1987 Fleer Baseball's Hottest Stars Set

Anyone who collects baseball cards from the 1980s to early '90s is familiar with the fabled "boxed set." In a nutshell, these are small baseball sets that were produced by Topps or Fleer to be sold by specific retail chains. A colorful point-of-purchase display case would typically house 24 sets, with each set being cello-wrapped in an equally colorful cardboard box. Topps boxed sets typically contained 33 cards and a stick of gum, while Fleer boxed sets typically contained 44 cards and several stickers. 

Sets of this nature were always named with a theme; "Memorable Moments", "Stars of the Decades", "All-Time Home Run Kings" and "Baseball Rookies" were some of the topics chosen for boxed sets. Thanks to the internet, it seems that no sets from this genre are difficult to find today. Though none of these boxed beauties are scarce, some are sought more by collectors than others... In particular, sets featuring rookie players that went on to have superstar careers are the ones with the most demand.

The most popular (and valuable) retail-chain boxed set today is the 1987 Fleer Baseball's Hottest Stars set. This 44-card issue was created exclusively for Revco Drug Stores, which was a large chain found mostly east of the Mississippi River. In typical fashion, this Fleer set features 44 cards, six baseball logo stickers, and comes sealed in a colorful retail box. A checklist of the players in the set appears right on the back of the box, which undoubtedly enticed Jose Canseco and Don Mattingly collectors of the day to grab a set or two.

Many of Baseball's hottest stars were indeed included in the set, including Hall of Fame standouts Mike Schmidt, Andre Dawson (NL MVP in 1987), George Brett and Rickey Henderson. Pete Rose even makes an appearance as first baseman/manager of the Reds. On the other hand, the inclusion of several players is questionable; Orioles outfielder Larry Sheets and Padres pitcher Eric Show are examples that were solid but average players. Numerous others were hometown favorites at best. But good, bad and ugly aside, there's one player in particular that makes this set the crown jewel of the entire boxed set genre... 

Pirates rookie Barry Bonds.

Fleer actually cheated a bit on their title of "Baseball's Hottest Stars," and added several promising rookies to the set. As always, several of these youngsters went on to have mediocre careers at best, while others achieved all-star status. Players featured in the set during their rookie-card year included Blue Jays pitcher Mark Eichhorn, Rangers outfielder Pete Incaviglia, Phillies pitcher Bruce Ruffin, Indians outfielder Cory Snyder, Dodgers outfielder Reggie Williams and Cardinals Pitcher Todd Worrell. Also featured during his rookie card year is Angels first baseman Wally Joyner, though Fleer got a jump on him the year before in their 1986 Baseball's Best boxed set.

Without a doubt, the aforementioned Barry Bonds would go on to become the most popular and collected player in the set. During the 2000-2005 MLB seasons, years after collectors had lost interest in most other boxed sets, the '87 Baseball's Hottest Stars set was selling in the $40 to $50 range. Today, the price has cooled considerably and the set sells in the $10 to $15 range on Ebay. Even so, this wonderful oddball issue remains the most celebrated set to emerge from a long bygone era of small, colorful, retailer-exclusive baseball card releases.

Random Fact: Revco, the drug store chain that originally sold these sets, was purchased by CVS in 1997. All Revco stores had either closed or were re-branded to CVS by the summer of 1998.

