1981 Donruss
Description
The premiere Donruss baseball card set consists 605 cards. Wax packs contained 18 cards as well as a piece of gum -- the only year any confectionary product was allowed in their packs. The standard-size cards are printed on extremely thin stock and some players have un-natural skin tones (i.e. black players appear with purple skin, and white players brown). The key Rookie Cards in this set are Danny Ainge, Tim Raines, and Jeff Reardon.
Numerous errors of the first print run were later corrected by the company. According to published reports at the time, approximately 500 sets were made available in uncut sheet form.
While many of the pictures were taken at the two Chicago area stadiums, some were shot (especially those of New York players) by a young Keith Olbermann.
Hobby dealers were unable to buy factory sets directly from Donruss; instead, they had to buy wholesale from TCMA, Donruss' exclusive Hobby distributor. Interestingly, cards were sent to dealers in rubber-banded bricks of 100 for each player and then had to be collated.
Reviews
Insertion Ratios
| Cards | Total Cards | Numbered To | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base | 605 | - | 18:1 |
Checklist
Base Set
1 Ozzie Smith
2 Rollie Fingers
3 Rick Wise
4 Gene Richards
5 Alan Trammell
6 Tom Brookens
7 Duffy Dyer COR (1980 batting average has decimal)
8 Mark Fidrych
9 Dave Rozema
10 Rick Peters (RC)
11 Mike Schmidt
12 Willie Stargell
13 Tim Foli
14 Manny Sanguillen
15 Grant Jackson
16 Eddie Solomon
17 Omar Moreno
18 Joe Morgan
19 Rafael Landestoy
20 Bruce Bochy
21 Joe Sambito
22 Manny Trillo
23 Dave Smith (RC) COR (Box around stats in complete)
24 Terry Puhl
25 Bump Wills
26 John Ellis COR
27 Jim Kern
28 Richie Zisk
29 John Mayberry
30 Bob Davis
31 Jackson Todd
32 Alvin Woods
33 Steve Carlton
34 Lee Mazzilli
35 John Stearns
36 Roy Lee Jackson (RC)
37 Mike Scott
38 Lamar Johnson
39 Kevin Bell
40 Ed Farmer
41 Ross Baumgarten
42 Leo Sutherland (RC)
43 Dan Meyer
44 Ron Reed
45 Mario Mendoza
46 Rick Honeycutt
47 Glenn Abbott
48 Leon Roberts
49 Rod Carew
50 Bert Campaneris
51 Tom Donohue COR (RC)
52 Dave Frost
53 Ed Halicki
54 Dan Ford
55 Garry Maddox
56 Steve Garvey COR (21 HRs)
57 Bill Russell
58 Don Sutton
59 Reggie Smith
60 Rick Monday
61 Ray Knight
62 Johnny Bench
63 Mario Soto
64 Doug Bair
65 George Foster
66 Jeff Burroughs
67 Keith Hernandez
68 Tom Herr
69 Bob Forsch
70 John Fulgham
71 Bobby Bonds COR (326 lifetime HRs)
72 Rennie Stennett COR (Word "broke" deleted)
73 Joe Strain
74 Ed Whitson
75 Tom Griffin
76 Billy North
77 Gene Garber
78 Mike Hargrove
79 Dave Rosello
80 Ron Hassey
81 Sid Monge
82 Joe Charboneau (RC) COR (phrase "For some reason" deleted)
83 Cecil Cooper
84 Sal Bando
85 Moose Haas
86 Mike Caldwell
87 Larry Hisle COR (28 HRs)
88 Luis Gomez
89 Larry Parrish
90 Gary Carter
91 Bill Gullickson (RC)
92 Fred Norman
