Collecting the 1987 Fleer Basketball Card Set

Set Notes

What happens when a 132-card set is loaded with great second-year players, but lacks star rookie cards of it's own? PSA's Kevin Glew has some thoughts on playing second fiddle.

Curator of Collections, Card Cyber Museum

Playing second fiddle isn't easy.

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Excerpt

Just ask John Oates. One half of a hugely successful music duo, he's been overshadowed by his taller and more charismatic bandmate, Daryl Hall, for more than 30 years.

What does this have to do with sports cards? Well, the 1986-87 Fleer Basketball set is the Daryl Hall of hoops issues and the 1987-88 Fleer set is the John Oates.

Like Hall, the 1986-87 set – with its who's who of basketball rookies – still commands considerable attention. The 1987-88 offering, on the other hand, remains in the background, out of the limelight.

More set notes

The cards in this 752-card set measure 2 1/2" by 3 1/2". The 1971 Topps set is a challenge to complete in strict mint condition because the black obverse border is easily scratched and damaged. An unusual feature of this set is that the player is also pictured in black and white on the back of the card. Featured subsets within this set include League Leaders (61-72), Playoffs cards (195-202) and World Series cards (327-332). Cards 524-623 and the last series (644-752) are somewhat scarce. The last series was printed in two sheets of 132.

The cards in this 598-card set measure 2 1/2" by 3 1/2". The 1968 Topps set includes Sporting News All-Star Selections as card numbers 361 to 380. Other subsets in this set include League Leaders (1-12) and World Series cards (151-158). The front of each checklist card features a picture of a popular player inside a circle. Higher numbers 458 to 598 are slightly more difficult to obtain. The first series looks different from the other series, as it has a lighter, wider mesh background on the card front. The later series all had a much darker, finer mesh pattern.

The cards in this 407-card set measure approximately 2 1/2" by 3 1/2". Topps returned to the vertical obverse, adopted what we now call the standard card size, and used a large, uncluttered colo photo for the first time since 1952. Cards in the series 265 to 352 and the unnumbered checklist cards are scarcer than other cards in the set. However, within this scarce series (265-362) there are 22 cards which were printed in double the quantity of the other cards in the series; these 22 double prints are indicated by DP in the Beckett checklists.

The cards in this 340-card set measure approximately 2 5/8" by 3 3/4". Following up with another horizontally oriented card in 1956, Topps improved the format by layering the color 'head' shot onto an actual action sequence involving the player. Cards 1 to 180 come with either white or gray backs: in the 1 to 100 sequence, gray backs are less common (worth about 10 percent more) and in the 101 to 180 sequence, white backs are less common (worth 30 percent more).

In its now standard procedure, Topps issued its standard-size Traded (or extended) set for the fifth year in a row. In addition to the typical factory set hobby distribution, Topps tested the limited issuance of these Traded cards in wax packs. Card design is identical to the regular-issue 1985 Topps set except for whiter card stock and T-suffixed numbering on back. The set numbering is in alphabetical order by player's name. The key extended Rookie Cards in this set include Vince Coleman, Ozzie Guillen and Mickey Tettleton.

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