Product Highlight: 1989 Fleer Glossy Baseball

Glossy was to Fleer as Tiffany was to Topps.

In an attempt to compete with Topps, Fleer issued a series of Glossy sets. At a quick glance these cards look just like the normal Fleer flagship set. But upon a closer look you’ll notice minor upgraded changes that give the cards a higher-end feel.

Lets take a look at the 1989 Fleer Glossy Baseball set.

This set consists of (660) “Custom Coated” cards, (12) “Custom Coated” Limited Edition World Series cards, and (66) full color team logo stickers.

When compared to a normal 1989 Fleer Baseball card you’ll notice that the Glossy example has a shiny finish, and has been printed on white card stock.

Turning the card over you can see blue was used for the Glossy instead of yellow. A big “Collectors Edition” logo is in the background on the Glossy card as well.

Sets were distributed in tins only. About 30,000 sets were printed.

Key rookie cards include Randy Johnson #381, Ken Griffey, Jr. #548, and John Smoltz #602.

The 1989 Fleer Glossy Baseball set has a famous cameo appearance in the 1990 film Home Alone.

When Kevin is snooping around his older brother’s bedroom a 1989 Fleer Glossy Baseball tin can be seen on the top shelf.

The shelves eventually come crashing down. Inside the tin you can see a few cards. One card is definitely of Fred McGriff.