The Best of the Best
All-Star cards hold an odd place in history. They boast some of the most aesthetically pleasing designs, they feature the game’s best players, they’re sometimes just Big Dumb Fun, but they’re often regarded as worthless as we rip away at our packs.
No more. We’re here to pay tribute to the best of the best, by celebrating the overlooked and unloved beauty of All-Star card designs throughout the years.
For our purposes here, the card has to say “All-Star” and be a special version. Normal cards with just the iconic “rookie cup” do not count, and a set like the 1975 line, while absolutely eye-catching, just slaps a star on the base card design, so it wouldn’t be eligible here. With those rules out of the way, let’s get into it.
1960 Topps Baseball: A Colorful Classic Ahead of its Time
The 1960 All-Star set had a little bit of everything — a giant, colorful 60 in the background, an outline and shadow of each player, a relatively simple top and bottom border, and even the back had a larger-than-usual cartoon with a cool name font. Plus: iconic players. A lot of them.
1989 Topps Baseball: Iconic and Old-School
It’s hard to pin down exactly what makes this design so great. Is it the trail behind the star? The simplicity of the fonts? The one-tone background? Whatever the case, 1989 was a fantastic design that has been reproduced more than once.
1993 Topps Baseball: The Baseball Moon
This 1993 design came after a 1992 banger (more on that later), dropping the All-Stars into outer space, complete with what we assume is a baseball moon (although we suppose the players could be on the moon and the baseball is the planet; that’s an argument for another day). The forward-leaning futuristic header helps heighten the whole experience.
2007 Topps Baseball: The Thick Black Outline Returns
If you look at this card’s design through the modern day trading card lens, you’d think it would be a cartoony, colorful SSP that sells for hundreds of dollars. Instead, these cards hold little modern value among most collectors. This 2007 set of All-Stars represents the problem we’re trying to address here — this is an awesome, creative design that stands out, but it elicits little more than a “meh” from the general collecting public.
1990 Topps Baseball: Full Max Headroom
If you’re of a certain age and someone asks you what the ’90s were like, point them to this card, play a few MC Hammer videos, explain why you still wear SKIDZ and a Starter jacket, and then show them this card again.
1997 Topps Baseball: Fireworks
You work hard, you have a great season, you get to play in the All-Star Game. Your card the following year 100% should have fireworks on it.
1969 Topps Baseball: A Thoughtfully Composed Design
The older All-Star cards had “The Sporting News” branding, and it gave a nice “official” feel to the selections. The 1969 set had different colors for the AL and NL All-Stars, and the design called back to the Topps cards a decade earlier (1955 and 1956, specifically), with a larger pic in the foreground over one of the player in action. Is it lacking some of the modern day nuances? Yes. But it’s still an eye-catching insert with a thoughtful design.
2000 Topps Baseball All-Star Rookie Team: There’s a lot Going on Here
Okay, so yes, this kind of breaks our rule because it’s a “rookie” All-Star line, but it’s not like the 2000 set looked like this normally and they just slapped a rookie cup on it. Also, this is a retro line, with veterans who were great rookies, so we’re letting it sneak in.
Why? Look at this bonkers design! Holographic stars in circles, bold fonts, great color schemes, The Cup! And it comes together in a way that toes the “over the top” line but eventually settles into “Oh, that’s actually pretty cool.”
