Keith Comstock 1988 Topps #778 Variation Comparison
Let’s flash it back to 1988, a time of hobby simplicity and print runs in the billions. 1988 Topps is special to me because it was cards from this set that composed my very first acquisition of baseball cards in 1988. To me, sentimental value vastly outweighs monetary value here. That aside, here we have a particular error that I overlooked for a very long time, I’d say the better part of 20 years. This is the Keith Comstock 1988 Topps #778A.This was another one of those errors whose price guide signifier is somewhat ambiguous. The ERR WL signifier can be somewhat confusing if you aren’t really sure that the acronym WL actually means White Letters. This color error drives its value to 40x that of its corrected counterpart (left). It’s a bit tougher to pull if you’re going that route. I say pick one up on the Bay if interested. An interesting fact about this card is that it’s the only Comstock card listed in the entire price guide. What this means is that it’s the only one that surpasses the “common” listing by possessing enough demand to actually hit the price list alongside all the major stars. I’m not saying Keith was a star, in fact, he wasn’t all that good. But his talent (or lack thereof) isn’t what got him listed in the price guide, it’s this silly little color mishap that helped push his personal brand. Sadly, I think this is the only reason why anyone knows who Keith Comstock is at all in the hobby.
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Pronounced Green-oh. Patrick has a BA in Psychology, a BA in Sociology, and an MBA from the University of New Mexico. He also has a Project Management Certificate from UCLA Extension. He has lectured in Internet Marketing at the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics at California State University, Northridge. He is the author of, Student to Founder: Secrets to creating a student organization in college and starting a business after graduation. He has been interviewed on Good Day New Mexico and in Albuquerque The Magazine. Patrick is a frequent speaker and panelist at universities and events where he shares his insights on leadership, technology, and marketing. He's been a baseball card collector since 1987, and is the Founder & Principal of www.radicards.com | Visit the store
That was my first set too! 1988 Topps. My friend Jeff and I would bike to the store a buy a couple packs for 40 cents each, chew the gum, trade with each other, and try to complete our sets. I still have that 1988 Topps set!
Howdy! Enjoyed your article,,,,,, however,,,, I have a gem that takes your valuable story and injects it with some high grade steroids that our 90s sluggers would smile at! There is another error on a following year, same keith comstock again my friend! I just discovered and have one in possession… 1991 topps … he is shown in widescreen view has his name listed with cubs as his team…. but in photo he clearly has a mariners hat and jersey on…. some twilight zone meets mlb that fans like us live for! We did it together! Its almost unknown (the 2 error same player )………. exciting eh bud! Regards~ Jack F.
Also; I will email photo if u inquire at my adress
After reading your article, I decided to do a complete study of 1988 variations. I reviewed 8000 cards and found over 300 variations. I have pulled those variation cards and set them aside. I have come to 2 conclusions. The printing of the topps 1988 was very sloppy. Also, the hard part of collecting the set is finding a set with no variations.
Another observation is some of the same cards have 2 to 3 variations. I guess I will have to catalogue these cards with descriptions. This will take a lot of time to do a complete list. If you have any questions, please e mail me. If you want, I will send you the list.
john svoboda
I packed this card and noticed right away, being a Padres fan. I went to Padres spring traing in Yuma, AZ that year. Comstock saw that error card and told me he wasn’t allowed to sign it because of the error. He signed my other cards though.
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the comment. What you have is the base card with what sounds like a printing flaw, which are not completely uncommon in manufacturing and were really common during the 1980s.
I know I shouldn’t necropost but I’m surprised no one had mentioned the infamous 1989 ProCards Las Vegas Stars #14 Keith Comstock Minor League Card. Fans in the know love that card and it fetches a few $$$ these days. But honestly, I loved my white team name Comstock card back in 1988. I may still have it around too!
Hi Rusty,
Thanks for the comment. Yea, I blogged about that 1988T White Team Name error years back. A quick search of the blog will return that article.
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That was my first set too! 1988 Topps. My friend Jeff and I would bike to the store a buy a couple packs for 40 cents each, chew the gum, trade with each other, and try to complete our sets. I still have that 1988 Topps set!
Nice! 🙂
Howdy! Enjoyed your article,,,,,, however,,,, I have a gem that takes your valuable story and injects it with some high grade steroids that our 90s sluggers would smile at! There is another error on a following year, same keith comstock again my friend! I just discovered and have one in possession… 1991 topps … he is shown in widescreen view has his name listed with cubs as his team…. but in photo he clearly has a mariners hat and jersey on…. some twilight zone meets mlb that fans like us live for! We did it together! Its almost unknown (the 2 error same player )………. exciting eh bud! Regards~ Jack F.
Also; I will email photo if u inquire at my adress
Hi Jack,
Yes, I have the 1991 Topps variation pair. I can remember learning about those cards many years ago. Great stuff. Thanks for the comment.
After reading your article, I decided to do a complete study of 1988 variations. I reviewed 8000 cards and found over 300 variations. I have pulled those variation cards and set them aside. I have come to 2 conclusions. The printing of the topps 1988 was very sloppy. Also, the hard part of collecting the set is finding a set with no variations.
Another observation is some of the same cards have 2 to 3 variations. I guess I will have to catalogue these cards with descriptions. This will take a lot of time to do a complete list. If you have any questions, please e mail me. If you want, I will send you the list.
john svoboda
Thanks for the comment, John.
I packed this card and noticed right away, being a Padres fan. I went to Padres spring traing in Yuma, AZ that year. Comstock saw that error card and told me he wasn’t allowed to sign it because of the error. He signed my other cards though.
I still have it.
Hi Chad,
I wonder why he was instructed not to sign the error card. That’s an interesting story. Thanks for sharing.
Patrick, I have a Comstock card with the blue letters and a blue line running across the card. What is this about ?
Thanks
Paul
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the comment. What you have is the base card with what sounds like a printing flaw, which are not completely uncommon in manufacturing and were really common during the 1980s.
I know I shouldn’t necropost but I’m surprised no one had mentioned the infamous 1989 ProCards Las Vegas Stars #14 Keith Comstock Minor League Card. Fans in the know love that card and it fetches a few $$$ these days. But honestly, I loved my white team name Comstock card back in 1988. I may still have it around too!
Hi Rusty,
Thanks for the comment. Yea, I blogged about that 1988T White Team Name error years back. A quick search of the blog will return that article.