1990-91 Pro Set Hockey Errors & Variations: Ongoing Checklist

Key:

(SP) Extremely scarce, very low print run.

(R) Rare, very early or very late print.

(U) Uncommon, tougher version to locate.

(RPD) Recurring print defect, usually quite scarce.

1a Brett Hull (Promo – light color/design changes, blue line at top right)

1aa Brett Hull (Promo – light color/design changes, no blue line at top right)(SP)

1b Ray Bourque (spelled ‘Borque’)

1c Ray Bourque (spelled ‘Bourque’)

1d Ray Bourque (spelled ‘Borqu’ due to excess black ink in name wedge)(RPD)

7a Gary Galley (spelled ‘Garry’)

7b Gary Galley (corrected)(U)

10a Andy Moog (black diagonal line from G on front)(U)

10b Andy Moog (corrected, line airbrushed away)

17a Dave Andreychuck (Arniel photo on back)

17b Dave Andreychuck (corrected)

18a Scott Arniel (Andreychuck photo on back)

18b Scott Arniel (Andreychuck photo on back, 6 in trade stripe partially obscured)(U)

18c Scott Arniel (corrected)

21a Phil Housley (No trade stripe) UNCONFIRMED

21b Phil Housley (Trade stripe)

36a Brian MacLellan (full green blotching over face)(R)

36b Brian MacLellan (partial green blotching over face)(R)

36c Brian MacLellan (face correctly printed)

39a Brad McCrimmon (#39 on front, Trade stripe)

39a Brad McCrimmon (#4 on front, Trade stripe)(U)

39c Brad McCrimmon (#39 on front, No trade stripe) UNCONFIRMED

UPDATED: 1990 Pro Set Error & Variation Master List

More than 50 new additions have been made to the . I will continue to add more as time permits. I know there are many more that have shown up over the last two years that need to be added.

If you have any additions that you feel should be added, please post them in the comments section here or in the original 1990 Pro Set Errors & Variations Master Set Checklist blog.

The following items will not be added to the Master Checklist:

-The printer’s scrap cards that have flooded eBay the last few months. This includes the blacked-out cards, smeared, miscut fronts/wrongbacks, errant color tone, smudged, etc. These cards are printer’s waste and were NOT pack-issued or meant for distribution. They were cut from sheets pulled from garbage bins. While really fun to look at and collect, they should not be considered essential to a master set.

-Wrong front/back cards. Again, these are really cool but are seldom found pack-issued and were usually cut from sheets found in the trash, making their way into the market illegally.

-Miscuts.

-Draft Day blank back/front proofs. Great, recent discovery variant proofs for Jeff George and Keith McCants draft day subset but not pack-issued or legally distributed.

1990 Pro Set Playbook Points Instant Winner 1:10 Cases!

I recently completed sorting through my 5000ct box of 1990 Pro Set series one inserts: those folded booklets that come with two scratch-off areas, one for “points” redeemable through the Gazette and one for the chance to instantly win one of several prizes ranging from a trip to the Pro Bowl to a Collector’s Game Program.

While hunting and successfully discovering several variations, I also stumbled upon an actual, unscratched “5th Prize” instant winner. Holding up each copy from the monster box to a desk lamp, I was able to see what was printed beneath the silver scratch-off ink. An amazing feat, considering the stated odds for this prize was 1:7200 packs! With a stated print run of 10,000 “5th Prize” instant winner cards, that places production equal to the pack-issued Lombardi holograms! And when you consider how many were mailed in (maybe few, maybe most) and how often these find their way into the trash, this becomes one of the rarest items among the 1990 Pro Set issue.

 

1990 Topps Jeff King “No White On Back” and Why it Doesn’t Belong in the Big Books!

For less than a decade now, the Sports Collectors Digest has listed a major variation within the 1990 Topps set. Just recently, it’s catalog price has jumped up near Frank Thomas NNOF range, funny, considering zero copies have ever come up for sale! In fact, only one or two copies have been confirmed to even exist. Rare right?

I’m talking about card number 454 Jeff King. Yeah, the former #1 overall pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates and later, Kansas City Royals fame. Jeff’s card can be found with a solid, yellow and black cardback, meaning the cardboard colored areas (bio, border design, etc) typical on the reverses of 1990 Topps are inked over in yellow. Below is the only-known pic out there (as of today!) and the only confirmed copy I know of, however, Bob Lemke of SCD stands by them having recieved more than one submitted to them while editor of the big book.

