Barry Larkin Collection 12: 1991 Donruss #5

Barry Larkin D

Year: 1991 

Brand: Donruss 

Subset:  Diamond Kings

Card Number: 5

    

For Reds' fans and collectors, 1991 was a major turning point in sports cards. The Cincinnati Reds won the 1990 World Series by defeating (sweeping!) the mighty Oakland Athletics - which really got the attention of the different sports cards manufacturers. 1991 saw an influx in Cincinnati cards, especially in regards to the "stars" of the team, of which Barry Larkin was certainly one!

This 1991 Donruss card is an example of their famous Diamond Kings subset that spanned a number of years. The blue border may clash with the Reds uniform, but the card itself is pretty nice. However, I believe that this card is an example of a Larkin card that hasn't held up well into the 21st century. I think all of the Perez sketches in Allen & Ginter have really made me dislike his work - so much so that I'm not sure why he's so famous, many of his portraits don't look anything like the player they are supposed to be representing!

***Late addition to this post***

It turns out there are three different versions of this particular card - I'm considering this one the "base" version since it's the one you can find in packs (as opposed to factory sets) and it seems to be the much more common version (the other version doesn't have a period after "Inc" on the bottom of the card back.