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1. Joaquin Andujar, A's

2. Harold Baines, White Sox

3. Kevin Bass, Astros

4. Don Baylor, Red Sox

5. Barry Bonds, Pirates

6. George Brett, Royals

7. Tom Brunansky, Twins

8. Brett Butler, Indians

9. Jose Canseco, A's

10. Roger Clemens, Red Sox

11. Ron Darling, Mets

12. Eric Davis, Reds

13. Andre Dawson, Expos

14. Doug DeCinces, Angels

15. Leon Durham, Cubs

16. Mark Eichhorn, Blue Jays

17. Scott Garrelts, Giants

18. Dwight Gooden, Mets

19. Dave Henderson, Red Sox

20. Rickey Henderson, Yankees

21. Keith Hernandez, Mets

22. Ted Higuera, Brewers

23. Bob Horner, Braves

24. Pete Incaviglia, Rangers

25. Wally Joyner, Angels

26. Mark Langston, Mariners

27. Don Mattingly, Yankees

28. Dale Murphy, Braves

29. Kirk McCaskill, Angels

30. Willie McGee, Cardinals

31. Dave Righetti, Yankees

32. Pete Rose, Reds

33. Bruce Ruffin, Phillies

34. Steve Sax, Dodgers

35. Mike Schmidt, Phillies

36. Larry Sheets, Orioles

37. Eric Show, Padres

38. Dave Smith, Astros

39. Cory Snyder, Indians

40. Frank Tanana, Tigers

41. Alan Trammell, Tigers

42. Reggie Williams, Dodgers

43. Mookie Wilson, Mets

44. Todd Worrell, Cardinals

1987 Buffalo Bills Police Uncut Sheet

We love us some uncut sheets here at the Oddball Card Collector blog. These sheets allow us to see the details of a set that may have been previously unknown, such as which cards were double-printed. Sometimes sheets will feature scarce cards that were distributed in limited quantities (often because the player left the team). And maybe, if the planets happen to align, a sheet may contain a card that was withdrawn from the set altogether; undocumented cards of this nature are a "holy grail" for a small segment of hardcore collectors.

The uncut sheet we have chosen to highlight today contains the 1987 Buffalo Bills Police set. The sheet has nine rows of eight cards each, as shown below:

You can quickly see, based on the photo above, that each row contains an eight-card complete set. And what a great set this is. Defensive end Bruce Smith, head coach Marv Levy and quarterback Jim Kelly are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and we have a feeling that wide receiver Andre Reed will be joining them shortly (Edit: he did). While not a superstar, tight end Pete Metzelaars played 16 seasons in the NFL, ten of them with the Bills, and retired with the most games played by a tight end in NFL history (235). Punter John Kidd lasted 15 years in the league, linebacker Eugene Marve eleven, and defensive tackle Joe Devlin thirteen (all with the Bills). 

Here's a look at the full sheet... And yes, those are cassette tapes holding down the corners:

Ok, wait a minute.... Did you see that? On the top row?

Yep, that is indeed a solid row of nothing but glorious Jim Kelly cards. So, on a sheet that has nine rows, eight rows each feature a complete eight-card set, while one row features eight additional Jim Kelly cards. This is a classic example of a star card being "double printed." A way to visualize this would be to take the row of eight Kelly cards from the top of the sheet, and drop it to the right of Pete Metzelaars. Each of the eight rows would now have two Kellys per set -- hence, the double print.

The Kelly card has always seemed to be more plentiful than the others in this set, and this sheet confirms why. (One can find numerous Kelly singles on Ebay now, even as I type this.) Another classic example of a double-printed card from a police set is the Hank Aaron found in the 1981 Atlanta Braves set.

The focus of this post has been split between the set and the sheet itself, so we won't go into all the fine details regarding these cards. We will say, however, that this was the first of several Bills Police sets and is a must-have for football collectors. Sets should sell in the $7 to $10 range.

Click here to find 1987 Bills Police Cards on eBay

1987 San Diego Chargers Police

The San Diego Chargers were the subjects of two classic (and somewhat scarce) police sets released in 1981 and 1982. After a five year hiatus, they were back in 1987 with the release of their third police set, sponsored by the Chargers and Oscar Meyer. Though numbered on the card backs to number 22, there are only 21 cards in the set as card number 13 was pulled before distribution. 

Card fronts feature a large color photo with tri-colored borders. A Chargers helmet sits at the lower left, while the players' names, positions, uniform numbers and physical info are found across the remainder of the bottom. Backs are printed in black and feature short player bios, a "Chargers Tip," and the Oscar Meyer logo. Surprisingly, no police department is mentioned on the cards.

In addition to the phantom number 13 card, two others were pulled shortly after distribution began, making both shortprints the two most valuable cards in the set. The shortprinted cards feature kicker Rolf Benirschke, who retired before the season began, and cornerback Danny Walters, who was arrested on September 14 of that year for possession of cocaine and driving under the influence. These cards are considered a part of a complete set.

The set is loaded with star and superstar players, including Hall of Famers Dan Fouts and Kellen Winslow. We would love to get a hold of an uncut sheet and take a peek at who was pictured on the unreleased card number 13... Our guess would be Hall of Fame wide receiver Charlie Joiner, who retired well before the 1987 season began. Regarding value, the current price range for a complete 21-card set is $15 to $20. 

2025 Update: Twelve years after this post was published, it was time to re-visit this set. These cards are quite hard to find these days, even on eBay, and the current value for a complete set during the Year of Our Lord, 2025, should be in the $40 range.

