1991 Studio

Year: 1991

Manufacturer: Leaf/Donruss

Set: Studio

Card Number: 80

Card Type: Base

In 1991 the trading card market was starting to get crowded.  Not as crowded as it would be come by the mid to late 90s and early 2000s, but the writing was on the wall and the race for innovation was on.  Fleer and Donruss were still playing catch up into the more premium card market that Upper Deck launched in 1989 and Topps countered with Stadium Club.  In 1991 Fleer would launch Ultra and Donruss gave us Studio.  Studio was meant to be a stately set.  A throwback to the cabinet cards of the turn of the century.  And Donruss did a pretty good job with this inaugural issue.  The magenta borders work well with the black and white photos and there is a nice write up on the back.  The 1992 issue was a step backward for the set and wasn't a great follow-up to this first set, but in 1993 Donruss really stepped up there game with a glossy finish and holofoil and never looked back putting out some pretty nice versions of this set.  In 1991 this was all you got.  Just a really nice base set, no foil or color parallels, absolutely no autographs or relics, just the standard puzzle piece insert for the black and white Rod Carew.