The Set: Just because something isn’t rare doesn’t mean it’s not important. The 1989-90 Hoops set appeared on the scene in late October of 1989, so it was here that all those piles of “junk wax” Hoops cards from the early 90’s started! Hoops didn’t stray far from this 1989-90 design in future years. These featured simple colors and a border representing a basketball court key. But collectors forget how popular and huge this set was upon release. (Check out this old Pittsburgh Post Gazette article mentioning that people are having trouble finding packs and that the set is approaching $100 in value). Many thought the David Robinson rookie would be a great investment. And the fact that you could see through the packs and identify the top card helped too. Collectors were memorizing the order and chasing that rookie card. The card was even being counterfeited at the time. PSA mentions that the Pistons championship card also was being chased, but it was really that Robinson rookie that had people searching. So even though the explosion in production limits the value of the cards today, it was responsible for bringing popularity and momentum to basketball card collecting at the time.
The first series, cards #1-300, consisted of all stars, regular players and coaches (it’s the first set to include coaches). But these were scattered all over the place and not grouped by team, or subset. For example, this #21 Michael Jordan All- Star is preceded by the regular Rolando Blackman and followed by Cliff Levingston, not All-Star cards and not even fellow Chicago Bulls. This meant that when opening packs and collecting the set, there was an element of surprise. You’d stumble on Karl Malone as #30 but wouldn’t find the Jordan base until #200. But it does mean that the set as a whole is quite chaotic.
The All-Star cards incorporated stars around the border and had the logo from Houston in the upper-left of the arch. Jordan and the East lost this particular All-Star Game in Houston. The West won 143-139. It was nice to see full All-Star statistics on the back as well. The information also tried to stay focused on All-Star related trivia.
Most resources say that this set doesn’t have any insert cards, but for those that dig, this Michael Jordan #21, along with the other All-Star cards, have a variation! They also exist as four panels of 6 cards that were inserted into programs during All-Star Game Weekend, a different panel at each of the four entrances. So if you see perforated versions of these cards, or even the full panels themselves, you’ll know where they came from!
You must be logged in to post a comment.