Wednesday, April 18, 2018

In the crosshairs: 1984 + 1985 Donruss

I've never completed a Donruss set, but now that I've gotten into the groove of being a part-time set collector, I figured I'd go after my favorite offerings from them. I think 1984 has a real nice, simple design (with today's collectors being reminded of it thanks to its inclusion in 2018 Donruss). Though there are probably too many boring headshots, there are also some neat photos in there as well. Plus apparently the print run that year was a bit lower than other major sets of the era, which-- can't lie-- appeals to me.

ARPSmith kicked off my setbuild a few months ago with a little starter lot. Then recently, Larry in Alabama sent me a nice big chunk of the set. Turrdog then came in with a bit of a brick to fill some holes and bring me to a manageable wantlist to officially post.


The Mattingly RC is probably the key card in the set. Big thanks to Larry for taking care of that one for me.


Larry also gave me the Sandberg, with Turrdog completing the trio of sophomore stars with the Gwynn and Boggs.

Thanks again for the trades, Larry and Turrdog!
I'm down to less that 100 cards to go. (Note that I'm not bothering to go after any of the many errors/variations; I'll be happy with one copy of each card number, regardless if it's an error or correction.) My 1984 Donruss needs are now on my main wantlist, so if you think you might be able to help and want to trade, please take a look at get in touch!


And now for 1985 Donruss which I'm working on concurrently. I always thought it was a cool "bad boy" set with its "Knight Rider" design, though I never owned many cards from it. But now thanks to the trading tandem of ARPSmith, Larry, and Turrdog, I'm in spitting distance of finishing it.


Again, Adam got me off the ground with a starter lot, then Larry did some heavy lifting with a few hundred cards, and then the Turrdog topped it off with important needs, including the two biggest rookies in the set, Clemens and Kirby.


It's a nice looking set!


Just 15 cards to go with 85D! (again, unconcerned with variations.) Check my wantlist for the up-to-date needs if you think you might be able to help me out.

Thanks yet again for the trades, Adam, Larry, and Turrdog! I should be able to knock out the rest of these two sets before long.

9 comments:

  1. Cool....1985s are the way to go. I love the design. Great trading partners!

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    1. Yep, without these 3 guys I'd be sitting at only like a dozen cards from each set, so I'm lucky they came along and I was able to work out trades with them.

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  2. 1984 is one of two Donruss sets I've completed (1981 is the other). Donruss never seemed like something you'd complete. It gets a big fat "Why?"

    "Knight Rider," I like that. I think I'm gonna steal it.

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  3. I have fond memories of those mid 80's Donruss sets. I was a little too young to collect them at the time, but my older brother was always looking for the Mattingly. That was his guy. Congrats on the almost set build!

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    1. Yeah, seems like the '84 Donruss Mattingly was like "the #1 card" from the 80s for a while until injuries slowed him down.

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  4. 1985's red piping always reminded more of the A-Team van than Knight Rider. Good luck completing the set!

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    1. Ha, yeah, I did think of that one too. Regardless, very mid-80s TV design.

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  5. Let me know if you decide to build the 1986 Donruss set. I have a bunch of that laying around. Unfortunately.. no a lot of 84 or 85. Best of luck though. Both are awesome sets.

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