If nothing else, 1989 Bowman baseball cards taught collectors a tiny life lesson.
I mean …
You ever want something so bad that you just know your life will change forever once you get it?
And then, once you do get it … meh?
Yeah, me, too.
And that’s pretty much what happened for collectors with 1989 Bowman baseball cards, too.
For years, we’d been clamoring for one of the major manufacturers to issue a set focusing on the player image and eschewing massive design elements.
At least some of us begged for a return to a more classic look, like we saw in those old 1950s Topps — or, *gasp* Bowman — cards.
Well, careful what you ask for, Skippy.
Because, as the hobby was booming and ready to boom more, Topps opened their vault in 1989 and dusted off the Bowman brand that they bought out in 1956.
And then they brought us a set with huge, clear images that were beautiful …
… but were also too big. As in oversize.
And that still had the soft old Topps cardstock.
And that seemed to exist in far larger quantities than anyone wanted.
*sigh*
Oh well … so 1989 Bowman was not a big hit. Never has been.
But it’s still chock full of superstars and big-name rookies, and that means there are some valuable cards tucked away in the albatross that no one knows how to store.
What follows, then, is a list of the 13 most valuable 1989 Bowman baseball cards as determined by actual eBay sales of PSA 10 graded copies of the cards in question.
(Note that Topps also issued a Tiffany parallel version of 1989 Bowman baseball cards, available only through hobby dealers and limited to 6000 factory sets. Tiffany versions of the single cards in PSA 10 generally sell for 5-25 times the prices listed for the base, non-glossy versions listed below.)
Let’s dig in!
(Note: The sections below contain affiliate links to eBay and Amazon listings for the cards being discussed.)
1989 Bowman Ken Griffey Jr. Rookie Card (#220)
Everybody knows that Ken Griffey, Jr., rookie cards are just about the best thing going from the Junk Wax Era.
Heck, some might even say they’re the only things going from the Junk Wax Era (though plenty of Phil Plantier and Kevin Maas collectors would argue that point).
But when you think about Junior RCs, what comes to mind?
1989 Upper Deck #1, right?
Fleer and Donruss cards from the same year … maybe. Possibly a Topps Traded card here or there.
The truth is, though, that the 1989 Bowman Griffey is every bit as much a rookie card as the rest of those, and more so than some. Like the Upper Deck beauty, after all, the Bowman debut cardboard for Griffey comes in a debut for a brand, too (although technically a revival in this case).
Of course, 1989 Bowman is not Upper Deck.
While the Bowman revamp is clean and beautiful, its funky size, mushy cardstock, and perceived lack of scarcity have blunted its popularity over the years.
Still, a Griffey rookie is a Griffey rookie, Griffey is the king of 1989 Bowman baseball cards, and condition issues have limited the population of PSA 10s to fewer than 2300 copies.
As such, you can expect to pay a handsome sum for a “perfect” copy.
Value: $225-250
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1989 Bowman Ken Griffey Father and Son (#259)
Quick!
Which 1989 set features two Ken Griffey Jr. rookie cards?
Since you’re reading an article about 1989 Bowman, you might figure that 1989 Bowman would be a pretty safe guess.
And you’d be right.
Sort of, at least.
There on card #259, Bowman (via Topps) treated collectors to a big image of Ken Griffey Sr. glaring over his right shoulder at a smaller, hands-on-knees Junior.
All inside a very-80s CRT television.
All inside a very thick white border.
It’s hideous and yet somehow gorgeous.
And … you will pay for the privilege of owning his hunk of befuddling cardboard.
Value: $75-85
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1989 Bowman Bo Jackson (#126)
Was there anybody in baseball hotter than Bo Jackson in the late 1980s?
On the field … maybe.
In our imaginations and wax packs?
Hardly anyone could touch the two-sport star and Heisman Trophy winner.
While Bo’s NFL career was cut way short by the same hip injury that also curtailed his baseball development and left him shy of the legendary numbers we all thought he might put up, his personal legend just won’t fade.
Value: $45-65
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1989 Bowman Gary Sheffield Rookie Card (#142)
Gary Sheffield first came into public view in the late 1980s as the wunderkind nephew of Dwight Gooden, who was going to be the next great Willie May/Mickey Mantle/Ozzie Smith/Rickey Henderson hybrid.
A few tepid (generous) seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers and some personality/behavioral red flags later, though, and Sheffield was a bust.
Then he went to the San Diego Padres, and things started to look up.
Then he became a full-fledged superstar with the Florida Marlins and the Los Angeles Dodgers before late-career dalliances with the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers were sullied by whispers about steroids.
No matter what you think of him personally, though, dude was super talented and wound up with 509 home runs among his nearly 2700 career hits.
Throw in 250+ stolen bases, and it’s not hard to see why Sheffield’s Bowman rookie fetches decent prices even if his road to the Hall of Fame seems impassable at this point.
Value: $50-60
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