1991 Star All-Star Baseball Forum

Hi all,

I was wondering if anybody with cards in this set has seen or knows about these being printed on different colored (green) backs. The below eBay listing is the first that I've seen and claims that they were a test run.

eBay: 1991 Star All-Star Ryne Sandberg Green Backs

Thanks for the help.

vrooomed might know, he used to work at Star.  My initial thought when I saw the backs was "counterfeit", but maybe they did do a test run on uncoated back stock.  But Dan should know.

I have no knowledge of any "test" sets EVER made by Star, certianly not while I worked there (I was there in 1991).

You should send a message to the seller.

I asked simply how and where did they obtain them. We'll see if I get any response.

Our correspondence:

Me: How and where did you obatin these?

ebay seller: From a guy that was a star dealer. Probably been 8 years since i bought the huge collection.

Thanks

Me: Did he tell you this was a test set?

ebay seller: Yes there were only a few sets each for select players in 1991 Star All Star series.

Me: What would you do if I told you that I worked for Star from 1986 to 1993, and we didn't create test cards?

ebay seller: Well, thats what he called them. Only a few made with these green backs compared to the hundreds made in white.

What do you know about these?

Me: I don't think they are real. We didn't print our stuff ourselves, so who knows what the printer did and kept for themselves, but this was never an official Star Company (or Star International as we were at that time) issue or something that passed through our hands.
I'm not going to tell you what to do. It was brought to my attention thru a major card collecting/checklist site. They were asking about the validity of your claim of them being a test run. If anything, they were released without our consent. I was only a worker there (it was a small operation, and I was a direct report to the owner), and I have no idea where he is these days. This was a long time ago. Don't be surprised if you have others telling you they aren't real Star Co cards.
Take care.

One last update to the conversation.

ebay seller: I had a guy message me years ago from Cherry Hill telling me that the owner had gotten into trouble and that he thought he might have had them printed after Star company folded. I didn't have more than 4 or 5 of any of each of the promos or sets with green backs. 
Thanks for the info.

Me: Interesting. I know there were several allegations of reprinting of old Star stuff. I can tell you this, he had a bunch of leftovers from the 80's in the warehouse in Florida. A lot of what he was accused of reprinting was simply leftovers (but was still bad because he had announced what sold as the print run then released more into the hobby).
I also know there was some legal stuff going on with him shortly after my employment there ended.
It would not surprise me if he reprinted certain high-selling players.
I wish you nothing but the best. Take care.

Bottom line?  These "green backs" should not be listed on our site?  That's more a statement than a question.

Oh, definitely not. We did not make and distribute these in 1991. There is no telling what the owner did after I left. We know he went back and "re-created" some of the 1980s basketball. This could have been another one of his fabrications to make a few more bucks.

Thank you for the follow-thorough and input on this.  I find it very interesting. 

As a player collector, I’ve always been interested in learning more about Star Co., as they produced some nice, collectible player sets (and I’ve only started collecting them very recently).

Since the company is long gone and a lot of their history pre-dates the Internet, there unfortunately isn’t much out there about them. So, I appreciate the insight that you have. I’d always be interested in knowing more about their heyday. Robert Levin, from what I’ve read, certainly seems to have made some questionable decisions.