5 Cards Too Cool to be Junk Wax

They transcend their humble beginnings

This week over on YouTube, we took on the most expensive recent sales of 1991 Fleer baseball cards on eBay. And, while “expensive 1991 Fleer” is somewhat oxymoronic, the Yellow Menace still changes hands at decent prices all the time (almost always in graded form):

I’m no fan of those thick, 70s-sunflower-wallpaper-colored borders, but one card that showed up in this list is pretty darn cool — #710 “Second Generation Stars.”

That’s the one that shows Ken Griffey, Jr., and Barry Bonds, shoulder-to-shoulder in a horizontal shot, just as they were beginning their amazing runs as all-time greats.

That card always reminds me that, for all the overproduced, loud, terrible load of general cardboard crap the Junk Wax Era cranked out, there were still some pretty fun cards to come from those years.

Here are some of my favorite Junk Wax Gems that you just might have forgotten about.

1991 Score Bo Breaker (#773)

Yeah, 1991 Score was a mess and produced by the billions, but it was also huge and quirky and had some really interesting — if gaudy — subsets. Looking back on it now, as an adult (in age, at least), it’s actually pretty fun.

And this Bo card is about as fun and “period” as it gets. Who doesn’t remember Bo as a larger-than-life do-anything who could snap a bat like it was a U.L. Washington toothpick?

1991 Topps Benito Santiago (#760)

To my eyes, 1991 Topps was a huge leap forward from the sets that came before it, especially from the standpoint of photo quality and selection.

The simple design really helped to accentuate the nifty images, too.

And, well, I’m a sucker for a good catcher card.

This one gives us a point-of-view shot from the vantage of a popup that’s about to be snuffed out by the inescapable Benito Santiago.

Oh, sorry. “Benny” Santiago.

1991 Leaf Studio Dave Winfield (#30)

Studio debuted as a series of test cards inserted into 1991 Donruss factory sets.

It was a cool concept — to capture (yes) “studio” quality shots of the players we loved in unusual settings.

Turned out to be pretty cheesy in execution. You would almost think it was a Fleer product.

But some of the Studio cards were actually pretty interesting, including this beaming Winfield, fresh off his Yankee years, and holding a fist full of baseballs.

1992 Fleer Cal Ripken, Jr., Pro Visions (#711)

Like most sets from the era, 1992 Fleer takes a lot of flak for a bad design.

But let me tell you — Topps, Donruss, and Fleer all made big changes, and positive changes, for their 1992 sets.

And, after the mess of 1991, the Fleer design — to me — was amazing, what with the sort of metallic borders/background, and the players jutting out into said borders.

There were problems, sure, but 1992 Fleer was cool. Still is.

And, to top it all off, they introduced Pro Visions, featuring 1991-Score-like paintings of big name players.

This one shows Ripken, fresh off his amazing 1991 MVP season, with a stone (iron?) wall behind him. Etched into that wall are the date Iron Cal’s streak began, and “2130” — a subtle nod to Lou Gehrig.

1993 Upper Deck Ivan Rodriguez (#123)

Yes, another catcher card.

This one is just totally amazing — savage colorful, framed and cropped to perfection.

It could be the cover for a video game … or a movie poster … or the new logo for MLB.

Or all of the above.

But what is actually is, is a Junk Wax Gem you can usually pick up for the cost of some carpet lint.

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There are many (many) thousands of Junk Wax cards out there, and, while hardly any of them may ever carry much monetary value, there is some really (yes!) cool stuff hiding out there in the endless mounds of pulp stacked up in garages, attics, basements, and outhouses across America.

So …

What are some of your favorite cards from the Junk Wax years?

I’d love to hear your picks.

Until next time, may all that you behold yield some previously unappreciated beauty, wherever you might find it.

Thanks for reading.

— Adam