93 Tommy Hutton
94 Carl Yastrzemski
95 Glenn Hoffman (RC)
96 Dennis Eckersley
97 Tom Burgmeier COR (Throws Left)
98 Win Remmerswaal (RC)
99 Bob Horner
100 George Brett
101 Dave Chalk
102 Dennis Leonard
103 Renie Martin
104 Amos Otis
105 Graig Nettles
106 Eric Soderholm
107 Tommy John
108 Tom Underwood
109 Lou Piniella
110 Mickey Klutts
111 Bobby Murcer
112 Eddie Murray
113 Rick Dempsey
114 Scott McGregor
115 Ken Singleton
116 Gary Roenicke
117 Dave Revering
118 Mike Norris
119 Rickey Henderson
120 Mike Heath
121 Dave Cash
122 Randy Jones
123 Eric Rasmussen
124 Jerry Mumphrey
125 Richie Hebner
126 Mark Wagner
127 Jack Morris
128 Dan Petry
129 Bruce Robbins
130 Champ Summers
131 Pete Rose COR
132 Willie Stargell
133 Ed Ott
134 Jim Bibby
135 Bert Blyleven
136 Dave Parker
137 Bill Robinson
138 Enos Cabell
139 Dave Bergman
140 J.R. Richard
141 Ken Forsch
142 Larry Bowa UER (Spelled "Shortshop" on front)
143 Frank LaCorte UER (Photo is of Randy Niemann)
144 Denny Walling
145 Buddy Bell
146 Fergie Jenkins
147 Danny Darwin
148 John Grubb
149 Alfredo Griffin
150 Jerry Garvin
151 Paul Mirabella (RC)
152 Rick Bosetti
153 Dick Ruthven
154 Frank Taveras
155 Craig Swan
156 Jeff Reardon (RC)
157 Steve Henderson
158 Jim Morrison
159 Glenn Borgmann
160 LaMarr Hoyt (RC)
161 Rich Wortham
162 Thad Bosley
163 Julio Cruz
164 Del Unser COR (3B added)
165 Jim Anderson
166 Jim Beattie
167 Shane Rawley
168 Joe Simpson
169 Rod Carew
170 Fred Patek
171 Frank Tanana
172 Alfredo Martinez (RC)
173 Chris Knapp
174 Joe Rudi
175 Greg Luzinski
176 Steve Garvey
177 Joe Ferguson
178 Bob Welch
179 Dusty Baker
180 Rudy Law
181 Dave Concepcion
182 Johnny Bench
183 Mike LaCoss
184 Ken Griffey
185 Dave Collins
186 Brian Asselstine
187 Garry Templeton
188 Mike Phillips
189 Pete Vuckovich
190 John Urrea
191 Tony Scott
192 Darrell Evans
193 Milt May
194 Bob Knepper
195 Randy Moffitt
196 Larry Herndon
197 Rick Camp
198 Andre Thornton
199 Tom Veryzer
200 Gary Alexander
201 Rick Waits
202 Rick Manning
203 Paul Molitor
204 Jim Gantner
205 Paul Mitchell
206 Reggie Cleveland
207 Sixto Lezcano
208 Bruce Benedict
209 Rodney Scott
210 John Tamargo
211 Bill Lee
212 Andre Dawson
213 Rowland Office
214 Carl Yastrzemski
215 Jerry Remy
216 Mike Torrez
217 Skip Lockwood
218 Fred Lynn
219 Chris Chambliss
220 Willie Aikens
221 John Wathan
222 Dan Quisenberry
223 Willie Wilson
224 Clint Hurdle
225 Bob Watson
226 Jim Spencer
227 Ron Guidry
228 Reggie Jackson
229 Oscar Gamble
230 Jeff Cox (RC)
231 Luis Tiant
232 Rich Dauer
233 Dan Graham
234 Mike Flanagan
235 John Lowenstein
236 Benny Ayala
237 Wayne Gross
238 Rick Langford
239 Tony Armas
240 Bob Lacey COR
241 Gene Tenace
242 Bob Shirley
243 Gary Lucas (RC)
244 Jerry Turner
245 John Wockenfuss
246 Stan Papi
247 Milt Wilcox
248 Dan Schatzeder
249 Steve Kemp
250 Jim Lentine (RC)
251 Pete Rose
252 Bill Madlock
253 Dale Berra
254 Kent Tekulve
