2024 Topps Series 1 - Yount Checklist

 Ah the new year is upon us and we still have a ton of 2023 baseball products to look forward to, but we also have the grand dame of baseball sets coming out in less than a month (as I write this).  And Robin has some cards to chase.  This is just s preliminary checklist until all the parallels for the insert sets are known.

2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Baseball #89B-55
2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Baseball #89B-55 Black #/299

2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Baseball #89B-55 Blue

2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Baseball #89B-55 Gold #/75

2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Baseball #89B-55 Platinum #/1

2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Baseball #89B-55 Red #/10
2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Baseball Autographs #89BA-RY
2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Baseball Autographs #89BA-RY Black #/199

2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Baseball Autographs #89BA-RY Gold #/50

2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Baseball Autographs #89BA-RY Platinum #/1

2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Baseball Autographs #89BA-RY Red #/25

2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Baseball Foil Mega Box #89B-55

2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Baseball Foil Mega Box #89B-55 Black Foil

2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Baseball Foil Mega Box #89B-55 Gold Foil #/50

2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Baseball Foil Mega Box #89B-55 Orange Foil #/25

2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Baseball Foil Mega Box #89B-55 Red Foil #/5
2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Chrome Silver Packs T89C-4
2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Chrome Silver Packs T89C-4 Blue Refractor #/150

2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Chrome Silver Packs T89C-4 Gold Refractor #/50

2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Chrome Silver Packs T89C-4 Green Refractor #/99

2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Chrome Silver Packs T89C-4 Orange Refractor #/25

2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Chrome Silver Packs T89C-4 Purple Refractor #/75

2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Chrome Silver Packs T89C-4 Red Refractor #/5

2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Chrome Silver Packs T89C-4 SuperFractor #/1
2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Chrome Silver Packs Autographs T89C-4
2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Chrome Silver Packs Autographs T89C-4 Gold #/50

2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Chrome Silver Packs Autographs T89C-4 Orange #/25

2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Chrome Silver Packs Autographs T89C-4 Red #/5

2024 Topps Series 1 - 1989 Topps Chrome Silver Packs Autographs T89C-4 SuperFractor #/1
2024 Topps Series 1 - Baseball Stars Dual Autographs #BSDA-YOF (with Prince Fielder) #/10

1989 Brewers Pocket Schedule (Miller - Married with Children ads)

Year: 1989
What: Milwaukee Brewers Pocket Schedule
Variation: Miller Lite/Married with Children/Fox 24 ads

A while back I was lucky enough to complete a Twitter trade with Bob aka (BT's Collection @Mets86champsT).  Bob asked if there were any other pocket schedule collector's out there and I piped up.  I'll admit I'm not a huge pocket schedule collector, but as a Brewer's and Yount collector they have their place.  

In the package of schedules was this great 1989 example featuring a great action shot of Robin.  Depending on the year there are multiple types of pocket schedules available and variations.  Like with this example there can be different ads featured.

Often times these schedules will also feature promotional nights, sadly this one doesn't.  But a great addition to the Yount collection.

1989 Topps Big PSA Graded 8

Year: 1989

Manufacturer: Topps

Set: Topps Big Baseball

Card Number: 249

Card Type: Base

Card Attributes: Graded

Grading Company: PSA

Grade NM-MT 8

Continuing on my with my collection of graded cards I got from fellow Yount collector Matt, about a decade ago is this 1989 Topps Big card.  The card graded NM-MT 8 and to my aging eyes the card looks great.  

As a collector that loves oddballs and gimmicks I like the Topps Big set.  But as a practical collector I find the large size a hurdle, much like 1989 Bowman, for storage and display, but this card fits right into the rest of my graded card collection.

1989 Topps Ames 20/20 Club

Year: 1989

Manufacture: Topps

Set: Ames 20/20 Club

Card Number: 33

Next up from the 2018 COMC Black Friday haul is this 1989 Topps Ames 20/20 Club card.  Ames was a chain of department stores headquartered in Connecticut.  At it's height Ames had 700 stores in 20 states (thank you Wikipedia).  Ames teamed up with Topps in 1989 and again in 1990 to produce a couple box sets.  This is another card I swore I already owned.  I know I have multiple copies of Robin's 1990 Ames All-Stars card.  But for a couple quarters I filled another hole.  I guess I didn't realize when I picked this card out that it was so badly mis-cut, but that really doesn't bother me. 

