When Fleer reentered the baseball card market in 1981, the company was still in the early stages of rebuilding its presence in a hobby segment long dominated by Topps. The 1982 set was already in development, but behind the scenes, Fleer was also engaged in a lesser-known experiment that would later become one of the more intriguing early-1980s production oddities: the 1982 Fleer Test cards.
Fleer’s Internal Account of the Test Sheets
The most detailed historical account of the set comes from an ex-Fleer employee in a September 18, 1997, article published in the Philadelphia Daily News (p. 64).
Having won the right to produce baseball cards in its landmark Philadelphia federal court decision over Topps and having the 1981 set under its belt, Fleer was the prime target of a new group of suppliers looking for business. International Paper wanted the contract to supply the cardboard on which future card sets would be printed…
The account continues, explaining that International Paper returned approximately 100 test sheets to Fleer and ultimately secured the 1983 contract.
Perhaps most interesting is the uncertain fate of the sheets themselves. According to the same article, some were distributed informally by sales staff, while others resurfaced years later in December 1995 inside a closed Fleer facility in Philadelphia when a large cache of ~40 sheets was found.
Cards Built for Testing, Not Collecting
Each card on the 132-card sheet carried the words “TEST CARD” overprinted across the name area, along with small letter markings such as “o,” “n,” or both along the left side of the oblong name panel. The sheet was filled with inconsistencies; incorrect picture/name combinations and photos that weren’t even in the officially released 1982 Fleer set.
The cards on the sheets were also double printed, meaning each of the 66 unique cards appeared twice.
Cal Ripken Jr., Rickey Henderson, Key Variations, and Market History
For collectors today, the most significant 1982 Fleer Test cards belong to Cal Ripken Jr. and Rickey Henderson.
Ripken appears in two variations:
- One correctly labeled with his name, with an o next to it
- One incorrectly labeled as “Dave Ford,” with an o and n next to it
Here are the priciest 1982 Fleer Test Cal Ripken Jr. Sales according to Card Ladder:
- A pair of BGS 9 graded cards (one of each variant) sold for $12,000 on eBay in October 2024
- A BGS 7.5 Dave Ford variant sold for $2,500 on eBay in May 2025
- A PSA Authentic Ripken variant sold for $2,150 on eBay in February 2026
- A PSA Authentic Ripken variant sold for $2,000 on eBay in June 2026
- An SGC Authentic Ripken variant sold for $1,920 at Heritage Auctions in December 2024
- A PSA Authentic Dave Ford variant sold for $1,740 at Love of the Game Auctions in August 2025
Rickey Henderson’s name appears on a card that actually pictures Mike Norris.
The other card on the sheet, picturing this photo of Mike Norris, includes his actual name on the card.
Here are the priciest 1982 Fleer Test Rickey Henderson Sales (variations that say Rickey Henderson on them) according to Card Ladder:
- A PSA 10 copy sold for $1,586 on eBay in March 2025
- A PSA 8 copy sold for $528 in a Fanatics Weekly auction in October 2022
- An SGC Authentic copy sold for $475 on eBay in August 2024
- A PSA Authentic copy sold for $325 in a Fanatics Weekly auction in April 2021
- A BGS 9 copy sold for $260 on eBay in September 2025
The set also includes a pair of Eddie Murray, both picture him, but the one with the o and n printed on it has Lenn Sakata’s name printed on it; they now sell for around $50.
A complete graded run of cards reportedly sold through Legendary Auctions in 2008 for $1,150, and an uncut sheet sold in 2011 for approximately $657, though market appearances remain sporadic.
I’ve heard of and seen Rickey Henderson and Cal Ripken Jr. variants with complete backs and “Test Card” printed on them, but only those two. The peculiarities are always just the stars, right?
I’ve also seen a few progressive proofs show up recently, but I’m not sure what to think about them yet, either.