255 Enrique Romo
256 Mike Easler
257 Chuck Tanner (MG)
258 Art Howe
259 Alan Ashby
260 Nolan Ryan
261 Vern Ruhle COR
262 Bob Boone
263 Cesar Cedeno
264 Jeff Leonard
265 Pat Putnam
266 Jon Matlack
267 Dave Rajsich
268 Billy Sample
269 Damaso Garcia (RC)
270 Tom Buskey
271 Joey McLaughlin
272 Barry Bonnell
273 Tug McGraw
274 Mike Jorgensen
275 Pat Zachry
276 Neil Allen
277 Joel Youngblood
278 Greg Pryor
279 Britt Burns (RC)
280 Rich Dotson (RC)
281 Chet Lemon
282 Rusty Kuntz (RC)
283 Ted Cox
284 Sparky Lyle
285 Larry Cox
286 Floyd Bannister
287 Byron McLaughlin
288 Rodney Craig
289 Bobby Grich
290 Dickie Thon
291 Mark Clear
292 Dave Lemanczyk
293 Jason Thompson
294 Rick Miller
295 Lonnie Smith
296 Ron Cey
297 Steve Yeager
298 Bobby Castillo
299 Manny Mota
300 Jay Johnstone
301 Dan Driessen
302 Joe Nolan (RC)
303 Paul Householder (RC)
304 Harry Spilman
305 Cesar Geronimo
306 Gary Matthews COR
307 Ken Reitz
308 Ted Simmons
309 John Littlefield (RC)
310 George Frazier
311 Dane Iorg
312 Mike Ivie
313 Dennis Littlejohn
314 Gary Lavelle
315 Jack Clark
316 Jim Wohlford
317 Rick Matula
318 Toby Harrah
319 Duane Kuiper COR
320 Len Barker
321 Victor Cruz
322 Dell Alston
323 Robin Yount
324 Charlie Moore
325 Lary Sorensen
326 Gorman Thomas COR
327 Bob Rodgers (MGR)
328 Phil Niekro
329 Chris Speier
330 Steve Rogers COR
331 Woodie Fryman
332 Warren Cromartie
333 Jerry White
334 Tony Perez
335 Carlton Fisk
336 Dick Drago
337 Steve Renko
338 Jim Rice
339 Jerry Royster
340 Frank White
341 Jamie Quirk
342 Paul Splittorff COR
343 Marty Pattin
344 Pete LaCock
345 Willie Randolph
346 Rick Cerone
347 Goose Gossage
348 Reggie Jackson
349 Ruppert Jones
350 Dave McKay (RC)
351 Yogi Berra (CO)
352 Doug DeCinces
353 Jim Palmer
354 Tippy Martinez
355 Al Bumbry
356 Earl Weaver
357 Rob Picciolo COR
358 Matt Keough
359 Dwayne Murphy
360 Brian Kingman
361 Bill Fahey
362 Steve Mura
363 Dennis Kinney (RC)
364 Dave Winfield
365 Lou Whitaker
366 Lance Parrish
367 Tim Corcoran
368 Pat Underwood
369 Al Cowens
370 Sparky Anderson (MGR)
371 Pete Rose
372 Phil Garner
373 Steve Nicosia
374 John Candelaria
375 Don Robinson
376 Lee Lacy
377 John Milner
378 Craig Reynolds
379 Luis Pujols COR
380 Joe Niekro
381 Joaquin Andujar
382 Keith Moreland (RC)
383 Jose Cruz
384 Bill Virdon (MGR)
385 Jim Sundberg
386 Doc Medich
387 Al Oliver
388 Jim Norris
389 Bob Bailor
390 Ernie Whitt
391 Otto Velez
392 Roy Howell
393 Bob Walk (RC)
394 Doug Flynn
395 Pete Falcone
396 Tom Hausman
397 Elliott Maddox
398 Mike Squires
399 Marvis Foley (RC)
400 Steve Trout
401 Wayne Nordhagen
402 Tony La Russa (MGR)
403 Bruce Bochte
404 Bake McBride
405 Jerry Narron
406 Rob Dressler
407 Dave Heaverlo
408 Tom Paciorek
409 Carney Lansford
410 Brian Downing
411 Don Aase
412 Jim Barr
413 Don Baylor
414 Jim Fregosi (MGR)
415 Dallas Green (MGR)
416 Davey Lopes
417 Jerry Reuss
418 Rick Sutcliffe
