Cheap Wax Wednesday Box Breaks: 1987 Fleer Star Stickers Baseball
Fleer Star Stickers could be placed anywhere: in a sticker album, on a notebook, on card storage boxes, or even (parents close your eyes) on the wall. Fleer released a stamp set in 1982, but quickly scrapped that and went back to the drawing board. Their first Star Stickers set was released in 1984. That inaugural Star Stickers set most likely won’t ever be featured here, mostly because boxes contained 100 packs. So we’ll skip ahead a few years to 1987 Fleer Star Stickers Baseball.
The set is made up of 132 player stickers plus team logo stickers. The stickers, made to look like cards, feature green borders with red and yellow accents. Many have non-game action photography, something I can appreciate simply because it’s different from most other sets. Some photos are posed, while others feature the players in practice or spring training.
I bought this box off of the closeout table at my local card shop.
1987 Fleer Star Stickers Baseball Box Break
Cards per pack: 6
Packs per box: 36
Price paid: $10
Shop for 1987 Fleer Star Stickers boxes on eBay.
Pack 1 highlights:
Will Clark, Ozzie Smith & White Sox logo
Will “The Thrill” Clark could really swing the bat. He retired at 36-years old, after hitting .319 during the 2000 season.
Pack 2:
Dave Parker, Will Clark, Ozzie Smith & Giants/Rangers logos
Pack 3:
Wally Joyner, Harold Baines & Reds logo
Pack 4:
Roger Clemens, Bo Jackson/Eric Davis & White Sox/Cardinals logos
The Rocket dominated the American League during the 1986 season. He won his first Cy Young Award, unanimously, after posting a 24-4 record, 2.48 ERA, and 238 strikeouts.
Pack 5:
Wally Joyner, Harold Baines & Phillies logo
Pack 6:
Rickey Henderson, Lou Whitaker & Phillies logo
Pack 7:
Fred Lynn & Orioles/Braves logos
I don’t love seeing Freddie Lynn in any uniform other than a Red Sox one. Lynn burst onto the scene during the 1975 season, winning the AL Rookie of the Year, the AL MVP, and a Gold Glove in the Boston outfield. Lynn led the American League in runs scored (103), doubles (47), slugging (.566) and OPS (.967).
Pack 8:
Eric Davis, Jim Rice & Dodgers/Indians logos
Pack 9:
Joe Carter, Dave Parker & Braves/Tigers logos
Pack 10:
Eric Davis & Dodgers logo
Eric Davis posted a 30/30 season in 1987. He finished the year with 37 home runs, 100 RBI, and 50 stolen bases.
Pack 11:
Mark Langston & White Sox/Cardinals logos
Pack 12:
George Brett & White Sox logo
Pack 13:
Alan Trammell & Expos/Orioles logos
Trammell spent his entire 20-year career playing for the Tigers. He cleared 25 home runs and 100 RBI just once, in 1987. He did enough, though, throughout his career to be voted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 2018.
Pack 14:
Don Sutton, Darryl Strawberry & Reds logo
Pack 15:
Paul Molitor, Bert Blyleven & Reds/Angels logos
Pack 16:
Tim Raines & Reds/Angels logos
Raines beat Trammell into the Hall by one year, being voted in as part of the 2017 class. Rock Raines led the National League in stolen bases four straight seasons 1981-1984, including 71 stolen bases in just 88 games in 1981.
Pack 17:
Julio Franco, Lee Smith & Angels/Cardinals logos
Pack 18:
Tim Raines & Indians logo
Pack 19:
Eddie Murray, Dale Murphy & Brewers logo
Dale Murphy, still a Braves fan favorite, threw out the first pitch before Game 2 of the NLCS.
Pack 20:
Jose Canseco/Don Mattingly, Robin Yount & Mariners logo
Pack 21:
Kirby Puckett & Braves/Tigers logos
Pack 22:
Eddie Murray, Dale Murphy & Expos/Orioles logos
“Steady” Eddie Murray holds the all-time major league record with 128 career sacrifice flies. The current leader among active players is Albert Pujols with 117.
Pack 23:
Jack Morris, Wade Boggs & White Sox logo
Pack 24:
Lee Smith & Expos/Orioles logos
Pack 25:
Dave Winfield & White Sox/Cardinals logos
Winfield was drafted out of high school by the Orioles in the 40th round of the 1969 draft. He opted to attend the University of Minnesota instead. Four years later, Winny was selected fourth overall by the Padres.
Pack 26:
Gary Carter & Expos/Orioles logos
Pack 27:
Jack Morris, Wade Boggs & Reds logo
Pack 28:
Reds/Angels logos
The Reds all-time record currently stands at 10,713-10,501, good enough for a .505 winning percentage.
Pack 29:
Dale Murphy, George Brett, Eddie Murray & Giants/Rangers logos
Pack 30:
Kirby Puckett & Phillies logo
Pack 31:
Don Baylor, Fred Lynn & Giants logo
Don Baylor amassed 2,135 base hits during a 19-year playing career. As a manager, Baylor won 627 games, including winning the 1995 Manager of the Year award. He was ejected 12 times during his managing career.
Pack 32:
Charlie Hough & Giants logo
Pack 33:
Canseco/Mattingly, Robin Yount & Giants logo
Pack 34:
Mike Schmidt & Tigers logo
Michael Jack Schmidt was one of the best ever to play third base. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1995, appearing on 96.5% of the ballots.
Pack 35:
Jose Canseco & Tigers logo
Pack 36:
Gary Carter, Jose Canseco & Tigers logo
Lastly, the Canseco card back. The backs on these have the same design as the 1987 Fleer cards, just with a different color scheme.
Exactly what you would expect out of a set like this. The smaller checklist ensures you will pull some duplicates, but most people probably weren’t opening this by the box back in 1987. These make great additions to my player binders.
Buy on:
Want more installments of Shane Salmonson’s Cheap Wax Wednesday? Check out his other breaks in the archives.
