maybe it's a generational thing, as I wanted to recognize player's faces back when there was no ESPN, Internet, Facebook and non-stop coverage of everyone's activities right at your fingertips. Plus action photos back when were muddy and often obscured the player's face. Anyway, nothing wrong with other views on this, just saying how I rolled.

I bring this up because the OP's scans bring back memories from one of the last years I collected "modern". I did not like the 1988 Score card fronts, especially the decision to have different colored backgrounds for no good reason. Add to that the 100% action photos and I was very underwhelmed. Then I put them in the binder and saw the very thing the OP likes about them. The backs were terrific. A nice clear photo of the player's face, well written bios and a nicely organized stats section, all with team logo and colorful design. I actually preferred to load them backs showing first, and probably would have been OK if they were blank-backed, er blank-fronted.

This set got/gets my approval for that reason. Thanks for bringing back those memories--I may have to try and dig out that old binder.

[mrmopar]

This set contained the end of an era for me, Steve Garvey's last regular issued card as an active player, sort of. He retired early in the 87 season and nobody but Score honored him with a "last card". Not a fan of the card for it's looks though.

I also remember a lot of mine having the small, fuzzy extra bits on the corners, I believe one of the cutting variations mentioned already. It is funny to me that anyone might be chasing those though, as they appear to be worn.

I don't follow graded cards, but are these cards any tougher to find in higher grades? Perhaps there could be further appreciation for high grade examples if those colored borders didn't hold up, although that was right at the early stages of the protect every card with your life collecting attitude.

[BearBailey]

Fun set, I remember how many card shops were around back then and toysrus. It was tough as a kid figuring out which of those cards to collect I had to cut a lot of grass to get all the sets back then.

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by mrmopar

I don't follow graded cards, but are these cards any tougher to find in higher grades?

Here's the skinny on PSA graded cards:
660 cards in set
3959 total graded, of which 1191 are of the Tom Glavine RC. Majority of cards are not graded. Most graded cards are of stars/semi-stars with registry sets.

Over 2000 of all PSA graded cards rated a 10, 1000 graded a 9, and the other 900 or so less.

[bbcard1]

I saw the 88 Score factory sets at a show for $1 ea or $10 for a case of 12. i had trouble passing. But I did.

[Bigdaddy]

I had a half-gallon bucket of those little white, fuzzy 'balls' that were on all four corners of some of the cards. Wonder what that would be worth today???

Originally Posted by steve B

This set is one I collect, perhaps in a less than sane fashion.

There were three different sorts of die cuts used to cut the sheet into cards.
Plus the listed variations
Plus different printings that were screened differently.

And of course, the scans on Ebay can't show enough detail to know which one you're looking at.
The second type of die cut is actually pretty hard to find.

Steve B

[Tere1071]

I received the 88 Score set almost a week ago and it is beautiful. Al was more than kind in sending me the set. I remember collectors piecing it together before the factory sets became available, but it was this thread that turned my head. Thank you!

[mortimer brewster]

Originally Posted by Rich Klein

I guarantee you there are less 1988-91 Score cards in the hobby than any of the other major companies of that time.

Not that they are rare or scarce but they do show up much less than Donruss or Topps and 1989-91 Fleer.

Rich

I remember in the mid 1990's the Kay Bee Toy Stores in Western New York had dozens of wax boxes of 1989 Donruss piled in a corner. They could not give them away. Multiply that by however many stores across the country and that's a lot of trees.

I know many collectors don't consider the back of the card when determining their favorite set, but I have always liked the early score sets for the player info.

[ALR-bishop]

I have a couple of Kay Bee/Topps co branded boxed baseball card sets. (86/87/88/89/90)

[Mike D.]

The thing I always found interesting about this set (and I do like it) - the longer a guys career, the less “bio” space there was. So, here’s one sentence about Steve Garvey, but 10 lines about some second year 4A guy or prospect.

The bio guy earned his paycheck for sure!