419 Derrel Thomas
420 Tommy Lasorda (MGR)
421 Charlie Leibrandt (RC)
422 Tom Seaver
423 Ron Oester
424 Junior Kennedy
425 Tom Seaver
426 Bobby Cox (MGR)
427 Leon Durham (RC)
428 Terry Kennedy
429 Silvio Martinez
430 George Hendrick
431 Red Schoendienst (MGR)
432 Johnnie LeMaster
433 Vida Blue
434 John Montefusco
435 Terry Whitfield
436 Dave Bristol (MGR)
437 Dale Murphy
438 Jerry Dybzinski (RC)
439 Jorge Orta
440 Wayne Garland
441 Miguel Dilone
442 Dave Garcia (MGR)
443 Don Money
444 Buck Martinez COR
445 Jerry Augustine
446 Ben Oglivie
447 Jim Slaton
448 Doyle Alexander
449 Tony Bernazard
450 Scott Sanderson
451 Dave Palmer
452 Stan Bahnsen
453 Dick Williams (MGR)
454 Rick Burleson
455 Gary Allenson
456 Bob Stanley
457 John Tudor (RC) COR ("9-7")
458 Dwight Evans
459 Glenn Hubbard
460 U.L. Washington
461 Larry Gura
462 Rich Gale
463 Hal McRae
464 Jim Frey (RC, MGR)
465 Bucky Dent
466 Dennis Werth (RC)
467 Ron Davis
468 Reggie Jackson
469 Bobby Brown
470 Mike Davis (RC)
471 Gaylord Perry
472 Mark Belanger
473 Jim Palmer
474 Sammy Stewart
475 Tim Stoddard
476 Steve Stone
477 Jeff Newman
478 Steve McCatty
479 Billy Martin (MGR)
480 Mitchell Page
481 Steve Carlton (NL CY)
482 Bill Buckner
483 Ivan DeJesus COR (642 hits)
484 Cliff Johnson
485 Lenny Randle
486 Larry Milbourne
487 Roy Smalley
488 John Castino
489 Ron Jackson
490 Dave Roberts COR ("Declared himself")
491 George Brett (AL MVP)
492 Mike Cubbage
493 Rob Wilfong
494 Danny Goodwin
495 Jose Morales
496 Mickey Rivers
497 Mike Edwards
498 Mike Sadek
499 Lenn Sakata
500 Gene Michael (MGR)
501 Dave Roberts
502 Steve Dillard
503 Jim Essian
504 Rance Mulliniks
505 Darrell Porter
506 Joe Torre (MGR)
507 Terry Crowley
508 Bill Travers
509 Nelson Norman
510 Bob McClure
511 Steve Howe (RC)
512 Dave Rader
513 Mick Kelleher
514 Kiko Garcia
515 Larry Biittner
516 Willie Norwood COR ("Traded to Seattle")
517 Bo Diaz
518 Juan Beniquez
519 Scot Thompson
520 Jim Tracy (RC)
521 Carlos Lezcano (RC)
522 Joe Amalfitano (MGR)
523 Preston Hanna
524 Ray Burris COR ("Drafted by")
525 Broderick Perkins
526 Mickey Hatcher
527 John Goryl (MGR)
528 Dick Davis
529 Butch Wynegar
530 Sal Butera (RC)
531 Jerry Koosman
532 Geoff Zahn COR ("Signed a 3 year...")
533 Dennis Martinez
534 Gary Thomasson
535 Steve Macko
536 Jim Kaat
537 George Brett/Rod Carew "Best Hitters"
538 Tim Raines (RC)
539 Keith Smith
540 Ken Macha
541 Burt Hooton
542 Butch Hobson
543 Bill Stein
544 Dave Stapleton (RC)
545 Bob Pate (RC)
546 Doug Corbett (RC)
547 Darrell Jackson
548 Pete Redfern
549 Roger Erickson
550 Al Hrabosky
551 Dick Tidrow
552 Dave Ford (RC)
553 Dave Kingman
554 Mike Vail COR ("Traded to...")
555 Jerry Martin COR ("Traded to...")
556 Jesus Figueroa (RC) COR ("Traded to...")
557 Don Stanhouse
558 Barry Foote
559 Tim Blackwell
560 Bruce Sutter
561 Rick Reuschel
562 Lynn McGlothen
563 Bob Owchinko COR ("Involved in...")
