1990 Upper Deck

Description

The 1990 Upper Deck set contains 800 cards, issued in two series: Low Series (1-700) and High Series (701-800). High Series packs contained a mixture of Low and High numbered cards. The card fronts are non-glossy have a color player photograph with white borders. The card backs have a color player photograph, recent player stats, and an anti-counterfeiting holograph. The cards are printed on thin, white card stock. Team Checklist cards, featuring original artwork from Vernon Wells, Jr., and Star Rookie cards are scattered throughout the set. Cards sequentially-numbered in multiples of 100 are checklists. Rookies include Juan Gonzalez, David Justice, Ray Lankford, Dean Palmer, Sammy Sosa, and Larry Walker. Curiously, Upper Deck did not produce a Frank Thomas rookie card.

The set was riddled with typos and errors, especially in the first 100 cards. Production was greatly increased and some packs and factory sets found their way to retail outlets.

In addition to the standard 800-card factory set, the 100-card High Series was also made available as a factory set.

Find The Reggie

Looking for a way to make its cards more valuable, Upper Deck introduced the "Find The Reggie" campaign. Playing on the various insert sets of the past, Upper Deck developed the ten-card Reggie Jackson Heroes set and randomly inserted them into the High Series packs.

In addition, Upper Deck had Jackson autograph 2500 cards that were also inserted into the High Series packs -- the first autographed inserts. Its success as a chase card helped propel the insert phenomenon that would flood the hobby for the following five years.

Distribution

36 packs per box, 15 cards per pack (MSRP: $0.99).

800-card factory sets.

100-card High Series factory sets.

Insertion Ratios

Lo-Series

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Odds
Base	700	-	?

Hi-Series

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Odds
Base	800	-	?
Reggie Jackson Baseball Heroes	10	-	?
Autographed Reggie Jackson Baseball Heroes	1	2500	?

Checklist

Base Set

Low-Series

NOTE: The Star Rookies and Team Checklists subsets were scattered throughout the first 100 cards in the base set, along with regular player cards.

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<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player,info FROM cards WHERE (year = 1990) AND (setname = 'Upper Deck') AND (num BETWEEN 101 AND 700) ORDER BY num +0 ASC; </sql2wiki>

Hi-Series

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Variations

Some copies of cards 101-199 are missing the copyright line on the back. These were once thought to be scarce, but it appears they are easier to find now as more product has now been opened.

On some cards the position in the upper left corner is not centered in the gray box like most, it is shifted down.

Additionally, a "black box" variation of card #702 Mike Witt have been found where the back of the card has a large rectangular black box covering most of the statistics and picture of Witt. Witt's card was subsequently replaced in the set by a different card also numbered 702, "Montreal Expos Rookie Threats" featuring Delino Deshields, Marquis Grissom, and Larry Walker, but not before a few thousand were released to the public in early cases and wax boxes.

A similar "black box" error also exists for card #800, Checklist 701-800, where card 702 is identified as Mike Witt and subsequently replaced by the "Rookie Threats".

Inserts

Holographic Team Logo Stickers

Each pack included a holographic team logo sticker. There is one for each of the 26 MLB teams, and each is a 2 1/2" square with rounded corners. Factory sets and High-Number factory sets also came with stickers.

Upper Deck Reggie Jackson Baseball Heroes

This landmark ten-card set was randomly inserted into 1990 Upper Deck High Series packs. The set consists of eight cards highlighting then-Upper Deck board member Reggie Jackson, a checklist featuring original artwork from Vernon Wells, Jr., and a "header" card explaining the set. The header is short-printed and not sequentially-numbered as part of the set.

The Reggie Jackson Baseball Heroes kicked off the "insert mania" that drove The Hobby in the 1990s as other trading card companies would create similar sets.

1993 Jumbos

A jumbo-sized version of this set (measuring 3 1/2" X 5") was produced in 1993 and included in various retail repack products. Each jumbo card was serial-numbered to 10,000 copies.

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Autographs

Reggie Jackson Heroes Autographs

Reggie Jackson autographed 2500 copies of his Baseball Heroes checklist card for random insertion in High Series packs. Each card is hand-numbered on the front, and the reverse side has a diamond-shaped hologram -- as opposed to the circular hologram on the non-autographed cards. Cards ending with a "00" serial-number are notated "Mr. October."

It should be noted that some "Mr. October" notated cards without a "00" serial-number do exist; however, these were not notated for this promotion, and may have been notated by Jackson after the fact.

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Upper Deck (flagship)
Upper Deck (flagship) Sets: 1988 - 1989 - 1990 - 1991 - 1992 - 1993 - 1994 - 1995 - 1996 - 1997 - 1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008 - 2009 - 2010
Upper Deck (flagship) Update Sets: 1991 Upper Deck Final Edition - 2009 Upper Deck Update
Upper Deck (flagship) Parallel Brands: 1999 Upper Deck Encore - First Edition: 2007 - 2008 - 2009 - First Pitch: 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - Special F/X: 1998 - 2006
Upper Deck Prospect Premieres: 2001 - 2002 - 2003
Upper Deck Japan: 2001