If you can't say something nice...

Then, write it on your blog.

With that being said... today's post isn't going to be pretty.  Well at least in my eyes.

dayf asked...

What is the ugliest card set you've ever seen?

Before I get to my response, let's point out the obvious: one man's meat is another man's poison.  So if I offend anyone, remember it's only an opinion and I make no claims to being the almighty "cardboard connoisseur". 

In fact, my buddies still give me a hard time for having a huge crush on Kristi Yamaguchi:

The fact is... what I find attractive, others may find hideous... and vice versa. With that out of the way, here are my top submissions for ugliest card sets (sorted by categories):

The Bold

   

1995 Pacific Gold Prisms, 1995 Pacific Prisms, & 2000 Black Diamond Gallery

I have nothing against the use of prisms on cardboard, but in this particular collector's eyes... too much of a good thing, isn't so good.

The Gold

   

 1995 Zenith, 1996 Pinnacle, & 1997 Pinnacle

What's with Pinnacle's obsession with gold pyramids?  I know that gold is considered to be a precious metal, but IMHO the cards you're staring at are made of Fool's Gold.

& The Boring

   

 1990 Donruss, 1991 Fleer, & 1991 Leaf

In terms of cardboard designs, I can appreciate a wide spectrum of styles... including a nice, plain & simple design like the 1975 Topps baseball card set. But what you've just witnessed isn't plain & simple, it's inexcusable. If I were to guess, I'd say that the above cards were designed by a middle school yearbook staff with a 60 minute deadline.

I considered putting the 1988 Donruss and 1991 Donruss sets in this category too... but at least these two designs featured team logos.

I know... I know.  dayf asked specifically for one card set... not sets.  Well honestly, they're all pretty bad in my eyes.  But if I had to pick one... I'll go with this:

1996 Ultra Sensations

Hmmm... where do I begin?  Look at the design... or should I say, lack of a design.  There's no team logo.  You can barely see the first name.  And if that wasn't enough, it has a thick, gold, wicker border that covers 40% of the card.  This card is so bad... I had to steal the image off of COMC, because it's not in my Brett Favre binder.

Okay... it's your turn to answer dayf's question:

What is the ugliest card set you've ever seen?

1 Point - Leave your response below.

2 Points - If you've already written about this on your blog, then leave a link below.

3 to 5 Points - Write your response in a new blog post, then leave a link below.

I'll accept responses until tomorrow (Monday) at 3pm (PST).  I look forward to reading your responses.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!