1991-92

Both the Blazers and basketball cards continued to be hot commodities during the 1991-92 season.

The Blazers signed undrafted guard Robert Pack from USC and beat out veteran Walter Davis for a roster spot.  He quickly made a name for himself, literally - Pack-man.  He had some exciting games until teams figured out that he had trouble making jumpers and shut down his drives to the hoop.

Fleer also continued in its efforts to produce the most garish cards possible.  The large blue boarder obscures a third of the card.  While some of the player picture overlays the boarder, it's still a mess.

Speaking of Walt Davis, here he is pictured on the Hoops card from this year.  The Blazers had high hopes when they added Walt to the roster as it left the team with 8 players who averaged double digits.  Unfortunately, Davis fell victim to the "too many talented players on this team" phenomenon and only lasted a year or so before returning to Denver.

No team card could be more 90s looking than the Hoops edition.  What I find funny about the Blazers version is that it features 4 of the 5 starters - Porter, Drexler, Buck, and Kersey - and then Alaa Abdelnaby.  No offense to Abdelnaby, but it's a definite case of which one doesn't belong.

The second, and I believe final, year of Hoops night sheets.  You can tell the difference from the previous season's base set in that the back of the card is white instead of yellow.  The front also has a darker tint.

McDonalds commissioned and issued their own collectors edition Hoops cards.  They were very similar to the standard 1991-92 Hoops cards but the font on the the players name on the front of the card and the card number itself were slightly different.

Panini also came out with their sticker books and sticker packs for this season.  Panini was an Italian company, and I imagine they helped garner some European interest in basketball card collecting.  The stickers are smaller than a standard card and were obviously meant for putting in the Panini books.

Skybox went white this season, but still felt the need to go with the fancy ball and the digitized background.  The set this season was also around 600 cards since they also threw in stuff like "Small School Sensations" and whatever else they could think of (such as cards featuring school subjects).

Skybox also produced this set of Canadian mini's.  The complete set of Skybox Canadian mini's featured 50 cards, and as the name suggests, they were mini - about inch high replicas of the regular set.

SI for Kids included some cards with their magazine which kids had to tear apart themselves leaving ugly soft edges.  These will never amount to much from a value standpoint but are still part of the sports card world.  Besides, who can't appreciate the lovely spotted red and teal background!

Franz however came out with what may have been their nicest issue ever.  The gold boarder was sharp and the pictures crisp.  They also realized that the cards needed some plastic protection before sticking them into a loaf of bread so this lot didn't come out soggy and beat up like some of the previous version occasionally did.

Upper Deck, who had a year previously opened up shop producing a nice baseball card product, made this entrance into the basketball card world.  This was the premier set of this year and were certainly the nicest cards.  They were glossy front and back with full pictures on both sides.  They also tended to display the most exciting player pictures (check out the Drexler below) as well as some iconic match ups - Drexler vs. Jordan.

As the Drexler/Jordan card alludes, this was the year the Blazers matched up against Jordan's Bulls in the NBA Finals.  It was an exciting series but unfortunately there was no stopping Jordan on his way to a second of six NBA titles.

1990-91

This was the year I got back into basketball card collecting in a big way.  It helped that it was a great ear for the NBA with Magic, Jordan, David Robinson, Ewing, etc. all in their prime.  Plus, my Blazer team was pretty darn good.

Basketball cards were being mass produced at this time, along with baseball and football cards. There were also lesser named companies, such as America's Finest (below) trying to make a name for themselves.  As far as I can tell, America's Finest only lasted a year in the sports card market.

The Blazers drafted Alaa Abdelnaby from Duke late in the first round in 1990.  He never saw a ton of playing time on the talent loaded Blazers though.

1990-91 Fleer basketball had a simple, nothing to write home about design.  However, their All-Star cards were kind of fun.

The Hoops cards from this set are the ones I collected in earnest at this time.  I opened pack after pack of this stuff.  Anything I could get my hands on.  I must have spent hours sorting and organizing these things.  I probably have every card from this set seared into my brain.  So, while it may not be a particularly important set from a sports card collecting standpoint, it was certainly pivotal in my collecting memory.

One of the nice things about living in Portland at this time is that the players were relatively accessible.  Between basketball camps and hanging around after games, it wasn't too tough to score player autographs, even from a superstar like Clyde "the Glide".  Buck Williams was my favorite player from this era though.  He was defensive minded but always a solid contributor.

The Hoops company gave away uncut "Night" sheets at NBA games in an effort to ignite kids interest in the hobby.  They looked a little different than the standard base set (note the yellowish tint) and featured less players, approximately 3 per team.

The Hoops company also put out these "Collect-A-Books".  These could be purchased at sports card shops (yes, sports card shops existed back then as this was pre-internet) and were for sale in one of 4 boxes.  Buy all 4 boxes and you had the complete set.

Each book had several pages of stats, pictures, and personal stories for each player.  While it's not super convenient to pull out each book from a sleeve and read it, it was a nice idea.

