1991 Upper Deck Final Edition

In 1991, according to Dave Jamieson’s Mint Condition, Upper Deck printed a “staggering 4 billion baseball cards” (Personally, I believe that number is either a misprint or misinformation). Unfortunately, the base card design happens to be a low tide moment in their impeccable design history.  Considering only two years earlier Upper Deck set the baseball hobby ablaze, this design surprisingly similar to the 1990 design left Upper Deck stuck with the year’s most pedestrian set.

The adage of ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” was never more suited than for Upper Deck in 1991. Against better judgment they hit the snooze button in the art department focusing more on inserts and autograph chase cards.

About the Card

In an era where most players have several rookie cards to choose from - Pedro Martinez has only one. How he slipped through every company's player selection except Upper Deck's is remarkable. Even more remarkable is that it arrived in a year-end factory set that turned out to be a one-off idea.