JUNK WAX ERA: 1988 SCORE
The rise in the popularity of baseball cards that would lead up to the Junk Wax Era began as early as the late 1970s, and the introduction of two new manufacturers helped spur further growth in the early 1980s. But the interest in baseball cards would reach a fever pitch by 1988, which would mark the first year since 1981 that a new manufacturer would enter the fold.
Some collectors believe that 1988 was the height of production numbers per set, while others believe it would increase into the early 1990s. While all of that can be argued without much concrete support from the companies, the introduction of Score to the trading card market certainly indicated that the demand had reached a peak not previously realized up to then.
In 1988, Topps was still the granddaddy of baseball cards, while Donruss and Fleer had worked out the kinks from their early ‘80s releases to settle in as nice, attractive sets of their own in the industry. The companies had enjoyed a stretch that saw interest in their products grow year after year. Then, in 1988, a new player entered the market - Score.
The inaugural release of Score introduced a different looking set from the other three major manufacturers. And Score certainly grabbed our attention from a visual standpoint. The set was 660 cards in size and would be broken up into 110 card segments of different color borders; including purple, blue, red, green, yellow and a rookie class that was somewhere between the orange and a gold color.
While the colors grabbed initial attention, Score brought a few more differences in their design from their counterparts. Though the colors differed throughout the set, the design was consistent. The photo was 90% of the card with the color border around the edges and there was a thin white inset border line on the photo. There was a shaded triangle at the bottom of the card with the player name and position centered. The Score logo was in the bottom right and 3 Gold Stars (for base cards) were in the bottom left. I still don’t know the significance of those stars within the design other than just for looks. The set advertised high quality photos that had a bit of a glossy look compared to other sets from that year.
In 1988, Score would be the only set that would offer a color photo on the back of the card. Some other sets had toyed with photos on the back, like the 1983, ‘84, and ‘85 Fleer sets, but the photo on the back of 1988 Score was a nice color photo. The rest of the card back got a little convoluted. Score took a different route from Donruss in that they included several years of major and minor league statistics, similar to Fleer and Topps, which was a plus. But unlike those companies, they added a tremendous amount of biographical data to the back that was almost too much to bother reading. The text was really small and thus made the back of the card look extremely busy.
A wax box can be found today for as little as $5 at card shows and features a whopping 36 packs with 17 player cards and 1 Magic Motion card per. The Magic Motion card was similar to Sportsflics with their lenticular design and was Score’s attempt to provide something extra to the collector without copying the gum from Topps, puzzle pieces from Donruss, or team stickers from Fleer. Each Magic Motion card contained a trivia question. The box bottom also had 4 cards that included 3 All-star cards and 1 Trivia Card. The packs themselves were little plastic bags, also a deviation from the other manufacturers. Score would become known for the little plastic bag wrappers over the next several years. Well known does not always equal well loved.
The full set can be found for as little as $10-$15 depending on whether you want a hand collated or factory sealed set. The Traded Set can be found for around $15. And to compete with Topps Tiffany, Score also offered a “Glossy Set” that was numbered to 5,000 and it is very tough to find as a full set today. You can find “Glossy” singles online for very reasonable prices but having to build a 660 card set with singles anywhere from $1 to $50 is an undertaking I haven’t been willing to commit to over my years of collecting. “Glossy” Team Sets can be found from $15-$25 if you are only looking to build your favorite team. Glossy Traded Sets can be found for around $175.
The biggest problem for 1988 Score can be shared with all sets released that year; the rookie class was pretty weak overall. Tom Glavine is the biggest rookie to be found in the 1988 Score Base Set. Other rookies included Ron Gant, Ken Caminiti, Matt Williams, Ellis Burks, and Gregg Jefferies. While stocking up on Jefferies RCS was a retirement plan for many collectors my age during 1988 and 1989, that hasn’t remained the case over the years. The Traded Set had a few good names as well including Hall of Famers Roberto Alomar and Craig Biggio, and Jay Buhner. The fact that 1987 and 1989 were such good rookie years with players like Bo Jackson, Greg Maddux, Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Gary Sheffield, John Smoltz, and Randy Johnson always overshadows the sets from 1988.
All of the game’s superstar players were included in the checklist including Jose Canseco, Mark Mcgwire, Nolan Ryan, Cal Ripken Jr., Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs and others. e checklist is loaded with the stars from the early- and mid-‘80s, which does help make up for the lack of overwhelming rookies. With a $5 box, you are almost certain to load up on Hall of Famers for your card collection and there is definitely some value in that.
e back end of the checklist offers some “Highlight” and specialty cards that are pretty fun to collect. You can find cards such as “Speed and Power” that features Eric Davis and Tim Raines, along with “Rookie Sluggers” that features Mark Mcgwire and Matt Nokes.
ere have been some relatively valuable cards to emerge from the 1988 set over the years, even when considering the nature of the “Junk Wax Era.” ough, the highest value has been generated from the Traded Set. A Roberto Alomar Gem Mint 10 from the Traded
Set sold for $390 in 2019, while the largest sale from the base set was a Gem Mint 10 Tom Glavine at $140. Players like Biggio, Ryan and Dale Murphy all command $40-plus when found in high grades as well. Interestingly enough, a Mike Schmidt Box Bottom with a grade of 8 sold for $47 in June of 2019!
I never really gave 1988 Score a chance back when I started collecting in late ‘88 and early ‘89. At that time, even though Tom Glavine played for my Atlanta Braves, he finished 1988 with a 7-17 record and wasn’t really on my radar as a future 300 game winner. My favorite card from the set was the Ron Gant RC as he was gearing up to join the 30/30 Club. But over the years, I have gone back to 1988 Score and I have enjoyed it more and more. For a mere $5, you can pull a number Hall of Famers and see a design that really didn’t stick around much a er the Junk Wax Era.
Topps and Panini have brought back designs from their past and you could even find 1986 Fleer Designs earlier this year with Michael Jordan Hanes packs. But when it comes to 1988 Score, you simply are not going to find that type of design in a modern pack these days, and that alone is reason enough to go back and take another look at this set.