Aaahhh, Skybox.  This was the inaugural year for Skybox basketball.  They broke the mold by featuring players overlaying a funky 90s style computerized background.  Of course, the ball was also highlighted.  To this day, these have to be considered the ugliest cards ever.  However, one can hardly argue that they were iconic at the time.

One plus to the Skybox card is the large player pictures featured on the back of the card.  The stats were also interesting.  They featured the most recent season ended plus player stats compared to all guards and if that player played all 48 minutes.  Not sure what sort of value the per 48 has as it's not like any player plays a full game nor is able to sustain that level of consistency over 48 minutes.  

                                                
The Star company, in one of their last bids for relevance, put out a 12 card tribute set to Clyde Drexler.  The cards are glossy, in contrast to their mid-80s sets but are other wise nothing spectacular.  I also don't recall seeing them until they popped up on the internet years later.

The 1991 Franz edition featured some highlights from the previous season plus some bold Blazer colors.  I've always wondered why on the Abdelnaby card, it looks like he's playint outdoors.

As I mentioned, may card companies were trying to make their way into the collecting world, including Wasatch which produced a 24 card set in 1990.

I couldn't you much else about this set though.  Clearly they weren't around long.

Despite a 63 game winning record this season, they Blazers had an early exit from the playoffs (anything other than the finals was considered early in this year) thanks to a brilliant play by Magic Johnson where he stole the ball and sent it bouncing down the length of the court while time ticked away.  We fans would have to wait another year for a crack at the title.

The Rest of the 1980s

After it's release of the wildly popular 1986-87 basketball set, Fleer continued producing basketball cards.  The follow up 1987-88 set is one of my favorites.  Fleer didn't get crazy with their design (as they often are inclined to do) and the result was a clean looking set.  It also included the Terry Porter rookie card and this beauty of Kiki Vandeweghe in a red jersey.

Terry Porter was drafted in 1985 out of small school Wisconsin Stevens Pt.  To this day he remains a Blazer fan favorite.

Vandeweghe was acquired in a controversial trade which sent Wayne Cooper, Calvin Natt, and Fat Lever to Denver in exchange for Kiki.

The Blazers would continue their post season struggles though and not progress out of the first round.

Kevin Duckworth was the 9th pick in the second round of the draft by the San Antonio Spurs.  He was acquired in a trade for Walter Berry who apparently did not want to play for the Blazers.  Funny, I don't remember him going on to have a great career but I digress.

I especially wanted to include Caldwell Jones since he passed away earlier this week.  CJ played against the Blazers as a member of the Sixers during the Blazers championship series.  He is one of 4 brothers to play in the NBA and played in the league for 17 years.

Below is the 1988 Franz Blazer set.

It's also important to note that 1988 is the year current team owner Paul Allen acquired the Trail Blazers.

I wish I had more history on the Terry Porter card below.  It appears to be European.  The back just shows the NBA logo.  Perhaps part of a game set?

The 1988-89 Fleer set featured star Clyde Drexler on one of it's sticker inserts.  It also included another nice looking base set.

The 1988-89 Franz set is relatively unspectacular aesthetically.  A 7'1" center out of Brazil, Ferrara played only one season for the Blazers.  However, he has the distinction of being the first Brazilian to play in the NBA.  More importantly (to me), my 5th grade class entered and won a Blazers reading contest in 1988.  Our prize was a classroom visit by two Blazers - Kenny Carr and Rolando Ferrara - as well as head coach Mike Schuler.  I remember reading nonstop to try to win that prize and was so thrilled to meet these players!

The 1989-90 Fleer set was a step down from the previous 2 years, largely due to the HUGE boarder.

However, the team surprised us by making it all the way to the NBA Finals.  The degree to which the city of Portland rallied around this team is unprecedented.  Every window had Rip City signs, every person wore t-shirts.  Fans showed up in droves in the middle of the night to welcome the team home following a series win.  I remember even my choir concert being interrupted with updated game scores.  Because of that, to this day this team remains my all-time favorite.

The 1989-90 season also featured the debut of Hoops basketball cards.  They featured a simple design, including a basketball key shaped center for displaying the player picture.  While the cards weren't fancy, they were a nice debut for the company.

The 1989-90 Franz cards honored the 20th Anniversary of the team.  They also included rookie cards of two popular Blazers - Drazen Petrovic and Cliff Robinson.

Petrovic was a star player from Croatia.  Unfortunately for Petro, with Drexler and Porter on the team, there weren't many minutes remaining for him.  He was frustrated and eventually was traded to New Jersey where he was able to display his immense skills.  He eventually was named to the All-NBA third team.  Unfortunately, Petrovic was killed in a car accident in Germany in the summer of 1993.

Robinson was the 36th pick of the 1989 draft out of Connecticut.  "Uncle Cliffy" attained All-Star status as a member of the Blazers and was a fan favorite.  He also recently had a stint on the reality show Survivor.

The 80s Begin

The early 80s may not have been significant for the Blazers in terms of wins or accomplishments, but it includes some of my favorite card sets, if for no other reason because they weren't especially prevalent and they include some of my favorite players.

