BY JOEY SHIVER
The term “Junk Wax” can be a polarizing term among collectors. There is one camp that can be offended by the mere correlation between cards and “junk.” Then there is the camp that embraces it as a term of endearment that represents when cards were cards. Without all the fancy relics, autographs, and parallels. Let me get this out in the open right up front: I love Junk Wax! I am squarely in the second camp and am not ashamed to admit it. Cards from that forlorn era trigger so many happy memories from when responsibility belonged to my parents and I was just living every day from moment to moment, without a care in the world.
The Junk Wax Era is a somewhat debatable time frame but most collectors consider it the period from 1987-1994. It was during those eight years that card companies exploded with production. Not only were production numbers for flagship sets of Topps, Fleer and Donruss through the roof, the companies would eventually start offshoot brands to compete with new entries into the market like Upper Deck and Score. Topps spawned Stadium Club, Donruss spawned Leaf, and Fleer spawned Ultra. Then came Studio, Finest, SP, Pinnacle …you name it. The era was mostly at its highest impact in the early ‘90s, but mass production can really be traced back to at least 1987. The end of the era is considered 1994 because the players’ strike that August drove a lot of collectors away from the hobby. It would take some time for both the sport and card industry to earn back the fans.