1990 Bowman Errors & Variations: Ongoing Checklist

Here is a rundown of every variation I have found to date for 1990 Bowman Baseball. A great set, as outlined in a previous blog, is loaded with Hall-Of-Famers, key rookie cards and for many, it started off their prospecting days. For the variation collector, this set is loaded!

#29 Mark Grace with black line on hand and line airbrushed

#34 Earl Cunningham with * next to text on back and with * airbrushed away

#66 Danny Darwin night background and day background

#78 Craig Biggio with night background and day background

#100 Hubie Brooks with natural jersey and airbrushed white jersey

Confirm or Debunk: 1990 Upper Deck Ben McDonald #54C with White Circle on Front

Another long-running mystery variation, first cataloged by Dick Gilkeson in his 1990 Error & Variation guide, the possible third variety of one of the most iconic error cards from the error craze days: 1990 Upper Deck Ben McDonald #54 with “White Circle” on front.

I say ‘possible’ because not only have so few examples shown up in the last 5-10 years, it’s a very likely candidate for counterfeiting due to the astronomical sales that the Orioles variation saw upon it’s release ($50-100). Add to that, the 1989-1991 Upper Deck cards were often erased by unethical dealers looking to cash in the error craze. I can personally recall being warned specifically about the erased McDonald card back in 1990-91. With little effort, these cards can be erased to show a blank white area on just about any section of the cards, this makes it extremely important to be able to hold a copy and tilt it under a good light source to see if the gloss has been dulled, before purchasing.

(copy owned by e.v. of the freedomcardboard.com forums)

The above copy is just the third I have seen. The previous two were found on ebay with $100 buy-it-now’s during 2007-2008.

Some things worth noting:

Quick Look: 1990-91 Score All-Star Variations

Nothing major here, but since the set features several Hall-Of-Famers and highly-collected players, here’s a look at the two varieties that can be found in the All-Star subset of Score’s inaugural NHL issue:

A. LIGHT BLUE line on back, over text.

B. DARK BLUE line on back, over text.

Quick Look: 1992 Bowman Foil Variations

Here’s a look at a handful of the variations that exist in the 1992 Bowman Foil subset. Each of the non “short-printed*” foil cards can be found with two different photo croppings, some more obvious than others, but all are affected by this variety.

Another batch of foils in 1992 Bowman are also affected by a variety in the bio data on back. Howard House, Matt Williams and Scott Cepicky can be found with spelling errors in their personal data on back:

*1992 Bowman Foil sheets included 2 sets of most players in the subset on each sheet, however some foil subset subjects only appear once per sheet, creating the “short-print” designation that was used in the catalogs for several years.

Quick Look: New 1990-91 Pro Set Hockey Variations

Here is a peek at a few recent discoveries in the error-laden 1990-91 Pro Set Hockey issue. Those of you that have been following the recent discoveries in 1990 Pro Set football, will notice the similarities in variation type for these two: jagged stat lines and “clipped” stat headings are two major parts of the Pro Set football lexicon as of the last few years.

#271 Gordie Roberts can be found with “clipped” and corrected stat headings on back:

#290 Gilles Thibaudeau can be found with incomplete, jagged stat line(s) on back:

Quick Look: 1990 Upper Deck #101-199 Copyright Variations

Although they are not listed individually in any major catalog, all cards in the #101 through #199 sequence found in Upper Deck’s sophomore issue can be found with or without the copyright line under the MLB logos on back.

Several key players and HOFers can be found in both varieties:

Quick Look: 1991 Score Nolan Ryan No-Hit Club #701 Variations

1991 Score is one of those sets that I typically avoid sorting through in effort to find new varieties. One of the reasons being that there is so much text and stat info on backs that it’s difficult to notice differences between copies. Another reason would be that I was never really impressed by the issue (like most of the Score products), but since a handful of varieties have shown up over the last 5-6 years that feature highly-collected star players, I figured it best to post a few examples of unlisted errors in the set (see also: 1991 Score Bo Jackson posting). This hard-to-find variation features Nolan Ryan:

A. Stat box is WHITE on back (scarce).

B. Stat box is BLUE on back (common).

Quick Look: 1992 Topps 1000 Yard Club GOLD Variations

Check out this rare look at one of the scarcer early-90’s insert sets produced; 1992 Topps 1000 Yard Club Gold was an unannounced parallel to the rack-issued insert. To this day, very little info is known about them such as how many were made and what their method of distribution was (though random rack insertion seems the most obvious).

The Barry Sanders card pictured below is the only copy of this parallel that I have ever seen in person:

Quick Look: 1988 Donruss Ray Knight “Scar” Variations

Pictured below is a card that had eluded me for a few years. In fact, the first time I saw it, I figured it was just a short-run (or “one-time”) printing flaw, but a few of them recently found their way into my collection via a thrift store junk box of 1988 Donruss commons. As of today, I can confirm 4 different versions of this odd printing flaw/plate error.

1. Blue, ballpoint-pen-looking “scar” along throat, curls into jaw line (pictured).

2. Blue, ballpoint-pen-looking “scar” along throat, stops at jaw line (pictured).

3. White, edited or airbrushed “scar” along throat, stops at jaw line (not pictured).

4. No visible trace of “scar” on neck (pictured).