Topps

The incumbent that survived the flood.

Topps held an effective baseball card monopoly from 1956 until the 1980 antitrust ruling that let Fleer and Donruss back in. During the junk-wax era Topps was the establishment brand: plain design, big print runs, low unit prices, and the annual set every kid opened first. It's also the era's most-scrutinized checklist, since so many kids bought so many Topps packs looking for so many rookies. The 1990 Topps Frank Thomas NNOF error is the most valuable single card the company printed in the decade.