The story of how Ken Griffey Jr.'s rookie card became No. 1 in Upper Deck's first set is a Cooperstown-worthy tale of foresight, luck and photo manipulation, Darren Rovell writes.

The Ken Griffey Jr. display at the Baseball Hall of Fame includes a wall of 12 trading cards. And somehow his iconic 1989 Upper Deck rookie card is missing. How'd this gaffe happen?

The 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card transformed baseball card collecting with its next-level design and innovation. In many ways, the hobby never looked back.

All I knew was that I needed card No. 1 in Upper Deck’s first set: Ken Griffey Jr., bat on left shoulder, Mariners hat photoshopped onto his head, ornate rookie decal in the lower right-hand ...

The prices are a testament to the card's influence. The Most Impressive Ken Griffey Jr. Collection in the World 2. 1989 Topps Traded #41T (PSA - 88,282; Beckett - 10,800; SGC - 9,141) ...

I was ten years old and obsessed with baseball card collecting in 1989 when Upper Deck debuted a new set of baseball cards. Up to that point there were three card companies: Topps, Donruss, and Fleer.

Using an issue of Baseball America as his guide, Geideman knew that card No. 1 would belong to Gregg Jefferies, Sandy Alomar Jr., Gary Sheffield, or a long-shot candidate, the phenom they called ...

There aren’t many sports cards in the world more iconic than the 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card. I believe it stands right alongside the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle and the 1986 Fleer ...

The most well-known card of the modern era is the 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr., the No. 1 card in the company’s inaugural set.

Ken Griffey Jr., Seattle Mariners. The No. 1 overall pick in the 1987 draft. In 1988, Griffey played 58 games of Class A ball in San Bernardino and 17 in Double-A Vermont before getting hurt.

The 1989 Ken Griffey Jr. Upper Deck rookie card is not just another of the many cards that were printed between 1987-1994, it’s THE CARD.

The story of how Ken Griffey Jr.'s rookie card became No. 1 in Upper Deck's first set is a Cooperstown-worthy tale of foresight, luck and photo manipulation, Darren Rovell writes.