Peoria Collector Sends 19 Cards, Adding to a Growing 1987 Donruss Run

Nineteen cards from Tom in Peoria, Illinois, put the appeal of a long-running player collection into sharp focus: each new batch adds cards, but it can also change how a familiar issue feels. This group leaned heavily toward 1987 Donruss, a set the collector says took years to grow on him. He once disliked the card’s photograph; after accumulating 564 additional copies over time, he now enjoys it.

A familiar card, seen differently

The 1987 Donruss card is the standout here because the story is as much about changing taste as it is about quantity. The collector remembers pulling it from a pack in 1987 and feeling unimpressed by the photograph. That first reaction didn’t last. Repeated encounters with the card gradually shifted his view, until an image he had once dismissed became one he genuinely likes.

That kind of change is part of the pleasure of collecting a particular player across multiple sets. A card can feel ordinary when it first appears, then become more interesting through repetition, familiarity, and the company of other copies. The source doesn’t identify a particular design feature as the reason for the shift, so the appeal remains personal: the photograph simply landed differently after years of collecting.

The count tells another part of the story. This mailing included nine 1987 Donruss cards, and the running total is now 565. That’s a substantial stack of one issue, built one card at a time. It also gives this contribution a clear place in a collection whose progress is tracked across several sets and years.

What the 19-card batch added

Tom’s latest contribution covered six listed categories. Alongside the nine 1987 Donruss cards were five from 1987 Fleer, one from 1988 Fleer, one from 1988 Topps All-Star, one from 1991 Fleer, and two from 1991 Topps. Those quantities add up to the 19 cards described in the post.

The updated totals show the collection’s reach across those issues: 565 for 1987 Donruss, 295 for 1987 Fleer, 430 for 1988 Fleer, 1,026 for 1988 Topps All-Star, 323 for 1991 Fleer, and 419 for 1991 Topps. Each figure is a running count for its named category. The post doesn’t describe the cards’ grades or condition, so these numbers track quantity rather than a graded population or a condition assessment.

Keeping separate totals by set and year makes a collection’s growth easier to follow. It preserves distinctions between issues that might otherwise blur together in a larger group of cards, and it makes the effect of each new mailing visible. Here, the nine-card addition stands out against the 1987 Donruss total, while the smaller contributions still move the other counts forward.

A decade of contributions

Tom has sent cards to the collector for more than a decade, beginning in 2014. The latest 19-card batch is part of that continuing exchange. Its value to the collection comes through both the cards themselves and the steady record of additions over time. A repeat contributor can help turn an individual collecting project into a shared routine: a new arrival brings fresh cards and another occasion to revisit the running totals.

The source connects Tom with Saints Prison Ministry in Peoria and thanks him for the cards. It also points readers to the organization’s site. The post offers no further detail about how the cards were selected or distributed, so the most concrete account is the one it gives: Tom sent 19 cards, and nine were 1987 Donruss.

Keeping the collection’s record clear

For collectors following a player or a single card across many copies, simple, consistent counts can make a large accumulation easier to understand. Naming the year, maker, and specific issue helps readers see where each card belongs. That matters especially when several sets from nearby years appear in the same update, as they do here with Fleer, Donruss, and Topps issues from 1987 through 1991.

The numbers also give future additions a useful reference point. The next 1987 Donruss contribution can be measured against 565; the next 1988 Topps All-Star card against 1,026. Those totals describe the collection at this update, and they leave room for the project to keep changing as new cards arrive. For now, Tom’s Peoria mailing adds another chapter—and another nine copies—to a 1987 Donruss run that has become more enjoyable to its collector with time.

You can learn more about Saints Prison Ministry through the link above or the image below: