MY FAVORITE CARDS:

1989 FLEER BILLY RIPKEN

 

 

            It’s not uncommon to see the sons of major leaguers carrying on the family legacy. It’s highly unusual to see a pair of big-league brothers on a team managed by their father. This was the scenario in Baltimore during the 1987 and ’88 campaigns, when Cal and Billy Ripken played for their dad (Cal Sr.). The net result was disastrous as the Orioles finished out of contention in both seasons. But the Ripkens (at the very least) established a unique historical precedent.

            While Cal Sr. was replaced by Frank Robinson in April of 1988, his sons jointly occupied the Orioles’ roster through the ’92 slate. Vastly more talented than his younger brother, Cal Jr. established himself as one of the greatest shortstops the game has ever known. Billy struggled to find consistency at the plate and wound up changing teams four times in a five-year span. He did, however, manage to make an indelible mark on the collectibles industry.   

            The late-‘80s/early-‘90s were known as the “Junk Wax Era” as a number of trading card manufacturers began overproducing baseball sets. In their haste to flood the market with their brands, errors became quite common and quality control dropped to an all-time low. While manufacturing blunders render many products of low value to consumers, the same does not necessarily apply to sports cards.  The 1989 Fleer baseball set was loaded with a variety of mistakes. One of them actually had collectors snapping up packs like they were going out of style.

            On cursory inspection, there’s nothing terribly alluring about Billy Ripken’s ’89 Fleer card (#616 in the set). It’s a standard close-up of the Orioles infielder with a bat resting on his shoulder. The bat, itself, is what sets the card apart. The knob is directly facing the camera and anyone carefully examining it can clearly see the words “FUCK FACE” written in black marker. When word got around about the grievous oversight, Fleer became one of the most sought-after brands of the year.

            In response to the profanity laden Ripken release, Fleer executives issued a public apology and abruptly halted production. They also invited collectors to return the card for a corrected version. Naturally, this increased the value of the original issue exponentially. At one point, card shops were selling boxes for more than $1,500 (equivalent to over $4,500 today).

            Called to the mat about it, Ripken initially claimed that he had been targeted by teammates. “I know I’m kind of a jerk at times. I know I’m a little off, but this is going too far,” he commented to reporters. As rumors circulated about who had defaced the bat (with Cal Jr. being among the suspects), collectors speculated that Fleer had deliberately issued the card to boost sales. The truth was at least partially exposed in 2008, when Billy explained what really happened.

Prior to the ’89 campaign, Ripken received a dozen new bats. Finding them too heavy, he kept just one for batting practice. In order to easily identify it among the rest of his cache, he scrawled the infamous phrase on the knob of the bat. He claimed he didn’t realize that he had been posing for a baseball card picture on the day in question. He apparently thought it was just a random photo-op. “I can’t believe the people at Fleer didn’t catch that,” he remarked. “…I think that not only did they see it, they enhanced it. That writing on the bat is way too clear. I don’t write that neat. I think they knew that once they saw it, they could use the card to create an awful lot of stir.”

            The ’89 Fleer Ripken issue remains one of the industry’s most renowned error cards. The company employed multiple methods to cover up the gaffe. In fact, there are at least five different variations (including the original unedited release). In corrected versions, the vulgarity has been scribbled out in white and black (with the words still at least partially visible). It has also been covered up completely with white-out and black boxes. Depending on the variation, high-grade copies range from under $100 to around $2,000 at auction. Ungraded examples in decent condition typically list for $70-$90 on eBay.

            In 2024, Topps released a Jackson Holliday card that paid homage to Fleer’s infamous slip. The card captures the Oriole rookie posing with a bat that says “Fun Face” on the knob. Appearing in Series 2, there are several variations.