Appreciation: Tiny Little Fleer Cards

I never once understood the appeal of tiny little Fleer cards. Was it that they were small? I remember in 1991 (and 1992, I think) Topps put out a set called Topps Micro that was simply the regular set shrunk down to a ½ or ¼ of the regular card size. When you get cards down that small you can’t do very much with them: the text on the back, including the stats, was too small to read, the photos were smaller, and the cards had an overall cheap feeling. And seeing as how Topps Micro came only as a complete set, it made collecting them kind of a moot point.

And although some of the bad things about Topps Micro carried over into tiny little Fleer cards, tiny little Fleer cards did have some things going for them. For one thing, they were glossy, almost like a poor man’s Tiffany set. Also: different photos were used from the regular yearly set. Third, I believe only good players (by Fleer’s definition of ‘good’) were given tiny little Fleer cards. Topps Micro reprinted every card from the regular set, and who wants that? Unless we’re talking about the 1975 Topps Mini set, nobody—that’s who. So here’s to you, tiny little Fleer cards: you’re not worth much of anything, except maybe the time of day (but only briefly).