Breakin Wax:1989 Upper Deck Baseball 1-Pack Break

Every time I think about ICONIC products in my era of collecting, one that keeps popping up is 1989 Upper Deck.

The product that put Upper Deck on the map and one that kicked off what would turn out to be an amazing company that put out some pretty amazing products over it's 26 years. Upper Deck may not be the powerhouse they once were, all because of licensing and other companies know that, but they are still putting out their A-Game with every release. Personally, I like to go back and bust older Upper Deck product to remember what once was and hopefully will be again someday.

So let's go do that. Let's remember what Upper Deck put out for baseball. Some incredible stuff. Let's get rip my final break from my Graded Greats box. Bring on the 1989 Upper Deck baseball pack!

In every pack of 1989 Upper Deck, there are 15 cards and at least one hologram. Packs now can be found for a bargain at under $3. You can find rookie cards of Gary Sheffield, Randy Johnson, Craig Biggio and what I consider to be the most iconic card in Upper Deck history, the Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card. If you don't own one of those, you need to make that a center point of your collection. Everyone needs one.

The design, if you hadn't seen it, was a bit different compared to the newer Upper Deck products. Newer ones provide us with wide open photography, these have a border. But, a fun border. On the right hand side the border consists of outfield grass and infield dirt. Or that's the way I see it. Team logo runs on the side as well.

The photography is like most UD photography, fun. Most products in that era featured "player only" photography, but as always Upper Deck thought outside the box and used game shots.

This particular card is for my Yankees PC.

 

Here is what the back of the card looks like. It comes with Upper Deck's "Seal Of Approval" as I call it with the "counterfeit proof" hologram.

I was a bit surprised to find this damaged card in the pack. Luckily it wasn't a Griffey......

But none of my pack was a Griffey....

I saved this card for last, it was my favorite from the pack. Kirby was an amazing player to watch and I really like the photograph on this card. It truly captures the games strategy.

And my hologram, well two holograms, are both from the SF Giants. Gotta love holograms.

 

Overall, nothing big here. I got a new Yankees PC card, a Kirby Puckett card, and a hologram that I can use in my collection. I wished I had hit one of the big rookies but I guess that just means I will have to go back and try again :)

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TOPIC:

What are your guys thoughts on 1989 Upper Deck? Where do you rank it amongst iconic brands/products? Do you own a '89 UD Griffey rookie? Let's hear that and other thoughts you may have!