 The 20/20 refers to a player getting 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a single season.  Like all the box sets from around this time it's chalked full of superstars and now HOFers.  Complete box sets can be found for cheaper than what these sold for in 1989.  These cards really do have a nice design and the super glossy fronts were a nice touch compared to the flagship cards of the day.

1989 Fleer Glossy

Year: 1989

Manufacturer: Fleer

Set: Collector's Edition Glossy

Card Number: 200

I've got 26 new Younts, now 25, to go through that I just took possession of from COMC's Black Friday event.  Over the next couple months I'll be profiling each one, as each one is a new addition to the collection.  Next up is a card that I may very well already own.  Except I couldn't find one in the collection, it's not listed in my master excel checklist or listed on the blog, so for fifty cents I decided to make sure I added a copy to my order.  

Akin to the Topps Tiffany sets, Fleer put out these "Custom Coated Collector's Editions" from 1987 to 1989.  In this 1989 set Fleer printed the logo on the back and changed the back coloring so there was no confusing this from the base set, something the company didn't do in its 1987 and 1988 sets.  Other than that and the extreme glossiness of the front the card numbering and image are the same.

1989 Topps Mini Leaders

Year: 1989

Manufacturer: Topps

Set: Leaders Minis

Card Number: 59

Card Type: Base

My other barn find from my Topps National Baseball Card Day super shoebox pick up was this 1989 Topps Leaders mini card.  As a matter of fact there were two Younts and the other 2 Brewers to make a complete team set.  After flipping through all the Mini Leaders cards there was almost a complete set.  It really surprised me I didn't already have a copy of this card.  But I'm glad I serendipitously found a couple copies without having to hit the internet.  If you're unfamiliar with the set these cards came 7 per pack, only 77 cards in the set.  They were touted as super glossy,which they are compared to the 89 flagship set, and quite a bit smaller, hense the hobby designation of mini.  Topps untilized the base 89 team name and player name banner, throws in a fuzzy edge border and bam, new set.  

In my opinion the backs are the best part of the card.  There's so much going on back there.  Plus you get a second photos, last year's and career total stats, and some fun facts.  And it's bright.

1989 Panini Stickers

Year: 1989

Manufacturer: Panini

Set: Baseball Stickers

Card Number: 337

Card Type: Base Sticker

For Topps' National Baseball Card Day I visited both my LCS's in the Anchorage area.  While at Don's I picked up some cheap autos and relics off his drop boards and he had a super shoebox full of miscellaneous baseball cards for $10 bucks.  It was hard to resist especially since I noticed a stack of 89 Panini stickers in the mix.  When I got home and started sorting out the cards I found that about a third of the box was 2012 Panini Triple Play and another third was 1990 Topps.  But doing a little digging there was some gold to be found.  In the box I was not only able to find one Yount card I needed, but two.  I'll feature the other card a little later.  One of my goals before COMC's next Black Friday sale is to have my sticker needs, both Panini and Topps, and try to bust them out.

But I can scratch off Robin's 1989 Panini Sticker from my list.  I consider this my barn find.  I was also lucky enough to pick up about half the Brewers team for the set.  I like the look of the sticker, simple nice team colors on the border and banners.

Fear not I plan on giving out baseball cards, as well as candy, for Halloween this year, and these will make great filler.

All About the Base - 1989 Topps

Year: 1989

Manufacturer: Topps

Set: Flagship

Card Number: 615

Card Type: Base

I wonder out of the hundreds of this card I probably have squirreled away I managed to grab one with grease stains on the front?  Well I'm not going into the archives to scan another one.  I'll be honest I have a huge love for this set in general.  I love the simple border design and the ballpark font for the team name with the player name in the tail. I chewed a lot of gum from these packs.  And for some reason I really loved the smell of this set, yes the smell.  Topps brings back the red and black color scheme for the card backs.  Topps used that color scheme just a few years ago with the 1985 set and I liked it then as I much as I liked it for this set.  In last year's issue Topps brought back the baseball graphic to the backs of the card, but this year Topps returns the graphic to it's place of glory framing the card number.  The last time Topps did that was in the 1981 set.  Again no room for anymore trivia, but we do get the game winning RBI stat squeezed into the bottom.