564 John Verhoeven
565 Ken Landreaux
566 Glenn Adams COR
567 Hosken Powell
568 Dick Noles
569 Danny Ainge (RC)
570 Bobby Mattick (RC, MGR)
571 Joe Lefebvre (RC)
572 Bobby Clark
573 Dennis Lamp
574 Randy Lerch
575 Mookie Wilson (RC)
576 Ron LeFlore
577 Jim Dwyer
578 Bill Castro
579 Greg Minton
580 Mark Littell
581 Andy Hassler
582 Dave Stieb
583 Ken Oberkfell
584 Larry Bradford
585 Fred Stanley
586 Bill Caudill
587 Doug Capilla
588 George Riley (RC)
589 Willie Hernandez
590 Mike Schmidt (NL MVP)
591 Steve Stone (AL CY)
592 Rick Sofield
593 Bombo Rivera
594 Gary Ward
595 Dave Edwards COR ("Traded to...")
596 Mike Proly
597 Tommy Boggs
598 Greg Gross
599 Elias Sosa
600 Pat Kelly
NNO Checklist 1-120 COR ("51 Donohue")
NNO Checklist 121-240
NNO Checklist 241-360 COR ("306 Matthews")
NNO Checklist 361-480 COR ("379 Pujols")
NNO Checklist 481-600 COR ("566 Glenn")
Errors and Variations
7A Duffy Dyer ERR (1980 Batting Average has no decimal 185)
7B Duffy Dyer COR (1980 Batting Average has decimal .185)
23A Dave Smith ERR (Line box around stats is incomplete)
23B Dave Smith COR (Line box around stats is complete)
26A John Ellis ERR (With bat, photo shows Danny Walton)
26B John Ellis COR (with glove, photo is correct)
51A Tom Donohue ERR (Name on front misspelled "Donahue")
51B Tom Donohue COR (Name correct on front)
56A Steve Garvey ERR ("Surpased 25 HRs" on back of card)
56B Steve Garvey COR ("Surpassed 21 HRs" on back of card)
71A Bobby Bonds ERR ("Lifetime 986 career HRs" on back of card)
71B Bobby Bonds COR ("Lifetime 326 career HRs" on back of card)
72A Rennie Stennett ERR ("breaking broke leg" on back of card)
72B Rennie Stennett COR ("breaking leg" on back of card)
82A Joe Charboneau ERR ("For some reason, Phillies..." is on back of card)
82B Joe Charboneau COR ("For some reason" is deleted from back of card)
87A Larry Hisle ERR (1977 highlights line ends with a %)
87B Larry Hisle ERR ("...Twins with 28 RBI")
87C Larry Hisle COR ("...Twins with 28 HRs")
97A Tom Burgmeier ERR (Back of card shows "Throws Right"
97B Tom Burgmeier COR (Back of card shows "Throws Left"
131A Pete Rose ERR (Back of card ends with 'see card 251')
131B Pete Rose COR (Back of card ends with 'see card 371')
143 Frank LaCorte UER (Photo actually shows Randy Niemann)
164A Del Unser ERR (Missing '3B' in stat header on back of card)
164B Del Unser COR (Not missing '3B' in stat header on back of card)
240A Bob Lacey ERR (Name on front spelled misspelled 'Lacy')
240B Bob Lacey COR (Name on front spelled correctly)
261A Vern Ruhle ERR (Head shot of Ken Forsch on front of card)
261B Vern Ruhle COR (Head to waist shot, photo is correct)
306A Gary Matthews ERR (Name on front misspelled "Mathews")
306B Gary Matthews COR (Name on front spelled correctly)
319A Duane Kuiper ERR (Name on front misspelled "Dwane")
319B Duane Kuiper COR (Name on front spelled correctly)
