1989 Upper Deck
Total Cards: 800
Rating: 8.1 (229 ratings)
Rate this set...
Top Sets: #27
Notes: Distributed as a first series (#1-700) and High Series (#701-800). Factory sets include #1-800.
Cards
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1 | Ken Griffey Jr. SR, RC | Seattle Mariners |
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2 | Luis Medina SR, RC | Cleveland Indians |
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3 | Tony Chance SR, RC | Pittsburgh Pirates |
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4 | David Otto SR | Oakland Athletics |
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5 | Sandy Alomar Jr. SR, RC | San Diego Padres |
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6 | Rolando Roomes SR, RC | Chicago Cubs |
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7 | David West SR, RC | New York Mets |
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8 | Cris Carpenter SR, RC | St. Louis Cardinals |
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9 | Gregg Jefferies SR | New York Mets |
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10 | Doug Dascenzo SR, RC | Chicago Cubs |
Trivia |
- This was the first set ever released by Upper Deck.
- This was the first set to feature the use of holograms.
- The first cards to be sold in tamper-proof foil packs.
- At $0.89 a pack, carried, by far, the highest suggested retail price of its time.
- Upon its release, there was speculation that collectors wouldn't pay that much for a pack of cards and that the market couldn't support a sixth card maker.
- The set arrived 3 months later than planned because of production problems.
- Cards were released to the general public in the following format:
* 15-Card Foil Packs (Both Low & High # packs) - #1 Ken Griffey Jr. - Eighteen year old Upper Deck employee Tom Geideman is credited for wanting to make Ken Griffey Jr. the #1 card in the set.
- #1 Ken Griffey Jr. - Ken Griffey Jr. was actually not wearing a Mariners cap when the picture was taken. He was wearing his minor league San Bernardino Spirit cap and the picture was edited to look like a Mariners cap.
- #1 Ken Griffey Jr. - The picture was so convincing that Griffey himself, supposedly, asked an Upper Deck photographer a year later when the picture was taken because he didn't remember posing with a Mariners cap.
- #1 Ken Griffey Jr. - The #1 Ken Griffey Jr. card was featured on the cover of the May 1991 issue of Sports Card Trader magazine.
- #1 Ken Griffey Jr. - Some of the other players considered for the #1 card were Gregg Jefferies, Sandy Alomar Jr., and Gary Sheffield.
- #1 Ken Griffey Jr. - The 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey card is the most graded ever for both PSA and BGS.
- #4 David Otto - UER: 1988 Tacoma 123 H, should be 124
- #5 Sandy Alomar Jr. - UER: Birthdate should be 6/18/66
- #7 David West - UER: Innings in minors should read "821"
- #11 Ron Jones - UER: Line 4 should read "That was the season..."
- #13 Gary Sheffield - UER: .237 AVG should be .238
- #13 Gary Sheffield - UER: .237 AVG with Brewers should be .238
- #17 John Smoltz - UER: 12th line of the write-up on the back, "Signed as a free agent...by the Tigers in 1985...", was actually drafted in the 22nd round of that year's draft
- #20 Juan Bell - UER: Birthplace should be San Pedro de Macoris; Was not a switch hitter
- #22 Felix Jose - UER: Born on "5-8-65", should be "5-2-65"
- #22 Felix Jose - UER: The 1988 Tacoma stat line has six errors. The corrected data should be 134 G, 508 AB, 72 R, 161 H, 29 2B and 77 SO.
- #117 Gary Pettis - Card #117 of Gary Pettis shows him holding and looking at the very card he's on.
- #147 DeWayne Buice - Angels pitcher DeWayne Buice (card 147) owned a 12% share of Upper Deck.
- #321 Gary Varsho - UER: Birthdate should be 6/20
- #321 Gary Varsho - UER: Birthdate should be 6/20
- #330 Tony Pena - Terry Pendleton (Cardinals 1984-90) in the foreground
User Comments |
1989 Upper Deck was the first pack of cards I purchased. Needless to say I was hunting for the Griffey. Rating: 8.5 | ||
Nice enough, but it stinks when you are trying to organize the UD sets by year and you have the late 1980s to early 1990s sets to go through. Nice cards, though. Rating: 7 | ||
This set is known for the Griffey RC, and (if you must) the only reason to own the set. The lack of flash photography resulting in dozens of images with shadows on player's faces makes it 'unwatchable'. The back photos are a nice touch, but as someone else mentioned Score already added head shots on their card's reverse. For a late-80s design, the template still holds up and the holograms give a futuristic feel. | ||
Forum |
| Subject | Replies | Last Post |
| 659 Canseco | 12 | Mar 8, 2026 11:14 AM by Soup3102 |
| 1989 Upper Deck Pat Sheridan | 11 | Apr 24, 2025 6:05 AM by vrooomed |
| Beautiful set | 6 | Mar 15, 2024 3:32 PM by BSwagger |
| Do you know where the 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. photo is from? | 1 | May 11, 2023 10:54 AM by Tscastle |
| Double astericks variation on the Griffey Star Rookie? | 3 | Jan 24, 2023 4:55 AM by sandyrusty |
