Junk Wax Journey: 1988

Written By Sean Cutrufello

Junk Wax Journey 1988 — The Calm Before the Storm

1988 felt like a deep breath before the boom. The shelves were full, the gum was stale, and the hobby was growing but it hadn’t yet gone supernova. There were no holograms, no fancy parallels, no chrome…just pure junk wax. This was the year of Glavine and Alomar rookies, of overproduction and optimism, when collecting was still about teams, binders, and bubble gum. For Junk Wax Journey, 1988 is the bridge between simplicity and madness; a reminder of when the hobby was still innocent, before Griffey’s smile lit the fuse.

Enough talk, TAKE ME TO THE BREAKS!

What’s in the Breaks?

For 1987 we’ll run two levels of breaks, each one carefully built to capture the year’s full flavor:

  • Rookie-Level Chase Box (Buy-in: €8.00) :

    • The Rookie level Chase Box for 1987 will have a 48-pack makeup consisting of the following products:

      • 1988 Donruss

      • 1988 Donruss All-Stars

      • 1988 Fleer 

      • 1988 Score 

      • 1988 Fleer Star Stickers 

      • 1988 Topps

      • 1988 Topps Mini League Leaders

      • 1988 Topps UK Minis (aka Topps American baseball)

      • 1988 Topps Big Series 1 / 2 / 3

  • Hall-of-Fame Level Chase Box (Buy-in: €12.00):

    • A more premium blend, The Hall-of-Fame level break is focused on glossy or rare sets, with some flagship sprinkled in as well! The Hall-of-Fame level Chase Box for 1988 will also have a 48-pack makeup:

      • 1988 Donruss

      • 1988 Fleer 

      • 1988 Score 

      • 1988 Topps 

      • 1988 Leaf (rare Canadian version of Donruss)

      • 1988 O-Pee-Chee (rare Canadian version of Topps)

      • 1988 Topps UK Minis

      • 1988 Topps Big Series 1 / 2 / 3

The Rules of the Journey

Junk Wax Journey isn’t just about ripping packs. It’s about community, fairness, and keeping things fun for team collectors. Here’s how we play:

  • Team Collectors First. Buy your team slot, tune in, and chase the players that mattered to your squad in 1987.

  • Wax Bounties. When we hit one of the year’s biggest grails, it becomes a Wax Bounty. These will be allocated at random — so no matter your team, you’ve got a shot at the year’s crown jewels. For 1988, our wax bounties will be: 

    • Bo Knows a Bonus Rip (II) → Pull a 1988 Bo Jackson

    • Tom Terrific 2.0 → Pull a 1988 Tom Glavine

    • Spit Take → Pull a 1988 Roberto Alomar

    • Hype Machine → Pull a 1988 Gregg Jeffries

  • Jokers. Then we have the Junk Wax Jokers — surprise cards that trigger chaos. The Jokers keep everyone on their toes and make sure no break is ever predictable. Since Jokers are allocated to the team buyer, their exact mechanics will remain a mystery until we hit them! Our 1987 Jokers will be:

    • Schmidt Happens

    • Express Delivery

    • Overrated Rookies

    • Midsummer Classic

    • Bash Brothers

  • Bonus Rips! Each Bounty or Joker triggers a Bonus Rip! Bonus rips keep the breaks unpredictable and nostalgic. They can be triggered by Jokers, Bounties, or even PC hits. I’ll do my best to make the bonus rips year-thematic and relevant to the journey. for 1988, our bonus rips will be:

    • Classic Red

    • Classic Blue

    • Donruss Baseball’s Best

    • Donruss The Rookies

    • Fleer Oddball and Retail Exclusive Sets

    • Fleer Classic Miniatures

    • Fleer Update

    • Score Rookie & Traded

    • Score Young Superstars Series 1 / 2

    • Topps Retailer Exclusives

    • Topps Traded

    • Various Food-Issue hand collated sets

    • Nostalgia Rips Mystery Packs

Cool, the rules are rules. TAKE ME TO THE BREAKS!

 

So here we are, 1988! Grab your team spot, lace up your cleats, and get ready. The Junk Wax Journey Continues for year two, 1988.  We’re still on-pace to rip every year, every product, every team!

Sean Cutrufello