2013 Leaf Memories #388 "Gold" #/5 (1991 Leaf with some post production defacing)

Card Review: Already reviewed, see 1991 Leaf
Some people like this stuff.  I am not one of those people.  My thoughts on this "Leaf Memories" crap are pretty well documented.  I'm sure the people that do enjoy this stuff are tired of me whinning about it and aren't really wrong if they say "just stop buying it if you hate it so much."  But I can't help myself, and I'm pretty sure Leaf is counting on me and others like me to not be able to help ourselves.  So they get to sell me the same card twice.  Congratulations on your "success" Leaf.  These early sets of yours really laid the foundation for the great new stuff your making today.  Or maybe not so much.

Number of this card in my collection: 1*
2016 update: 2

*plus 60 1991 Leaf, which the copy right on the back clearly shows the card above to be.

2014 Leaf Memories Gold #/5

Card Review: 2.5  This is the 3rd year Leaf has done a self congratulatory set celebrating their own contribution to the junk wax era and driving children away from baseball card collecting.  I didn't like the 2012 set "honoring" the 1990 Leaf set, but I sort of understood it.  While I never liked the 1990 Leaf design, there is no denying that it caused a brief frenzy among collectors.  I actually kind of liked the 1991 Leaf design, but the 2013 tribute to it was even more of shameless marketing gimmick than the previous year.  With this 2014 incarnation, I don't know what they were thinking.  1992 Leaf was an ugly set, an inferior rip off of the 1991 design, and completely forgettable.  Nobody whines about the good old days of 1992 Leaf.  I'm really at a bit of a loss for words.  Why?  And who are you people that are buying this stuff?  I doubt that they are, but if the 1/1 variations are of the black gold variety, that could be this sets lone saving grace.

Number of this card in my collection: 1

2012 Leaf Memories #80 Gold Variation

Card Review: 7.8 (but really, just a middle finger to Leaf)  Let's be straight about this, this is a 1990 Leaf.  Literally.  It's not a new card, not a reprint, it's twenty four years old.  Leaf just put some new foil stamping on an old card.  In the card collecting world that I grew up in, that makes a card less valuable, not more.  For more on this money-grab of a set, read what I wrote about the "base" card by clicking this link.  Once again, my OCD forced me to pay $2 for this card on ebay, plus $3 in shipping (I'd be looking to rip people off too if I paid $135 for a 12-card "box" of these).  I didn't even like this set in 1990, and feel it has only gotten uglier over the decades.

This gold variation is only numbered to five.  Very fancy.  Now I have one.  And if I'm being honest, I won't hesitate to buy the other four.  Unless they go for the kind of insane prices the "Super Special" one of one went for.  Then I will hesitate, and let the other Wallach collector in Texas pick it up.

Number of this card in my collection": 1*

*I also have 4 that have been stamped with numbers out of 20, and another 30 copies that are still in Mint Condition and haven't been defiled by Leaf stamping machines.

2013 Leaf Memories Buyback Red 1/1

Card Review: 9.5  I gave 1991 Leaf a score of 9.7, I dinged this one .2 pts for the red stamping at the bottom.  After all, this is nothing more than a '91 Leaf that the company bought back and threw some post production art on to.  If I did this with a sharpie, no one would care, but Leaf does it with foil and suddenly they get to charge $109.75 for one pack of 13 cards.   Leaf can justify this anyway they want to, but this is absolutely the worst kind of gimmick, and the kind shameless money grab that ruined the hobby.  But given that Leaf debuted in 1990, perhaps they consider the destruction of baseball card collecting the "good old days."  They give a very vomit inducing, self-lauding description of this pathetic set on their website if your curious.

My hypocrisy is not lost on me.  I can trash this set above, but yet here I am showcasing yet another Leaf Memories card after bashing the set last year as well, with links to where to buy the stupid thing (spend away suckers). I guess my OCD trumps my ethics.  At least to a degree.  I picked this card up on ebay.  But not the first time it listed.  Here's a screen shot of the original listing:

 A $49.99 buy it now price for a '91 Leaf?  No thank you.  I'll "Collect Them All except 2013 Leaf Memories" and change the banner above to reflect that.  It really didn't even hurt at all to watch this listing come an go.  I actually passed the 1/1 2012 Leaf Memories for a much lower price than that and I survived.  As I suspected though, the seller immediately relisted it with an opening bid price of $0.99, and I was all set to have it for that price until some suspicious bidding popped up in the final minute.  I still took card for under $6, with is to say, I spent way too much for '91 Leaf that are readily available for pennies (I'm a sucker).

