It’s been said that if you gathered all the ink used to print 1991 Donruss baseball cards in one place, we would have to change all our mythology to reference the Eight Seas.
But are all those many millions of blue and green and striped and speckled and Donruss-y cards completely worthless?
For the most part, yeah, but not technically all of them.
The cards below, for instance, can bring more than puzzle-piece dust on eBay when you find them in graded PSA 10 condition … they are the most valuable base cards in a largely forgettable set.
(Check out our full series of posts on the history of Donruss baseball cards.)
1991 Donruss Ken Griffey Jr. (#77)
Is it any surprise that the first three cards on this list belong to one man?
In 1991, Ken Griffey, Jr., was just really starting to make his mark on the game, but pretty much everyone thought he was going to be something special. The card companies were no exception.
So they loaded up on The Kid, and we’re all the better for it nearly 30 years later.
This third-year Griffey base card is pretty standard fare, showing the young man at bat in the sunshine in some foreign land (not the Kingdome, in other words).
It’ll never challenge the Mickey Mantle rookie or even Griffey’s own 1989 Donruss rookie card, but this one can fetch around $20 in perfect PSA 10 condition
Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)
Check prices on Amazon (affiliate link)
1991 Donruss Ken Griffey Jr. All-Star (#49)
This card isn’t much different from Griffey’s base issue, though the shot is a good deal gloomier. Still a road uniform, though, and the All-Star eagle and banners do add a bit of pizzazz.
In PSA 10, this is a $15-20 item.
Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)
Check prices on Amazon (affiliate link)
1991 Donruss Ken Griffey Jr. MVP (#392)
No, Griffey wasn’t the League MVP or anything in 1991, or in 1990.
Instead, this card is part of a 26-card subset that picked out the MVP for each franchise. In the case of the M’s, you could pretty much just stamp an “ALL-TIME” qualifier on this baby and call it soup.
Unlike the other two Griffey’s here, this card gives us lots of green and lots of Donruss Flair to go with a posed closeup of the phenom.
Another $15-20 card when perfect.
Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)
Check prices on Amazon (affiliate link)
1991 Donruss Rickey Henderson All-Star (#53)
If there was a veteran equivalent to Griffey in 1991, it was probably Rickey Henderson (or Nolan Ryan, or Cal Ripken).
Rickey was coming off his only MVP award after turning in a monster season in 1990, and he followed that up by breaking Lou Brock‘s all-time stolen base record early in 1991.
Collectors couldn’t get enough of Henderson, and his 1980 Topps rookie card rocketed into triple digits. His other cards tagged along for the ride, and there is still plenty of cardboard glow even today.
PSA hasn’t graded many copies of this card as 10s, and they can fetch $15 or so when they become available.
Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)
Check prices on Amazon (affiliate link)
1991 Donruss Juan Gonzalez (#371)
Juan Gone has fallen from grace, same as so many sluggers from his era, but he was once among the most feared mashers in the game. Who didn’t think he would wind up in Cooperstown?
Now, of course, a Hall of Fame bust seems all but impossible, and this is not even his rookie card.
Still, though, it’s an early-career issue of a dude who helped shaped the game and hobby in the 1990s.
For that, expect to pay $5-15 in PSA 10.
Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)
Check prices on Amazon (affiliate link)
1991 Donruss Rickey Henderson (#648)
See the discussion about the Henderson All-Star above and then add in green borders and the patented Rickey crouch …
That’s what this card brings you, if you’re willing to part with your $10 or so.