1989 Cap'n Crunch

Year: 1989

Manufacturer: Topps

Set: Cap'n Crunch

Card Type: Food Issue

Card Number: 21

I love food issue cards.  When Topps teamed up with Wal-mart this summer to put out the its Marketplace Pizza set, I was really excited about the possibility that food issued cards might be making a comeback.  The 70's and 80's were the heyday of food issues and Robin has his fair share.

I really like the overall design for this card.  It's simple, but has nice touches like the player number in a baseball at the top.  And the back is all business with full player stats.

1989 Classic Baseball Travel Edition

Year: 1989

Manufacturer: Classic

Set: Travel Edition

Card Number: 83

If you were collecting cards back in the late 80's and early 90's I'm sure you remember these Classic trivia baseball card sets.  The earlier sets came as a complete game in a clamshell blister pack.  Classic started putting out cards in 1987 and there gimmick was that they were trivia cards and cards were part of a larger trivia game.  Classic would continue to put out various sport sets until 1995.  I'm not sure what happened to the company or the brand, but we are left with gems like the card below.  The only baseball set Classic put out in 1989 was their travel edition.  200 cards in the set, this year's set featured a multicolored border.  One of the cheaper looking cards from the time period, they remind me a lot of the Star cards from the same time period.

I do love that Classic left a spot on the back of the card for the player autograph.  Such wishful thinking.  And really who wants an autograph on the back of the card?

1989 Donruss Diamond Kings

Year: 1989

Card Manufacturer: Donruss

Card Set: Baseball

Card Number: 5

Card Type: Base - subset

Subset: Diamond Kings

I don't know if there is a more iconic card from the junk wax era than Diamond Kings.  I'm a big fan of art cards and Dick Perez.  Mix in Robin Yount and we have a home run.  This is the second of Robin's 3 Diamond King cards. His first was in the 1984 Donruss set and then in 1993 Donruss he was in the Diamond Kings insert set. 

A great card.  Perez did a great job on the likeness.  The background still freaks me out a little.

1989 King B Disc

Card Manufacturer: King B

Card Set: King B 2nd Annual Collector's Edition discs

Year: 1989

Card Number: 13

Another great oddball.  I do love the round cards.  King B started putting these discs into its shredded jerky "tins" back in 1988 and continued the set up into the 2000's.  The product was suppose to mimic tobacco chew and the containers even looked like like Chew tins.

Robin would get a disc this year and then next.  King B also put out sets featuring football players.

I'm not sure I've seen this imaged used that much, which is nice.  

1989 Topps Big

Card Manufacturer: Topps

Set: Topps Big

Year: 1989

Card Number: 249

Card Type: Base

Year two of this issue. Topps would produce one more year of Topps Big before realizing what a colossal pain in the butt it was for collectors. The cards didn't fit in 9 pocket pages and penny sleeve were too short to cover the whole card, and these didn't fit in regular storage boxes either.  Topps issued another oddball sized card set this year too, with the return of it's Bowman brand.

Like the year before this set was issued in 3 series of 88 cards each for a total of 264. 

While the design was slightly different the layout was basically the same with a background action shot and a large player portrait overlayed to the right.

1989 Cap'n Crunch

Card Manufacturer: Topps

Card Set: Cap'n Crunch

Set Type: Food Issue

Year: 1989

Card Number: 21

Card Type: Base

For a food issue card the 1989 Topps Cap'n Crunch is a gem.  It's just a clean no nonsense card.  I guess we have to assume that Quaker Oats didn't want to spring for the full MLB license and just went with Topps on the MLBPA one.  But the overall design and colors work well.  I like the bold logos on the top and the addition of the player number in the center.

The back also has a nice overall layout with full MLB Batting Record.  With 22 cards in the set Topps could print 6 full sets per sheet so these really aren't that rare, and I'm pretty sure there was an offer to order complete sets on the back.

I found this image over at Cereal Box Price Guide.  I don't have the Standard Catalog in front of me so this was great to find. But you got two cards per box and a piece of gum, all cello wrapped together.

