This set was the set that got me into cards. My grandmother bought me a few packs from the checkout lane of a shop 'n' save. In the car on the way home I was greeted with the team stickers and a few of my favorite players of the day Doug Drabek and Barry Bonds and a few others Mike LaValliere Sid Bream. It's almost like Fleer knew I was a Pirates fan as a kid!

this set was the one that got me all started in the chase for relics and autographs within the foil packages. I guess we all have to start from somewhere and this was my initial stepping stone.

Party on

In 1988-89, Fleer had dug themselves a photographic hole with nothing but dark, grainy photos. 1990 felt like something of a design reset for Fleer. The layout was simple, the border colors meshed well with the team logos and uniform colors and the photos were mostly bright, if somewhat fuzzy. After the height of 1987, and the steady two year decline, I think Fleer was looking for something safe and neutral and they definitely hit the mark.

The decade greats sub-set was a nice touch, picking an MVP or Cy Young Award winner to represent each year from 1980-1989. This would be Fleer's last year to feature the double rookie prospect subset at the end of the checklist.