1981 Donruss

Card Set: Donruss

Year: 1981

Card Number: 323

Card Type: Base

When we look around the cardboard landscape today we can see the husk of what was to become one of the big three, and then four, card companies. Donruss pretty much doesn't exist anymore except for that nostalgia set Panini started putting out last year.  Much like Topps and Fleer, Donruss has it's origins in candy.  The name Donruss is a combination of the names of the owners Donald and Russel Wiener.  The company had also been putting out entertainment sets in the 60's and 70's. And after Fleer won it's lawsuit against Topps was able to obtain a MLB license. Yada Yada Yada, enough with the history lesson, chances are you already know the story.  And so in 1981 we were graced with the first multi-set baseball card year since Topps had bought Bowman.   

This set along with Fleer's 1981 Baseball set pretty much ushered in the new modern era of baseball cards and paved the way for the Junk Wax Era.  As a matter of fact these '81 sets are not rare or hard to find and neither are singles of your favorite player.  

The overall design is simple and so are the backs.  Both this set and the Fleer set are rife with errors, mainly due to the fact that both companies were in a rush to get their sets out, with good reason, Old Man Topps was out for blood and would soon have the lawsuit overturned in their favor.  But in the end Fleer and Donruss got around it by offering stickers and puzzle pieces.  And that is why if you collected Fleer or Donruss in the 80's and early 90's you have a ton of random stickers and puzzle pieces laying around.