I guess technically this marks the first card I have now "collected them all" of.  Though technically the original print run for 1991 Leaf was probably in the 250,000 copies range.  But if they're going to charge over $100 a pack and people (suckers) are going to pay it, I'll count it.

Number of this card in my collection: 1 (I have collected them all)

2012 Leaf Memories #80

Card Review: 7.9  Let's be straight, this is a 1990 Leaf.  Literally.  Leaf at some point confused a relative low production run with popularity and has taken to calling this bland/boring design iconic and groundbreaking.  I think they're confusing it with 1989 Upper Deck.  In any event, they bought a bunch of them back, stamped them with foil, and are reselling them at obscene prices.  Talk about balls. The following is lifted straight from the Leaf website (click for the full write-up):

"In the 20th Century, there are a number of sets which clearly stand out as both noteworthy and universally loved, 1990 Leaf was definitely one such set...Leaf’s last 2012 release is a salute to one of baseball’s greatest sets. With that, we introduce 2012 LEAF MEMORIES BASEBALL.

This exciting set is a wonderful combination of both original 1990 Leaf buybacks (specially foil stamped and numbered) and cards that never were in 1990 Leaf."

I don't know anyone that loves this set.  As kids, we all hated it, thought it heinous, it still is, it was just briefly desirable because of the price tag that went with it, and being from Cooperstown we got ton if it for free (Hall of Fame tie in with Donruss/Leaf, a friends dad was a bigwig w/the museum).

If you want to buy any of this crap, it's on sale for $134.95 a box.  Each box has 10 cards and 2 autographs.  If you do, let me know, and I'll send you a free red "Sucker" stamp to put on your forehead.  I'm still from the school of thought that says post-production additions to cards detract from them, be it a black sharpie drawn beard, or a silver stamp that reads "Leaf Memories."

Number of this card in my collection: 1 

2013 update: 4
2015 update: 5 

1994 Leaf #21

Card Review: 8.3  For the 2nd year in a row Leaf went with the over-sized player Godzilla style backs.  I prefer the cities in '93 to the '94 stadiums.  Another simple clean front.  I'm not wild about these cards, but to Leaf's credit they've held up a lot better than most sets of the era.

Number of this card in my collection: 11

2013 update: 23

2014 update: 26

2015 update: 32

2016 update: 39

2017 update: 40

2018 update: 46

2019 update: 47

2020 update: 48

2021 update: n/a

2022 update: n/a

2023 update: n/a

2024 update: 51

2025 update: 59

2026 update: 61

1993 Leaf #363

Card Review: 9.1  As far as crappy sets from the early to mid-90's go, this one is pretty nice.  A simple clean front with a cool King Kong/Godzilla style back.  I almost don't mind the lack of career stats.  I also very much appreciate the ribbon on the front which reads "1993."  Show me just a partial glimpse of a small part of one side of a card from 1952 to about 1989, I'll be immediately able to tell you the year, manufacturer, and what the other side of the card looks like.  Then things get a little blurry for me.  I admit, I often have to read the fine print to tell 1993 Studio apart from 1994 Studio.  So it's nice of Leaf to make it easy to tell.

Number of this card in my collection: 11

2013 update: 35

2014 update: 39

2015 update: 54 

2016 update: 71

2017 update: 72

2018 update: 77

2019 update: 104

2020 update: 106

2021 update: 107

2022 update: 145

2023 update: 146

2024 update: 156

2025 update: 167

2026 update: 168

1995 Leaf Limited #140

Card Review: 2.8 Presumably people actually bought these back in '95, and if I recall, they weren't cheap.  To me it looks like something that should come with a box of cereal, a gimmick.  As far as novelty gimmick cards go, it's not the worse set in the world, but it just strikes me as being a little self-important, given it's a baseball card.

Number of this card in my collection: 1
2012 update: 2
2103 update: 3
2014 update: 6
2015 update: n/a
2016 update: n/a
2017 update: n/a
2018 update: 7
2019 update: 11

2020 update: n/a

2021 update: 12

2022 update: 13

2023 update: n/a

2024 update: 16

2025 update: 17

1988 Leaf #255 "Canadian Greats"

Card Review: 9.4  Every year growing up as a kid, I would eagerly tear into new packs of Donruss hoping to find that Tim Wallach had been chosen as Montreal's "Diamond King."  Wallach was never selected, and there were some very questionable selections on the part of Donruss over the years (Bryn Smith!?!).  Years later thanks to ebay and the internet, I discovered this card had been put out by Leaf.  It felt like a bit of a victory.