326A Gorman Thomas ERR (Second line on back of card, "30 HR mark 4th")
326B Gorman Thomas COR (Second line on back of card, '30 HR mark 3rd")
330A Steve Rogers ERR (Name on front misspelled "Rodgers")
330B Steve Rogers COR (Name on front spelled correctly)
342A Paul Splittorff ERR (Name on front misspelled "Spittorff")
342B Paul Splittorff COR (Name on front spelled correctly)
357A Rob Picciolo ERR (Name on front "Bob")
357B Rob Picciolo COR (Name on front "Rob")
379A Luis Pujols ERR (Name on front "Pulois")
379B Luis Pujols COR (Name on front is spelled correctly)
444A Buck Martinez ERR (Reverse negative photo on front of card)
444B Buck Martinez COR (Photo is correct)
457A John Tudor ERR (In stat box at bottom, Lifetime W/L record incorrect 9.7)
457B John Tudor COR (Lifetime W/L record correct 9-7)
483A Ivan DeJesus ERR (In state box at bottom, lifetime hits shown as 702)
483B Ivan DeJesus COR (Lifetime hits shown as 642)
490A Don Roberts ERR ("showed pop..." in career highlights on back of card)
490B Don Roberts COR ("declared himself..." in career highlights on back of card)
516A Willie Norwood ERR ("spent most..." in career highlights on back of card)
516B Willie Norwood COR ("traded to..." in career highlights on back of card)
524A Ray Burriss ERR ("went on..." in career highlights on back of card)
524B Ray Burriss COR ("Drafted by..." in career highlights on back of card)
532A Geoff Zahn ERR ("was 2nd in..." in career highlights on back of card)
532B Geoff Zahn COR ("singed a 3 year..." in career highlights on back of card)
554A Mike Vail ERR ("After two..." in career highlights on back of card)
554B Mike Vail COR ("Traded to..." in career highlights on back of card)
555A Jerry Martin ERR ("Overcame a..." in career highlights on back of card)
555B Jerry Martin COR ("Traded to..." in career highlights on back of card)
556A Jesus Figueroa ERR ("Had an..." in career highlights on back of card)
556B Jesus Figueroa COR ("Traded to..." in career highlights on back of card)
563A Bob Owchinko ERR ("Traded to..." in career highlights on back of card)
563B Bob Owchinko COR ("involved in a..." in career highlights on back of card)
566A Glenn Adams ERR (Name misspelled as "Glen" on front of card)
566B Glenn Adams COR (Name spelled correctly)
595A Dave Edwards ERR ("sidelined..." in career highlights on back of card)
595B Dave Edwards COR ("traded to..." in career highlights on back of card)
CL(A) 1-120 ERR (card #51 misspelled as Donahue)
CL(B) 1-120 COR (card #51 spelled correctly as Donohue)
CL(A) 241-360 ERR (card #306 misspelled as Mathews)
CL(B) 241-360 COR (card #306 spelled correctly as Matthews)
CL(A) 361-480 ERR (card #379 misspelld as Pujois)
CL(B) 361-480 COR (card #379 spelled correctly as Pujols)
CL(A) 481-600 ERR (card #566 misspelled as Glen Adams)
CL(B) 481-600 COR (card #566 spelled correctly as Glenn Adams)