1989 Hills Team MVP's

Card Manufacturer: Topps

Card Set: Hills Team MVP's

Set Type: Box

Year: 1989

Card Number: 33

Card Type: Base

I'm a sucker for those late 80's early 90's box sets.  They were cheap and still are, but filled with stars and Hall of Famers.

Hills Department Stores put out two box sets.  This one and one the next year called The Hitmen. Hills was acquired by Ames in 1998, which also put out a box set this year.  Most of these sets have the players arranged alphabetically and that means Robin has the honor of being last in most of them.  Most of these sets have 33 or 44 players featured in them and that goes for a lot of the food issues too.  This may seem like an odd numbering for a card set, but only for those who don't know the printing process.  On a standard uncut sheet of standard sized baseball cards there are 132 cards per sheet.  That means you can put 4 full sets on a sheet if it's got 33 and 3 full sets if it has 44.  What that means is these sets and cards are plentiful and cheap.  But that's ok too. This is a really nicely done set. The cards are on premium card stock and have a glossy finish.

2014 Bowman Is Back insert

Card Manufacturer: Toppps

Card Set: Bowman Platinum

Year:  2014

Card Number: 89BIB-RY

Card Type: Insert

Insert Set: Bowman Is Back 

Another one of my recent pick ups.  Topps has been inserting these cards in to various Bowman products for a couple years now.  And as luck would have it Mr. Yount got his mug put on one and inserted into this year's Bowman Platinum.  

The cards are really nice and shiny.  The front and back both mimic the 1989 Bowman release, but at least Topps didn't mimic the size like it did back in 1989. Those cards were a pain to store and display.  These cards are regular size.

1989 Topps 42 card rack pack with Kirby Puckett and Dave Winfield

Card Manufacturer:  Topps

Card Set: Topps Baseball

Year:  1989

Product: 3 Blister Rack pack

I have a small collection of cello in the Yount collection.  I have a few packs I'll feature eventually, but I just picked up this 1989 Topps rack pack.  Not only did I get this for only 50 cents, it features 3 Hall of Famers on the front.  Would have been nice if Yount was in the middle so you could see his pretty face, but still a nice line up for rack pack.  Not really anyone of note except for maybe Drabek on the back.

1999 Rick Rush "Hit and Run" Art Print Vignettes

 Manufacturer: Rick Rush

Card Set: Hit and Run

Year:  1999

 Type:Vignette

Serial Number 979/5000

A few years back I went a little crazy picking up different Yount collectibles. I had hit a wall with the cards at the time and I set my sites on other things like art prints and pins. One of the cool things I picked up was this Rick Rush Vignette. Rick is still producing great sports art and you can visit his website here.

The print comes with a nice folio. Here's the cover.

 The inside flap features a photo and bio of Rick Rush

Also Included was this Limited Edition Certificate and The Hit and Run write up.  

There are other more limited editions. There is the limited Serigraph that had an issue of 190, Rick's Price guide on his website lists those at worth about $3000 now.  There is his Millenium Series with 1000 issued and worth about $60.  The one I have is part of the Vignette release, numbered to 5000 and worth about $30.

I also have found that the original oil painting is being offered on ebay for $7500. You can view that auction here

One of these days I'll have a proper man cave and be able to frame and hang a lot of this stuff.  Still a great looking piece and really affordable. You can still find these on ebay, although the one up right now is a little pricey for the Vignette.

1989 Topps Baseball Talk Pack

Card Manufacturer: Topps

Card Set: Baseball Talk Collection

Year: 1989

Card Number: 56

Card Type: Record Card

Product: Unopened Pack

An interesting idea from Topps, just not executed very well.  

Plus you had to buy the player, which as it turns out was a hunk of crap. The checklist consisted of 164 cards, 4 that came with the player and 40 additional 4 player packs.

You can see Mr. Yount is featured on the front of Set 15.  I have yet to pick up the single card of Robin for this set.

According to the Wiki page about this set the Players use to retail for $24.99 and the set packs for about $4-5 bucks. But the quality of the players and sound was terrible. And this product was discontinued pretty quick.  There was suppose to be another MLB set and a NFL set, but both were cancelled. However you can find a few test NFL packs. There were 4 packs that made it out, but the set never went into full production.

I think I saw a post a while back over at the Chronicles of Fuji where he picked up the reader and some packs off of ebay.

Here's what the card looks like. I got this from Trading Card Database