Pro Set was a Dallas-based company founded by Ludwell Denny. Denny had gained a card license that year after making and selling other NFL memorabilia in previous years. His licensing agreement with NFL Properties allowed Denny to gain access to its extensive photo library and become the first card maker officially associated with a professional sports league. Across the bottom of most of his company's cards was its designation as "The Official NFL Card," a distinction it held through 1991.
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The first year that Pro Set released a product was 1989. The year marked the beginning of the modern era for pro football cards. Score (who had entered the market the year before with baseball) also released a football product. For several years, Pro Set flooded the market with its product. The company managed to produce football sets through 1993 and in 1994, but Pro Set folded, due to Chapter 7 bankruptcy, citing more than $800,000 in unpaid royalties to the NFLPA.
Pro Set made rookie cards of actual rookies (notably draft picks) and offered more color and action shots than Topps did. Pro Set claimed to have its own printing presses for its product, which could make and issue cards very quickly. For its first football card set in 1989, Pro Set released its cards in three series. The 1989 rookies were found primarily in the second series. Key rookies in the set included Troy Aikman, Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas, Jeff Lageman and Deion Sanders. The 100 card Series II set was sold in packs, but the packs averaged 11 Series I cards and 4 Series II cards per pack. These cards not only featured first round picks but featured later round picks. These cards were labelled as Pro Set Prospects.
At its peak, Pro Set had a 44,000-square-foot (4,100 m2) headquarters, where 225 employees designed various cards. In 1992, Pro Set forecasted sales of $165 million. A free magazine was published by Pro Set called the Pro Set Gazette. It was mailed to 1.2 million collectors twice a year. Beckett Publications noted that in 1991, sports cards grossed about $1.9 billion in sales in North America, so Pro Set had a dramatic impact.
Football
There were a number of inserts in 1989 Pro Set football, including a 30 card subset of broadcasters. There were also Super Bowl insert cards for each game that had been played. There was also a card for NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle. Pro Set introduced an insert card for Santa Claus that was labelled as a coach card. The first year it was released was in 1989 and it was a dealer premium. It was inserted in packs in 1990 and 1991. The Santa Claus cards included Pro Set founder Ludwell Denny somewhere in the card. On the back of each Santa card is a parody of the poem "The Night Before Christmas" that has sportscard subject matter. Pro Set included other insert cards in its 1990 offering, such as Payne Stewart, a comic book character called Super Pro, which was a superhero in a football uniform, a tribute to the late Joe Robbie, and the Lombardi Trophy Hologram card.
Football
The 1990 Pro Set football card release has several errors and variations. Due to a contractual dispute, and his unwillingness to join the NFPLA, the Pro Bowl card of Eric Dickerson (No. 338) was withdrawn early creating a short print. Card #338 would be reissued with Ludwell Denny on the front and it was a promotional card not available in packs. Card #75 in the set was meant to be Browns Center Cody Risien, but the card was withdrawn early due to his retirement during training camp, also resulting in a short print. The most sought after variation from 1990 Pro Set is card #204 Fred Marion of the New England Patriots. This card is rather controversial because the card features San Francisco 49ers player John Taylor in the background and the belt from Taylor's pants came undone. The positioning of the belt gives the appearance that his private area is exposed, but it is just a shadow and the belt.
Various cards in the 1990 offering have three variations. They are as follows:
Of note
When Pro Set, Inc. entered Chapter Eleven bankruptcy protection prior to the 1992–93 NHL season, Price traveled weekly from Toronto to Dallas and became the unofficial hockey brand manager. The second year of Parkhurst (1992–93) was the last with Pro Set as the company went bankrupt and Price took his Parkhurst tradename and license to the Upper Deck Company, an agreement which began with the 1993–94 season.
The allegations were based on investments made by former NFL Properties presidents, John Flood, (who was dismissed in March 1994), and his predecessor, John Bello, who quit in September 1993. Neither Flood nor Bello told the league they had set up companies to invest in Pro-Set Press, a printer partly owned by the Pro Set trading card company.