The Perfect Card - is there such a thing?

[George K]

I love the look of this card. The design looks awesome. The photograph is super sweet of a laser-focused Tony Gwynn getting ready to do this thing: hitting. The autograph is perfectly placed. To me, baseball card perfection. Anyone have any favorite baseball cards where the card design and photo made that card sizzle? - I'd love to see them.

 

[George K]

Some of the best looking photographs (on cards) that I've ever seen were on the 1991 Topps set. Whoever did the art direction for that set deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Just stunning work in there.

 

[gt2590]

Still ticked I didn’t buy one of these when I saw it for $100 pre-Covid.

A bunch of the clean, Sweet Spot autos would make this list too.

 

[joey12508]

i knew i had arrived as a Bernie collector when this was in hand.

 

[General_Says_Tso]

Some of the best looking photographs (on cards) that I've ever seen were on the 1991 Topps set. Whoever did the art direction for that set deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Just stunning work in there.

I agree on these good choices...I would add this one as well RIP Rickey

 

[Philip J. Fry]

Some of the best looking photographs (on cards) that I've ever seen were on the 1991 Topps set. Whoever did the art direction for that set deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Just stunning work in there.

Well, it was also the same year Stadium Club premiered.

 

[Philip J. Fry]

i guess if I had to choose a “perfect” card, I may as well start at the beginning: Mariano Rivera’s senior pic rookie card.

 

[George K]

Still ticked I didn’t buy one of these when I saw it for $100 pre-Covid.

A bunch of the clean, Sweet Spot autos would make this list too.

Ditto - and there are even two different photos for that card. I toyed with buying it and just couldn't close the deal so many times.

 

[George K]

I agree on these good choices...I would add this one as well RIP Rickey

View attachment 365061

That's what I'm talking about! Lovely card. Perfection.

 

[George K]

i guess if I had to choose a “perfect” card, I may as well start at the beginning: Mariano Rivera’s senior pic rookie card.

View attachment 365063

Heh.

 

[George K]

To me, another perfect card is the 1972 Topps Roberto Clemente. It has the iconic player lost in his thoughts in this bittersweet photo from towards the end of his career.

 

[George K]

When I was a kid, the 1980 Topps Reggie Jackson was like the ultimate card. It captures Reggie in full swing in Yankee Stadium at the height of his popularity. Great photo within one of the sweetest Topps designs ever.

 

[finestkind]

I love the look of this card. The design looks awesome. The photograph is super sweet of a laser-focused Tony Gwynn getting ready to do this thing: hitting. The autograph is perfectly placed. To me, baseball card perfection. Anyone have any favorite baseball cards where the card design and photo made that card sizzle? - I'd love to see them.

I don't collect anything newer than the 80's. So don't hold that against me. I build Topps baseball sets from the 60's, 70's and early 80's. There are no perfect cards from those years. I also collect pre-war cards. The printing technology didn't improve much until the late 40's to early 50's. So that's like comparing apples and oranges to pre-war and the 40's - 50's. I have pre-war cards that are almost torn in half. I have a few graded cards from pre-war cards to the 50's. Only because I was able to afford them at the time. I've never sent a card for grading.

The Tony Gwynn card that George K posted is a really nice looking card. The colors are not over the top or too flashy. You can see by just looking at the player pictured that's Tony Gwynn. And the signature you can actually read his name. It's a nice autograph. Not like some sports cards where it's a crappy scribble. That you wouldn't even know who it was if the players name wasn't on the card.

What turned me off from collecting cards from 1993 to present time is when Topps and UD started making the same player cards with multiple slightly different color cards. And the refractor cards. If it didn't say refractor on the card. I wouldn't have a clue. Is there a perfect card. No. But that depends on who you ask.

 

[banjar]

Here's three that come to mind for me:

1993 Donruss Elite. By far my favorite insert set. I've been thinking about putting together a complete set, but haven't convinced myself to shell out the cash quite yet. The card design to me is just perfect, and every player's photo is a close up and fits perfectly within the design.

1993 Upper Deck. Easily my favorite base card design of the early 90's, and this action photo of a hard slide into 3rd is fantastic.

And maybe my favorite post-career issue, the 2020 Topps Turkey Red. I love the olde-tyme card design and the player photo just sits perfectly there. This is the gold 5x7 version.

 

[George K]

Here's three that come to mind for me:

1993 Donruss Elite. By far my favorite insert set. I've been thinking about putting together a complete set, but haven't convinced myself to shell out the cash quite yet. The card design to me is just perfect, and every player's photo is a close up and fits perfectly within the design.

View attachment 365068

1993 Upper Deck. Easily my favorite base card design of the early 90's, and this action photo of a hard slide into 3rd is fantastic.

View attachment 365069

And maybe my favorite post-career issue, the 2020 Topps Turkey Red. I love the olde-tyme card design and the player photo just sits perfectly there. This is the gold 5x7 version.

View attachment 365070

That Alomar Elite looks really nice. The borders match nicely with the color of his jersey. There's some great symmetry there.

 

[George K]

I don't collect anything newer than the 80's. So don't hold that against me. I build Topps baseball sets from the 60's, 70's and early 80's. There are no perfect cards from those years. I also collect pre-war cards. The printing technology didn't improve much until the late 40's to early 50's. So that's like comparing apples and oranges to pre-war and the 40's - 50's. I have pre-war cards that are almost torn in half. I have a few graded cards from pre-war cards to the 50's. Only because I was able to afford them at the time. I've never sent a card for grading.

The Tony Gwynn card that George K posted is a really nice looking card. The colors are not over the top or too flashy. You can see by just looking at the player pictured that's Tony Gwynn. And the signature you can actually read his name. It's a nice autograph. Not like some sports cards where it's a crappy scribble. That you wouldn't even know who it was if the players name wasn't on the card.

What turned me off from collecting cards from 1993 to present time is when Topps and UD started making the same player cards with multiple slightly different color cards. And the refractor cards. If it didn't say refractor on the card. I wouldn't have a clue. Is there a perfect card. No. But that depends on who you ask.

Those older sets always seemed more focused on static portrait shots, but there are plenty of nicely designed cards where the photo and set design work together perfectly. Personally, I love the look of the 1956 Topps sets because to me that's a work of art with the action shot and portrait shot combo. There are so many great looking cards in that set.

 

[George K]

Rickey Henderson's rookie stands out has the best looking one to me - and a great full body shot of his classic batting stance. Even the facsimile autograph is perfectly slanted like his stance. Most rookie cards are rather ordinary and plain; some just look like multiple tiny mugshots on a piece of cardboard.

 

[Dazed]

A card I pulled 2012. Not perfect but one of my favorites. The only reason I watched Gilligan's Island and a good auto.

 

[Philip J. Fry]

A card I pulled 2012. Not perfect but one of my favorites. The only reason I watched Gilligan's Island and a good auto.

View attachment 365090​

Oh, yeah, there’s an auto on that card, isn’t there?

 

[mrmopar]

The 71 Topps Munson is cardboard perfection in every possibly way.