Fun Facts: *The following is list of Montreal's Diamond Kings chosen instead of Wallach
1982: Gary Carter
1983: Steve Rogers
1984: Al Oliver
1985: Charlie Lea
1986: Andre Dawson
1987: Hubie Brooks
1988: Tim Raines
1989: Andres Galarraga
1990: Bryn Smith
1991: Delino DeSheilds
*1983, 1988, and 1990 were particularly disappointing selections

Number of this card in my collection: 2
2013 update: 22
2015 update: 26 
2016 update: 27
2017 update: 28
2018 update: 31
2019 update: 35

2020 update: n/a

2021 update: n/a

2022 update: n/a

2023 update: n/a

2024 update: 37

2025 update: 46 

2026 update: 47

1995 Leaf #294

Card Review: 1.8 The card industry really began to take on the feel of a Christmas decorating arms race between residents of a trailer park in the mid to late 1990's.  There is such a thing as too many flashing lights and plastic santa's.  I mean, just look at this thing.  Not exactly the '75 Brett, or '71 Munson.  The simple elegance of a picture card with stats on the back is nowhere to found here. 

Number of this card in my collection: 3
2012 update: 5
2013 update: 12
2014 update: 13
2015 update: 14
2016 update: n/a
2017 update: n/a
2018 update: 16
2019 update: 20

2020 update: 21

2021 update: 23

2022 update: 26

2023 update: 27

2024 update: 31

2025 update: 39

1991 Leaf Preview #6

Card Review:  9.5 At one time this was the single most prized card in my entire collection.  The novelty of it has faded and it likely wouldn't crack my top 25 (if I ever get around to doing a ranking) now, but it's still a card I like.  The 1991 Leaf design is my favorite of the Leaf sets after they stopped being a mirror of Donruss.  The base card from this set is actually better looking than this one, or at least I like the photo a little better.  These preview cards were sent to dealers.  I remember the first time I saw this in a dealers glass case, and being utterly shocked at the $10 price tag.  Fortunately the spoiled kid down the street bought it and traded it to me for a handful of crap (some Clemens or the like from the era).

Number of this card in my collection: 1

2012 update:  4
2013 update: 6
2014 update: n/a
2015 update: n/a
2016 update: 11
2017 update: n/a
2018 update: 12
2019 update: 13

2020 update: n/a

2021 update: 14

2022 update: n/a

2023 update: 15

1992 Leaf Black Gold #298

Card Review: 8.6  I think I like the black front better than the 1992 Leaf base card, but I can't stand the gold bordered back.  This is another one of those cards that probably would have made my head explode had I actually obtained one as an 11 year old in 1992.  Twenty years later it's just another ugly card from the junk wax era.  But I'm still happy to take every one I can find
Number of this card in my collection: 1
2013 update: 3
2014 update: 7
2015 update: 10
2016 update: 12
2017 update: 13
2018 update: 14

2019 update: n/a

2020 update: n/a

2021 update: n/a

2022 update: 15

2023 update: 16

2024 update: n/a

2025 update: 17

1988 Leaf #193

Card Review: 4.3 This is just an uglier version of the 1988 Donruss Card, which wasn't a very nice looking card to begin with.  I prefer the red "donruss" to the black "leaf" in the upper left corner of the cards. 


Number of this card in my collection: 2
2012 update: 9
2013 update: 26
2014 update: 32
2015 update: 34
2016 update: n/a
2017 update: n/a
2018 update: 36
2019 update: 38
2020 update: 40

2021 update: n/a

2022 update: 43

2023 update: n/a

2024 update: 46

2025 update: n/a

2026 update: 47

1992 Leaf #298

Card Review: 5.2  This design hasn't aged well.  Much like the '90 Upper Deck design, it just looks and feels like an inferior knock-off of the previous year's set.  The grey Expos uniforms worn in the photos do nothing to help the drab look of this card.  Leaf really would have been better off going with a different colored border rather than recycling the previous years.  Perhaps they had a lot of leftover gray ink, though given the massive production numbers, I kind of doubt it.
 
Number of this card in my collection: 11
2012 update: 12
2013 update: 29
2014 update: 42
2015 update: 60
2016 update: 67
2017 update: 77
2018 update: 96
2019 update: 118
2020 update: 126

2021 update: n/a

2022 update: 131

2023 update: 136

2024 update: 138

2025 update: 143

2026 update: 144

1987 Leaf #61

Card Review: 8.3 Even though the different logo is more or less a minor variation, it makes a huge difference.  I much prefer the Donruss counter-part to this Leaf version.  They should have gone with just the "leaf picture" instead of the letters, and an attempt should have been made to match the yellow Leaf logo with the yellow on the sides of the card.

