It was 1989. You had five bucks in your pocket and a bike with mismatched tires. You rode to the corner store, the air smelling of gasoline and cheap pavement, and bought a stack of wax packs. That pink bubblegum was hard as a rock. It shattered when you bit it. But nobody cared about the gum because we were all looking for that one card. The Future Star. Ken Griffey Jr.
The 1989 Topps full set is the definitive time capsule of a weird, bloated, and beautiful era in baseball history. Collectors often call this the "Junk Wax Era." It sounds like an insult. Honestly, it kind of is. Topps, Upper Deck, Fleer, and Donruss were printing cards at a rate that would make the Federal Reserve blush. Millions of them. They were everywhere—drugstores, gas stations, under your bed, in your bike spokes.
But here’s the thing: despite the overproduction, people still obsess over this specific set. It’s the ultimate entry point for hobbyists. It's affordable. It's iconic. And if you’re looking at a 1989 Topps full set today, you aren't just looking at cardboard; you’re looking at the bridge between the old-school hobby and the high-stakes, graded-card madness we live in now.
The Griffey Factor and Why We Can't Let Go
Let’s address the elephant in the room immediately. If you talk about 1989, you have to talk about Ken Griffey Jr. Now, if you’re a hardcore collector, you know the "Real" Griffey rookie is the Upper Deck #1. It’s glossy. It’s fancy. It changed the industry.
But the 1989 Topps #648 is different. It’s the blue-collar Griffey.
Topps didn't give him the #1 spot. They tucked him away in the back of the set. He looks like a kid—because he was. That "Future Stars" logo splashed across the bottom in vibrant, neon-adjacent colors is pure 80s aesthetic. Even though there are probably enough of these cards in existence to wallpaper every house in Ohio, a PSA 10 (Gem Mint) version still commands respect. Why? Because Topps quality control in 1989 was, frankly, a disaster.
Centering was a joke. Print dots were everywhere. Getting a "perfect" card out of a factory 1989 Topps full set is actually a lot harder than the print runs suggest.
Beyond the Kid: The Names That Make the Set
A full set consists of 792 cards. That is a massive amount of cardboard. Most of it is "common" filler—guys like Mike Pagliarulo or Geno Petralli who were solid pros but don't move the needle today. But tucked between the bench warmers are the legends.
You’ve got the Randy Johnson rookie (#647). This was before the Big Unit became the most terrifying human being to ever stand 60 feet, 6 inches away from a batter. In '89, he was an Expo. He had a mullet that defies modern physics.
Then there's the Gary Sheffield rookie (#351). At the time, he was the "next big thing" for the Brewers. You also get the John Smoltz rookie (#642).
It isn't just about the rookies, though. This set features the twilight years of the old guard. You have Cal Ripken Jr. in his prime. Nolan Ryan is in there, looking like he could still throw 100 mph (because he could). Rickey Henderson is stealing bases. Mike Schmidt is there. It’s a perfect overlap of the heroes your dad loved and the stars that defined the 90s.
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The Design: Love It or Hate It
The 1989 design is... polarizing.
It’s got that cursive team name at the bottom. The player's name is in a blocky, colored box at the top. The borders are white. It feels "cleaner" than the 1987 wood-grain look or the psychedelic 1990 design, but it lacks the prestige of the early 50s. To some, it looks cheap. To others, it looks like home.
The card stock is that classic gray, grainy mush. It feels like history. If you touch a modern Topps Chrome card, it feels like a piece of a spaceship. If you touch a 1989 Topps card, it feels like a newspaper. There's a soul in that.
The Myth of the "Investment"
If you’re buying a 1989 Topps full set today thinking you’re going to retire on it, I have some bad news. You won't.
You can find factory-sealed sets for $30 to $50 all day long on eBay or at local card shows. Sometimes even less if the box is beat up. Because Topps produced so many of these, the supply will always outweigh the demand for the raw cards.
However, the value has shifted. The market now lives in the world of professional grading. Companies like PSA, SGC, and Beckett have turned a $1 Griffey into a $500 card—if it’s perfect.
The Hunt for the Error Cards
One of the most fun things about digging through a 1989 Topps full set is looking for the mistakes. 1989 was a banner year for errors.
The big one in the hobby that year wasn't actually a Topps card—it was the Fleer Billy Ripken "obscenity" card. But Topps had its own quirks. There are numerous "blank back" errors, "no foil" versions, and ink smears. Most aren't worth much, but for a certain type of collector, finding a 1989 Topps card with a weird printing defect is like finding a four-leaf clover.
The Traded Set: A Necessary Companion
You can't really talk about the 1989 full set without mentioning the "Traded" set. Back then, Topps released a secondary set (numbered with a 'T') in the fall.
This is where things get interesting for collectors.
