Regardless, it looks cool (pun somewhat intended). I always assumed these columns were meant to be ice, but one Puck Junk reader pointed out that they could, in fact, be marble. Whitish-gray columns with diagonal stripes frame the left and right sides of each card. What made the 1989-90 Topps Hockey set so visually unique is that it has colored borders instead of the typical white borders. FYI, Topps released an insert set in 2003-04 called The Lost Rookies, which had 1989-90-styled cards of Roenick and Modano. Including what would have been rookie cards for these two U.S.-born players who played on U.S.-based teams would have made this set much more worthwhile.

Mike Modano, while only appearing in two playoff games in 1989, was the first-overall draft pick in 1988 and was a lock to make the Minnesota North Stars roster in 1989-90. Jeremy Roenick played 20 games in 1988-89, scoring 18 points, and appeared in another 10 playoff games with the Chicago Blackhawks.

However, Topps missed the boat on two players who should have had rookie cards in this set, but did not. Superstars who have rookie cards in the 1989-90 Topps Hockey set are Brian Leetch, Joe Sakic and Trevor Linden. teams have more cards in the O-Pee-Chee set, too. Needless to say, in the 1989-90 O-Pee-Chee set, Canadian teams are much better represented. Canadian teams only get four or five cards each. The focus on U.S.-based teams is heavy, with teams like the Blackhawks and Rangers getting eight or nine cards each. Like the previous three seasons, the 1989-90 Topps Hockey set has 196 player cards and 2 checklists for a total of 198 cards.

So, let’s take a look back at 1989-90 Topps Hockey, and long for the days when a collector could build an entire set from only one box of cards. Next year, the marketplace would expand, Topps would be overshadowed by newer companies making slicker products, and hockey card sets would balloon to upwards of 500 cards each. If any set could represent the end of an era, it was this one.

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