1987 Donruss Diamond Kings
The 1987 Donruss Diamond Kings set is one of the most recognizable artistic subsets from the junk-wax era and continued the tradition started by Donruss in 1982. The cards once again featured painted artwork by sports artist Dick Perez, whose portraits had become synonymous with the Diamond Kings name.
Concept of the Set
The idea behind Diamond Kings remained simple: each team’s standout star was given the “Diamond King” title and honored with a painted card rather than a photograph. In 1987, these cards were included at the front of the Donruss base set, making them easy to collect as their own mini-set within the larger release.
The 1987 Diamond Kings subset contains 27 cards, highlighting many of the biggest stars in baseball during the mid-1980s.
Style and Design
The 1987 versions kept the classic Perez art style but had a look that was very much of its time:
Hand-painted portraits and action scenes
Bold brush-stroke backgrounds
A large “DK” logo on the front
Gold and black framing that made the artwork stand out
Player name printed in a stylized script
Unlike modern inserts, these cards were part of the standard checklist, but collectors quickly treated them as their own special subset because of the artwork.
Collector Appeal
The 1987 Diamond Kings hold a special place for collectors because they combine:
While the cards were printed in large quantities during the hobby’s expansion, they remain popular among collectors who appreciate art-driven baseball cards and the long legacy of the Diamond Kings series.
Legacy
By 1987, Diamond Kings had already become one of the defining features of Donruss baseball releases. The subset continued annually and helped cement Dick Perez’s artwork as one of the most recognizable styles in sports card history.
For many collectors, the 1987 set perfectly captures the transition between the early Donruss years and the full junk-wax boom, making it both nostalgic and historically significant within the hobby.
