In the spring of 1981 I remember heading to the local corner store looking for the latest Topps release. To my surprise I suddenly had a choice. What's this? Someone else made baseball cards? Wow! They were the same price as Topps, and while I don't remember exactly my reaction to opening my first pack of Donruss, I do know I was underwhelmed. To this day I'm still underwhelmed by this set.
The set starts out strong enough with card number one being Ozzie Smith. Back then I didn't know a thing about him, nowadays it seems Donruss made a good decision here. However as a collector even back then, it was easy to see many of the photos had a washed out appearance, centering is horrid, and the card stock wasn't the traditional cardboard; it is flimsy.
If you like manager cards, Donruss didn't disappoint. Here we have John Goryl, who took over mid-season when the prior manager (Gene Mauch) resigned. Goryl appears happy in this photo, but his reign as manager was short lived even in a strike season.
Being the new kid on the block means you're also prone to errors, and there are many in this set. As you can tell, someone at Donruss thought it was more appropriate to say Garvey surpassed 25 HR's in 1980, rather than 21 HR's (he hit 26 that year).
This may be the most egregious error of them all. It amazes me how things like this were overlooked back then. It only took me another 30 or so years to find out this existed. And I wouldn't have found it in my collection if I didn't buy another set thinking I had never completed my original set!
The back side of the cards are a bit underwhelming too. Collectors are treated to some career highlights and the prior year's stat line. Even though you won't need a magnifying glass to read it, the washed out appearance makes it look like someone forgot to refill the ink cartridge. Interesting to note here that Geoff Zahn was a Yankee killer (4-1) the prior year which is probably why the Twins let him go to the Angels the next year.
Overall this is a set I'll make space for if only because it's the first Donruss set and it's also representative of my youth. Despite the drawbacks, it's not the worst set in the world (looking at you Fleer '91). I probably spent the same amount back in 1981 as I did buying a complete set in the 2000's. Which bums me out because all those quarters could have been better spent at the local arcade. I'll probably hit the purge button with the dupes I have buried in the collection, I just have to find them.
It was a rough first attempt, no doubt! I actually like the backs - I think the top banner is kind of cool and I enjoy reading the timelines.
ReplyDeleteHey, I like 1991 Fleer. Yeah, it's yellow, but otherwise it's pretty good.
ReplyDeletegtt - i grown to appreciate 91f too.
Deletecrocodile - 81d isn't the prettiest set, but it's an important part of our collecting history.
I've only ever owned a couple of cards from the set, but I like it fine enough. That reverse negative is pretty neat, even more so when it's paired with the corrected card.
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