Collector Checklist (Compiled from Net54 Community)
Below is the 66-card checklist compiled by Net54 forum contributor “bobsbbcards,” documenting both name and image pairings as they appear on the sheets (row/column/card name/player picture):
1/1/Jon Matlack/Steve Christmas
1/2/Wayne Gross/Jose Brito
1/3/Mario Mendoza/John Lickert
1/4/Mike Heath/Daryl Sconiers
1/5/Bump Wills/Lee Mazzilli
1/6/Steve McCatty/Jose Rodriguez
1/7/Steve Stone/Steve Stone
1/8/No Name/Brian Harper
1/9/Dennis Martinez/Cubs Player
1/10/No Name/Julio Valdez
1/11/Jim Palmer/Del Unser
2/1/Billy Sample/Bill Doran
2/2/Tony Armas/Tony Armas
2/3/Rick Honeycutt/Rick Honeycutt
2/4/Cliff Jackson/Tim Ireland
2/5/John Ellis/Floyd Rayford
2/6/Dave McKay/Jim Wright
2/7/Ken Singleton/Larry Milbourne
2/8/No Name/Steve Balboni
2/9/John Lowenstein/Mickey Mahler
2/10/No Name/Ty Waller
2/11/Doug DeCinces/Mike Patterson
3/1/Mickey Rivers/Pat Putnam
3/2/Rickey Henderson/Mike Norris
3/3/Jim Sundberg/Jim Kern
3/4/Bob Owchinko/Fred Stanley
3/5/Buddy Bell/Danny Darwin
3/6/Shooty Babbitt/Rick Langford
3/7/Sammy Stewart/Tony Martinez
3/8/No Name/Juan Eichelberger
3/9/Lenn Sakata/Eddie Murray
3/10/No Name/Juan Bonilla
3/11/Benny Ayala/Terry Crowley
4/1/Al Oliver/Bill Stein
4/2/Dwayne Murphy/Matt Keough
4/3/Leon Roberts/John Grubb
4/4/Rob Picciolo/Brian Kingman
4/5/Mark Wagner/Steve Comer
4/6/Jeff Jones/Jeff Neumann
4/7/Tim Stoddard/Mike Flanagan
4/8/No Name/John Urrea
4/9/Rick Dempsey/Mark Belanger
4/10/No Name/Luis Salazar
4/11/Dave Ford/Cal Ripken
5/1/Pat Putnam/Pat Putnam
5/2/Mike Norris/Mike Norris
5/3/Jim Kern/Jim Kern
5/4/Fred Stanley/Fred Stanley
5/5/Danny Darwin/Danny Darwin
5/6/Rick Langford/Rick Langford
5/7/Tippy Martinez/Tippy Martinez
5/8/No Name/Juan Eichelberger
5/9/Eddie Murray/Eddie Murray
5/10/No Name/Juan Bonilla
5/11/Terry Crowley/Terry Crowley
6/1/Bill Stein/Bill Stein
6/2/Matt Keough/Matt Keough
6/3/John Grubb/John Grubb
6/4/Brian Kingman/Brian Kingman
6/5/Steve Comer/Steve Comer
6/6/Jeff Neumann/Jeff Neumann
6/7/Mike Flanagan/Mike Flanagan
6/8/No Name/John Urrea
6/9/Mark Belanger/Mark Belanger
6/10/No Name/Luis Salazar
6/11/Cal Ripken/Cal Ripken
Bobsbbcards mentioned that many of the cards in the last two rows (5/1 through 6/11) have minor cropping variations compared to the same cards in the previous two rows (3/1 through 4/11). The first two rows (1/1 through 2/11) have a single “n” at the left of the oblong. The next two rows (3/1 through 4/11) have “o” and “n” at the left of the oblong. The last two rows (5/1 through 6/11) have a single “o” at the left of the oblong.
I confirmed this information by examining a 1982 Fleer Test Uncut Sheet (the one pictured above) that I found for sale on eBay for $5,000 in December 2020. In the following picture, you can see the “TEST CARD” printing and the “n” printed on the left side of the oblong.
The next picture shows the first 5.5 rows of the sheet.
Next, you can see the bottom right portion of the uncut sheet which shows “o” and “o n” oblongs plus you can see the two Cal Ripken Jr. variants.
Here’s an image showing the Rickey Henderson card (Mike Norris pictured).
Final Thoughts
The 1982 Fleer Test issue is a reminder that some of the hobby’s most interesting collectibles were never intended to be collectibles at all. Created during Fleer’s transition into a serious competitor in the baseball card market, the cards capture a fascinating moment of experimentation.
That’s what makes them special: the story behind the cards is just as interesting as the cards themselves!
Happy collecting!
P.S. Click here to see the graded 1982 Fleer Test cards currently available on eBay.
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