Number of this card in my collection: 4
2013 update: 15
2014 update: 37
2015 update: 41 
2016 update: 43
2017 update: n/a
2018 update: 50
2019 update: 55

2020 update: 58

2021 update: n/a

2022 update: n/a

2023 update: n/a

2024 update: 59

1991 Leaf #388

Card Review:  9.6  As far as the "premium" cards go, this one is one of my favorites.  The gloss is light, and there's no foil stamping, so it's not entirely "premium."  But I love the design and front photo selection.  And the back has complete career stats as well as good bio info, and a crisp clean design.  Just a very well done card.

Topps could take a hint from a set like this.  I think something like this would work as a modern Topps flagship set.  Anything other than the standard white borders with foil stamping would be a welcomed departure from the norm.

Number of this card in my collection: 23
2012 update: 32
2013 update: 48
2014 update: 55
2015 update: 64 
2016 update: 76
2017 update: 88
2018 update: 119
2019 update: 179
2020 update: 191 

2021 update: 193

2022 update: 204

2023 update: 208

2024 update: 217

2025 update: 236

2026 update: 238

1990 Leaf #80

Card Review: 8.0  I was never wild about this set.  I found it bland, ordinary and of little interest to me.

I was also unaware of the perceived scarcity and corresponding frenzy over it.  Leaf/Donruss used to have a tie in with the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown (maybe they still do).  One of my friends as a kid, had a father who was curator at the Hall of Fame.  As a result, he got a lot of free cards.  He wasn't much of a card collector and would let me and other kid help ourselves to copious amounts of cards that his father brought home.  Having access to so much of it, made it seem unimportant, and no one else our age was collecting it or talking about it.  It just seemed like a throwaway off brand.  I wasn't very savy at the time and remember going for Diamond Kings and All-Star cards from the Donruss base set over this Leaf set.  And since I wasn't wild about this set, I just took the Wallach's from my friends boxes full of Leaf.  My other friend was much more aware of hobby trends and took all the major pulls, something I became very envious of a few summers later when the cards from this set were selling for obscene amounts.

Fun Facts: *This was the first unique Leaf set.  Previous Leaf sets were identical to Donruss, but for the Leaf logo and french writing.
Number of this card in my collection: 5
2012 update: 8
2013 update: 24
2014 update: 68
2015 update: 77 
2016 update: 83
2017 update: 85
2018 update: 96
2019 update: 125

2020 update: 126

2021 update: 139
2022 update: 144

2023 update: 149

2024 update: 151

2025 update: 156

2026 update: 157

1986 Leaf #97

Card Review: 9.0  The Leaf sets were nearly identical to their Donruss counterparts.  Whereas O-Pee-Chee used a much lighter card stock than Topps, Leaf used the same stock as Donruss.  1986 Leaf is the only Leaf set (before it became it's own thing) that I bought any amount of, and I bought nearly an entire wax box of it.

Probably around 1991, one of the card shops in Cooperstown put a box out and was selling packs for a buck or two.  I bought out nearly the entire box over the course of a couple weeks, one bike trip and handful of quarters at a time.  I was chasing the Jose Canseco "Rated Rookie," which was still a desirable thing at the time.  I'm not even sure he was included in the Leaf set.  In any event, I didn't pull a Canseco, though I did pull a Leaf Fred McGriff "Rated Rookie," a card that remains one of my favorites in my entire collection.

Number of this card in my collection: 2
2012 update: 3
2013 update: 11
2014 update: 20
2015 update: 21
2016 update: 22
2017 update: n/a
2018 update: 27
2019 update: 31
2020 update: 32

2021 update: 34

2022 update: 37

2023 update: 38

2024 update: 39

2025 update: 40

1985 Leaf #199

Card Review: 7.2  A very 80's design.  Terrible photo quality, looks like an old airbrush job.
Fun Facts: *Leaf was the parent company for Donruss.  Identical sets were put out in Canada with the Leaf on the front and french writing on the back.
*In the early 90's Leaf began putting out a set with a unique design of its own.
*O-Pee-Chee is a much cooler name than Leaf

Number of this card in my collection: 5
2012 update: 11
2013 update: 23
2014 update: 27 
2015 update: 30
2016 update: n/a
2017 update: n/a
2018 update: 31
2019 update: 45

2020 update: n/a

2021 update: n/a

2022 update: 50

2023 update: n/a

2024 update: 51

2025 update: n/a

2026 update: 52