2005 was the last year before major changes in the baseball card industry. The four major companies that had been producing sets in 1989 were all represented. But all was not well. Donruss-Leaf-Playoff lost its major league license and would not produce major league sets again. Fleer Skybox International went bankrupt and had its baseball set properties and designed purchased by Upper Deck. The next year would see a significant reduction in the number of sets produced by Topps and Upper Deck as well.
2005 marked the last year of the Topps Archives sets for several years, as well as Topps Total and Topps Cracker Jack but otherwise it was pretty much their normal release schedule. Upper Deck on the other hand had a particularly experimental year. 2005 Upper Deck Hall of Fame, 2005 Upper Deck Trilogy, and 2005 Upper Deck ESPN were all single year releases, plus a Baseball Heroes set that was a throwback to the Baseball Heroes insert sets from the early 1990's. Not to mention retro sets like 2005 UD Past Time Pennants, 2005 Upper Deck Origins and 2005 Upper Deck Classics.
As previously mentioned Fleer ran out of money and subsequently released a more limited slate of sets compared to 2004, including several that had to be distributed by Upper Deck when Fleer was unable to ship the orders.
Donruss on the other hand went out with a bang. 2005 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia was arguably the best and most popular set released in 2005. 2005 Biography, 2005 Prime Cuts and 2005 Prime Patches emptied the high end jersey, bats and autographs from their storage. And then they ended the year with 2005 Donruss Champions, a low end dump or autographs and game used cards and an Update set to 2005 Absolute Memorabilia.
Contents
Major League Releases
- 2005 Absolute
- 2005 Artifacts
- 2005 Authentix
- 2005 Bazooka
- 2005 Bowman
- 2005 Bowman Draft
- 2005 Bowman Heritage
- 2005 Bowman Chrome
- 2005 Bowman Sterling
- 2005 Bowman's Best
- 2005 Classic Clippings
- 2005 Diamond Kings
- 2005 Donruss
- 2005 Donruss Champions
- 2005 Donruss Classics
- 2005 Donruss Elite
- 2005 Donruss Greats
- 2005 Donruss Signature
- 2005 Donruss Team Heroes
- 2005 Flair
- 2005 Fleer Platinum
- 2005 Fleer Showcase
- 2005 Fleer Tradition
- 2005 Leaf
- 2005 Leaf Century
- 2005 Leaf Certified Materials
- 2005 Leaf Limited
- 2005 Leather and Lumber
- 2005 Patchworks
- 2005 Playoff Prestige Baseball
- 2005 Prime Cuts
- 2005 Prime Patches
- 2005 Reflections
- 2005 Skybox Autographics
- 2005 SP Authentic
- 2005 SP Legendary Cuts
- 2005 SPx
- 2005 Sweet Spot
- 2005 Sweet Spot Classic
- 2005 Studio
- 2005 Throwback Threads
- 2005 Timeless Treasures
- 2005 Topps
- 2005 Topps Update
- 2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites
- 2005 Topps Heritage
- 2005 Topps Chrome
- 2005 Topps Chrome Update
- 2005 Topps Cracker Jack
- 2005 Topps Finest
- 2005 Topps Gallery
- 2005 Opening Day
- 2005 Topps Pristine
- 2005 Topps Pristine Legends
- 2005 Topps Retired Signature
- 2005 Topps Rookie Cup
- 2005 Topps Total
- 2005 Topps Turkey Red
- 2005 UD All-Star Classics
- 2005 UD Mini Jersey Collection
- 2005 UD Past Time Pennants
- 2005 UD Portraits
- 2005 Ultra
- 2005 Upper Deck
- 2005 Baseball Heroes
- 2005 Upper Deck Classics
- 2005 Upper Deck ESPN
- 2005 Upper Deck First Pitch
- 2005 Upper Deck Hall of Fame
- 2005 Upper Deck MVP
- 2005 Origins
- 2005 Upper Deck Pro Sigs
- 2005 Upper Deck Pros and Prospects
- 2005 Upper Deck Trilogy
- 2005 Upper Deck Update
- 2005 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection
- 2005 Upper Deck Ultimate Signature
- 2005 Zenith
Promotional Sets
- 2005 Upper Deck Chicago National
- 2005 Upper Deck Hawaii Trade Conference
- 2005 Diamond Kings Hawaii
- 2005 Topps Heritage Hawaii Trade Conference
Oddball Sets
- 2005 Upper Deck Sunkist
- 2005 HEB Clemens
- 2005 Cracker Jack Ballpark Legends
- 2005 Daigle-Finch
- 2005 FanFest All-Star
- 2005 Starbucks Ichiro
- 2005 MLB Showdown
- 2005 MLB Showdown Trading Deadline
- 2005 National Pastime
- 2005 New York Daily News
- 2005 Pujols Family Foundation
- 2005 Sandberg Jersey Retirement Day
- 2005 eTopps
- 2005 eTopps Classic
- 2005 eTopps Classic Events
- 2005 eTopps Season Events
Team Sets
- 2005 A's Team Issue
- 2005 A's Comcast
- 2005 Astros Postcards
- 2005 Blue Jays Postcard]
- 2005 Brewers Police
- 2005 Brewers Team Issue
- 2005 Cardinals Christian Family Day
- 2005 Cardinals Police
- 2005 Cubs Giveaway Cards
- 2005 Cubs Team Issue
- 2005 Diamondbacks Team Issue
- 2005 Upper Deck Dodgers
- 2005 Giants Team Issue
- 2005 Indians Team Issue
- 2005 Topps Giants Emerald
- 2005 Cloverdale Meats Mariners
- 2005 Mariners Hispanic Heroes
- 2005 Marlins Team Issue
- 2005 Mets Team Issue
- 2005 Uno Mets
- 2005 Starlight Starbright Mets
- 2005 Topps Nationals
- 2005 Upper Deck Padres
- 2005 Padres Team Issue
- 2005 Phillies Team Issue
- 2005 Outback Pirates
- 2005 Dr Pepper Rangers
- 2005 Uno Rangers
- 2005 Upper Deck Red Sox McDonanalds
- 2005 Red Sox Team Issue
- 2005 Rockies Team Issue
- 2005 Royals Team Issue
- 2005 Royals Police
- 2005 Topps Tigers
- 2005 Donruss Twins
- 2005 Twins Police
- 2005 Twins Team Issue
- 2005 UPN 29 Twins
- 2005 Topps White Sox World Series Champions
Minor League Sets
- 2005 Just Stars
- 2005 Just Autographs
- 2005 Justifiable