The Blazers made Bahaman born Mychal Thompson the first pick in the 1978 draft.  Thompson averaged 20 points and 11 boards in the 81-82 season.

No player sported a cooler looking game necklace either...at least not until the 2000s when MLB pitchers started wearing them.

The early 80s also featured these 3 paneled basketball cards.  Were kids supposed to separate these and have miniature cards?  It's the polar opposite of the oversized cards of 1970.  In a decade, Topps has come full circle.  They still like their pink though.

The 1981-82 set included this nice team leader card though.  This may be my favorite Blazers uniform set as well, minus the short shorts.

The police cards continue.  Kermit Washington was a member of the team at this time, having joined the team following his release from the Los Angeles Lakers amid the punch scandal (google Kermit Washington punch...it's famous enough to not require repeating).

I included Kevin Kunnert for no reason other than because I played basketball with his daughter in the early 1990s.  Portland's a small community.

This 1983-84 Trail Blazer police card of Clyde Drexler is my earliest Drexler card.

Clyde...the best player in Trail Blazers history.  To watch him play, the guy could fly.  His jump shot always looked flat but it sure seemed to find the bottom of the net.

In the early 80s, the Star company came out with their series of basketball cards.  They were the only licensed NBA cards during the mid-80s.  This Jim Paxson was part of Star's 32 card set of star player cards, the only Blazer included in the inaugural set.  There were limited number of these cards, generally print runs of of less than 5,000.  Quality issues also caused less cards to be produced for Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks due to ink saturation.

Star cards were sold in hobby shops in team poly bags.  They were also distributed regionally, making collecting them difficult at the time.  Due to their limited production and distribution methods, most player cards from this era are not considered "true" rookie cards.

I never owned a Star card until I was an adult and the internet made acquisition of these cards more possible.  There is also something about their simplicity that is attractive.

The Franz baking company of Portland, Oregon also teamed up with the Star company for many years to produce Franz basketball cards which were included in loaves of bread.  During the time of year Franz basketball cards were coming out, I remember going to the grocery store with my mom every Sunday peering through the wrappers of Franz white bread sacks to see if there was a card I needed in there.

Oh yeah, also around that time the Blazers drafted Sam Bowie instead of Michael Jordan.  At the time, Portland had Drexler and didn't feel they needed another similar player.  Had Bowie lived up to his potential, this may not have seemed like such a monumental drafting error but Bowie (like Walton before him) was oft injured and seemed to keep breaking his legs.

At least we had these guys.  Jerome Kersey came out of small college Longwood and is to this day a Blazer fan favorite.  Hustle and a sweet mid range jumper.  Plus, is was so good looking in those black 80s shades.

Around this time, Portland also had Steve Colter as point guard.  He was never a great player but had an awesome 80s fro.  And Drexler was a slam dunking dream.

In the summer of 1984, Portland traded Fat Lever, Wayne Cooper, and Calvin Natt (3 solid players) and two draft picks to the Denver Nuggets for the jab-stepping Kiki Vandeweghe.  Kiki was a big time scorer for Portland along with Drexler for a few years, each averaging over 20 ppg.

This was no championship winning team but they had some great personalities and were exciting to watch.  Plus, it looked like things were headed in the right direction.

The Rest of the 70s

The rest of the 70s proceeded with the Blazers losing games.  The 1973-74 team had a league last record of 27-55.  They continued to be led in scoring by Geoff Petrie and Sidney Wicks (Topps cards pictured below).

However, their prospects were about to change with the draft of this guy out of UCLA:

They challenged for a playoff spot in Walton's first season, falling just 2 games short.

This was also one of Topps most iconic basketball card designs.  This rookie card of Bill Walton is one of my favorites of my whole collection.  It's simple, yet iconic.

Big Bill was hampered by injuries again in his sophomore season (this will become a common theme during his stint in Portland).  The Blazers again missed the playoffs.  However, they've started to put together the pieces of what will become NBA champs.

Well, maybe not Barry Clemens but he's included as it's an iconic pose from this year 1975-76 Topps.

And the token team photo.  I love these old team photos.  The red pants...the classic Blazers font...beautiful.

1976-77 Portland Trail Blazers.  First time in the playoffs.  Winners of the one and only Championship in franchise history.

I've watched the Championship winning game 6 against the Philadelphia 76ers multiple times.  I've grown to love Bill Walton, Bobby Gross, Lionel Hollins, Dave Twardzik, and Mo Lucas.  Their numbers hang from the rafters and they are the staple of this franchise.

Topps too decided it was time to go glossy and green.  This is the brightest set they've had to date which is fitting with this the brightest season in franchise history.

Unfortunately reality set back in following the team's championship season.  Injuries cost the team wins and they are unable to repeat their Championship win.  Bill Walton bailed for the San Diego Clippers and the team moved toward youth.

Topps decided pink trim was a way to go.  Pink trim with green letters.  However, the portrait inset is a nice addition.

The Blazers also put out police cards for several seasons.  The cards are on thinner paper than the typical sports card and a little bit larger.  Each card has team facts and crime fighting tips.