This card, rather it’s catalog-worthy status is irksome to say the least. Collectors, especially those with error and variation focused collections as well as the powers-that-be of the industry, Beckett and SCD, have long held the “rule” that most printing flaws, especially ink-run types, are not considered true variations. This rule of course, has it’s many, many exceptions (Frank Thomas NNOF or 1986 Topps Roger Clemens “Blue Streak” for fresh examples), which is frustrating enough because by cataloging these entries as variations, they become must-have for the completists out there. These books lend a lot of legitimacy to which variations they decide to recognize.

1991 Topps A*B* Sheet Code Variations: Ongoing Checklist

This impressive look at 1991 Topps A*B* variations comes courtesy of JunkWaxGems contributor, Eric, a fellow E&V collector with an impressive collection:

“As if 1991 Topps has not already confounded collectors enough with its broad range of errors, variations, and printing oddities, one print variation may even eclipse the tough-to-find Mark Whiten, Drabek and Hoiles errors in scarcity.

It is well known that the backs of some 1991 Topps cards were printed with both a bold red 40^th Anniversary” design behind the player stats and a more faded version that makes the card back easier to read.  All cards that were printed on the A* and B* sheets can be found with both bold and faded backs.  However, some of the cards from that A* sheet can also be found with an A*B* print designation at the bottom of the back of the card. 

This variation has ONLY been seen on cards with the bold “40^th Anniversary” back and any cards with this variation have proven to be incredibly scarce.  In fact, these cards are so rare that it has been difficult to compile a complete listing.

The following 1991 Topps cards are presently known to be available with the A*B* print designation, although it is possible that other cards from the A* sheet are also available with the A*B* designation:

#13 – Mariano Duncan

#54 – Gary Mielke

#63 – Milt Thompson

#72 – Junior Ortiz

#76 – Jerry Browne

#83 – Daryl Boston

#120 – Joe Carter

#123 – Greg Harris

#153 – Bryan Harvey

#155 – Dwight Evans (error version only)

#170 – Carlton Fisk

#177 – Reggie Harris

#178 – Dave Valle

#190 – Matt Williams

#192 – Rob Deer

#193 – Felix Fermin

#213 – Frank Wills

#216 – Greg Gagne

The Mysterious 1990 Topps Debut ‘X’ Cards

I’ve been meaning to post about this bizarre card for a couple years now but couldn’t locate the scans I saved. In fact, these images are the only I’ve ever seen and were poached from a message board in 2009. Since I am in the mood to do a little bit of detective work, I feel now is the time to shed some light on this very unusual card:

 

 

Not much is known about this card, in fact, I’ve yet to hear any mention of it since it was posted in the legendary Frank Thomas NNOF thread on the Collectors Universe boards.

Here is what we do know:

• Pulled from a 20-set case of 1990 Topps Debut ’89 sets.
• 1990 Topps Debut ’89 features 152 subjects.
• Topps likes to print cards in multiples of 11 (33 Glossy All-Stars, 132 O-Pee-Chees, 792 base set, etc…)

Here is what I think:

152 subjects doesn’t work with Topps’ multiples of 11 sheet orientation, however, 154 does. This leads me to believe that on a single uncut 154 card sheet, you will find all 152 cards plus two of these “corner” cards. Obviously, the same formula can be applied to a theoretical 77 card sheet, but one X card per.

I believe that these cards were intended to be thrown out as printer’s waste but some, apparently very few, made their way into sets.

I do not believe that the X cards were intended to depict a player. Although I did not do the research, Topps claims that this set features every major league debut of the 1989 season, which would explain it’s unusual subject number (152) , which varied each of the subsequent years lending some truth to the claim.

What’s especially odd is that given Topps’ high production run during this era, those two “wasted” spots would seem like something of loss financially. Given how often Topps put advertisements and offer cards in products, why didn’t they use those spots for something useful? Food for thought.

Obviously, all of this could be simply explained with an image of an uncut sheet but until I get a hold of one, where’s the fun in that?

Quick Look: 1990 Score R/T Dave Winfield Unmarked Promo Variation

Take a look at this freshly-discovered promo variation from the 1990 Score Rookie & Traded set. This was discovered just weeks ago in a discussion on 1990s promo cards over at Freedomcardboard.com. A longtime dealer posted an image of Dave Winfield’s card number 1 in the set that by all appearances, seems like the regular issue card (below). Another forum member posted a pic (2nd) of the set-issue showing a difference in photo cropping, something fairly common with early 90s Score issues: