Barry Larkin Collection 796: 1990 Donruss Learning Series - #51

Barry Larkin

Year:  1990

Brand:  Donruss Learning Series

Card number:  51

I have never heard of the Donruss Learning Series set prior to uploading my 1990 Larkin cards into the TCDB database.  Once I did that, I went through and added all of the missing Larkins to my want list.  From there, it didn't take long for me to end up acquiring this card via a trade.

In doing my research on this particular set, the best information I could find came from the wonderful baseballcardpedia.  Rather than rewriting the history of the set for you, let's take it straight from the site:

1990 Donruss Learning Series is a 55-card set that served as part of an educational packet for elementary and middle school students.

The cards were issued in two formats. Third and Fourth Grade teachers received the cards, a historical timeline that relates events in baseball to major historical events, additional 1990 Donruss wax packs, and a teacher's guide that focused on several academic subjects. Grades 5 through 8 received the cards, a teacher's guide designed for older students, and a 14-minute video shot at Chicago's Wrigley Field. Each set came packaged with a 2 1/2" X 3 1/2" Carl Yastrzemski mini-puzzle.

The design of the set is identical to that of the '90 Donruss base set, with the exception of a "Learning Series" logo on each card.

That's definitely a pretty cool gesture by Donruss, though I imagine if a card company tried to do that today people would cry "foul play" or "why aren't these football cards" or something.  

As for the card itself, other than the Learning Series logo this is basically your normal 1990 Donruss card.  That said, Donruss did at least go so far as to use a different photograph of Larkin for the Learning Series set...unfortunately, the one they chose looks like he is about to sneeze from looking into the sun or something.  The back write-up is exactly the same as it is on his 1990 Donruss base card.