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The 1989 Topps Traded set includes the "real" rookie cards for some guys who debuted late or switched teams. The most famous? The Ken Griffey Jr. Traded card (#41T). Wait, didn't I just say he was in the regular set? Yes. But the Traded set was printed on a brighter, whiter card stock (Tiffany style) and featured him in his Mariners uniform. For many, the Traded set is actually more desirable than the base set because of the improved paper quality and the inclusion of Deion Sanders (#110T).
Seeing "Prime Time" in a baseball uniform is still one of the coolest things about 1989. It reminds us of a time when athletes were basically superheroes.
How to Identify a Real Factory Set
If you’re hunting for a 1989 Topps full set, you’ll see two main versions:
- Hand-Collated Sets: Someone opened a bunch of packs and put the cards in order in a cardboard box. These are risky. Why? Because the person likely pulled the "hits" (the Griffeys and Johnsons) and replaced them with worse-condition versions or kept them for grading.
- Factory-Sealed Sets: These come in a specific colorful box (usually featuring a photo of several cards). They were sealed at the factory. These are the gold standard. When you break the seal on a 1989 factory set, you are the first person to touch those cards since they left the machine in Duryea, Pennsylvania.
The excitement of opening a factory set is the "lottery" aspect. You hope that the Griffey sitting inside is perfectly centered. If it is, you’ve turned a $40 set into a potential $500+ windfall. But usually, it’s off-center. That’s just 1989 for you.
Market Reality and Scarcity
Is 1989 Topps rare? No.
Is it valuable? Not in bulk.
But is it culturally significant? Absolutely.
According to various hobby historians and data from sites like Cardboard Connection, the production numbers for the late 80s were in the billions. This was the peak of the baseball card bubble. People were buying cases of these and putting them in their garages, thinking they’d be worth a fortune. Because so many people saved them, the "survival rate" of high-quality sets is massive.
Compare this to the 1952 Topps set, where most cards were thrown away, put in bike spokes, or dumped into the Atlantic Ocean (literally). In 1989, we knew cards were "valuable," so we protected them. Irony is a cruel mistress; because we saved them, they stayed cheap.
The Tiffany Variation: The True Grail
If you want the "elite" version of the 1989 Topps full set, you look for the Topps Tiffany.
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Topps produced a limited number of these sets (estimated around 15,000, though numbers are debated). They were sold through hobby dealers, not grocery stores.
How do you tell the difference?
- The Front: The Tiffany version has a high-gloss finish. It shines when you hold it to the light.
- The Back: The back of a regular 1989 card is a dull, grayish-brown. The Tiffany back is a bright, vibrant white/orange.
A 1989 Topps Tiffany Griffey is a monster. In a PSA 10, it can fetch thousands. If you find a factory-sealed Tiffany set at a garage sale for $20, you didn't just find a bargain; you won the hobby lottery.
What to Do With a 1989 Topps Set Today
Maybe you just found your old set in your parents' attic. Maybe you bought one on a whim at a flea market. What now?
First, don't just dump them on the floor. Even though they aren't "rare," condition is everything.
Go through and pull the "Key Five":
- Ken Griffey Jr. (#648)
- Randy Johnson (#647)
- John Smoltz (#642)
- Gary Sheffield (#351)
- Craig Biggio (#49)
Check the centering. If the borders are equal on all sides and the corners are sharp enough to draw blood, consider sending them to a grading service. If they look a little wonky, keep them in a binder. There is something deeply satisfying about flipping through a 1989 Topps full set in a plastic binder. It’s a physical encyclopedia of a season where the Oakland A's were a powerhouse and the Bash Brothers ruled the world.
Practical Steps for Collectors
If you are looking to acquire or sell a set, follow these specific moves:
- Check the "Seal": If buying "Factory Sealed," ensure the shrink wrap or tape is original. Re-sealed sets are a common scam where people swap out the star cards.
- Look for "Bricking": In some climates, the gloss on cards can cause them to stick together over 30 years. If you buy a set that has been in a humid basement, it might be a "brick" of useless paper. Gently flex the stack to see if they separate.
- The "Nolan Ryan" Check: Ryan has multiple cards in this era (including his record-breaking highlights). Collectors still pay a premium for "The Ryan Express," so keep those in top shape.
- Don't ignore the "Checklists": Believe it or not, some collectors pay well for "unmarked" checklists. Most kids in '89 actually used them to check off their cards with a pen. An unwritten checklist in a 1989 Topps full set is a nice little bonus.
Ultimately, the 1989 Topps set represents the last gasp of "simple" collecting before the industry went corporate with holograms, jerseys, and autographs in every pack. It’s affordable, it’s nostalgic, and it features some of the greatest players to ever step onto a diamond. It’s not about the money—it’s about the hunt.
Next Steps for Your Collection
Check your 1989 Topps #648 (Griffey Jr.) for a small print dot on his right shoulder. This is a common "fish eye" print defect that prevents a card from getting a PSA 10. If your card is free of that dot and perfectly centered, it is worth more than the entire rest of the set combined. You should also verify if your set is the "Traded" or "Base" version by looking at the card numbers; the Traded cards will always have a small "T" after the number.