Click here to find Chargers Police Cards on eBay

1. Alex G. Spanos, Owner

2. Gary Anderson, Running Back

3. Rolf Benirschke, Kicker (Short Print)

4. Gill Byrd, Cornerback/Safety

5. Wes Chandler, Wide Receiver

6. Sam Claphan, Tackle

7. Jeff Dale, Safety

8. Pete Holohan, Tight End

9. Lionel James, Running Back/Wide Receiver

10. Jim Lachey, Tackle

11. Woodrow Lowe, Linebacker

12. Don Macek, Center

13. Unissued

14. Dan Fouts, Quarterback

15. Eric Sievers, Tight End

16. Billy Ray Smith, Linebacker

17. Danny Walters, Cornerback (Short Print)

18. Lee Williams, Defensive End

19. Kellen Winslow, Tight End

20. Al Saunders, Head Coach

21. Dennis McKnight, Guard

22. Chip Banks, Linebacker

1987 and 1988 New York Giants Police Sets

Click here to find Giants Police Cards on eBay

With a variety of NFL teams releasing local "police sets" as early as 1979, the New York Giants finally decided to release a few sets of their own, with the first two being in 1987 and 1988. Both sets feature twelve cards and measure approx. 4 1/8 by 2 3/4 inches in size. The year of issue is NOT mentioned on either set. We are mentioning both together due to their similarities, but when pictured side by side they are easy to differentiate.

The inaugural 1987 Giants Police set features color action photos on the fronts, with nothing above them but white border. All subject matter is found below the photos, to include the player's name, height, weight, position, college and a small Giants helmet near the middle. Head Coach Bill Parcells is featured on his first-ever card, pictured in a closeup studio portrait, with his name, title and small Giants helmet printed below the photo. Cards are not numbered. For reasons unknown, the photo used on running back Joe Morris' card is considerably smaller than those used on the other cards.

Here's a look at the front and back of Maurice Carthon's 1987 Giants Police card:

It is estimated that 10,000 of the 1987 sets were printed and distributed by the New Jersey State Police. The twelve-card roster features the majority of the stars found on those mid-1980's Giants powerhouse teams, with the exception of linebacker Lawrence Taylor. Here's the lineup, listed in order of uniform number:

(5) Sean Landeta, Punter

(11) Phil Simms, Quarterback

(20) Joe Morris, Running Back

(44) Maurice Carthon, Running Back

(53) Harry Carson, Linebacker

(58) Carl Banks, Linebacker

(60) Brad Benson, Tackle

(64) Jim Burt, Nose Tackle

(70) Leonard Marshall, Defensive End

(75) George Martin, Defensive End

(89) Mark Bavaro, Tight End

Bill Parcells, Head Coach

 The 1988 cards can be quickly identified on the fronts by locating two small Giants helmets and the "NEW YORK GIANTS" team name across the tops of the cards. The color photos are more centered towards the middle of the cards, and the player names, uniform numbers, height, position and weight are found on the bottoms. Coach Parcells and seven of his star players make another appearance in 1988, meaning only four "new" players are featured in the second set (center Bart Oates and wide receiver Phil McConkey being the most notable).

Here's a look at the front and back of Leonard Marshall's 1988 Giants Police card:

It is estimated once again that approx. 10,000 sets were printed and distributed by the New Jersey State Police. Lawrence Taylor is nowhere to be found, but the lineup is impressive nonetheless. The cards are listed by uniform number:

(11) Phil Simms, Quarterback

(20) Joe Morris, Running Back

(44) Maurice Carthon, Running Back

(53) Harry Carson, Linebacker

(63) Karl Nelson, Tackle

(64) Jim Burt, Nose Tackle

(65) Bart Oates, Center

(67) Bill Ard, Guard

(70) Leonard Marshall, Defensive End

(75) George Martin, Defensive End

(80) Phil McConkey, Wide Receiver

Bill Parcells, Head Coach

Both of these sets are somewhat difficult to find today, but I have noticed over the years that the 1987 set sells for more than the 1988 issue. The Bill Parcells "rookie card" in the '87 set is doubtlessly the main reason for this, with perhaps a bit of support from fan-favorites Sean Landeta and Mark Bavaro. We'd estimate the value of a complete 1987 set in the $40 to $50 range, and the value of the 1988 follow-up set closer to the $25 to $40 range.

Click here to find Giants Police Cards on eBay