Who did 1981 better?

I am very fond of 1981 in baseball card collecting. that was the second year as a youngster I was purchasing cards as a collector. I was thrilled that my Uncle's convenience store next to my grandmother was selling 1981 Donruss baseball cards. What was unique about the Donruss is they put the year of the card right on the front of the card, unlike what Topps or Fleer had ever done.

Visual comparison with photo of cards in my collection. All cards shown are from my personal collection. Cards as shown Left: Topps / Center: Fleer / Right: Donruss

The year 1981 was the first time in baseball card history that there were three sets of baseball cards from which to choose: Topps, Fleer, and Donruss. Topps issued a large set of 726 Cards. The green wax packs contained 15 cards and one piece of gum. Fleer issued a large set of 660 Cards. The read wax packs contained 17 cardsand one piece of gum. . Donruss issued an unexpectedly large set, although smaller than Topps or Fleer, of 605 baseball cards. The red packs contained 18 cards and one piece of gum. Topps’ contract gave them sole rights to gum distribution, so the following year, Donruss puzzle pieces replaced gum. Fleer added a sticker and went down to 15 cards the following year.

Unlike Topps' and Donruss' boxy/squared design, Fleer had rounded borders and curved titles. Donruss took Topps' squared design approach with company logo on front identify. The 1981 Donruss cards were printed on very thin stock and had some known color problems.

The 1981 Fleer Baseball Cards were the first Fleer set issued since 1963. This set consists of many errors and variations. The 1981 Fleer Baseball Cards are organized by team and the teams are ranked by their 1980 standings. The first cards were of the World Champion Phillies. Cards #638 to #660 feature subsets and checklists. The key rookie cards for the 1981 Fleer Baseball Card Set include #346 Harold Baines and #481 Kirk Gibson.