Pack – 1994 Collector’s Choice 1 – NL

This is the first in a series of three posts.  This post features three 1994 Collector’s Choice packs with NL players on the front.

Beckett Set Notes (from set page)

“Produced by Upper Deck, this 670 standard-size card set was distributed in two series of 320 and 350. Cards were issued in foil-wrapped 12-card packs and factory sets (of which contained five Gold Signature cards for a total of 675 cards). Basic card fronts feature color player action photos with white borders that are highlighted by vertical gray pinstripes. Subsets include Rookie Class (1-20), First Draft Picks (21-30), Top Performers (306-315), Up Close (631-640) and Future Foundation (641-650). Rookie Cards include Michael Jordan and Alex Rodriguez. A legitimate variation on the Alex Rodriguez card (#647) was verified several years after release. The standard card features the “A” from Alex on the card back text in grey/silver whereas the variation features his name in white. It’s believed that the A-Rod “White A” variation is a significantly tougher card but exact estimates of it’s scarcity are not known. In subsequent years other cards (such as Johnny Damon) were also verified to have this White Letter variation – thus it’s generally believed that the entire Future Foundations subset was produced with white (and standard grey) letter variations.”

Pack Contents

12 cards each

Cost

$0.40 each (part of a large group of packs picked up at a show)

Description

This post is for three different packs.  Each has an Andy Warhol-esque picture of an NL star on the front.  One is Deion Sanders (Atlanta Braves); another is Mike Piazza (LA Dodgers); and the last is a very svelte Barry Bonds (SF Giants).  There may be other NL players on these packs, but these are the only three of which I’m aware.

Insert / Parallel List (taken from the pack)

Silver Signature parallel – 320 cards – 1:1 packs
Gold Signature parallel – 320 cards – 1:36 packs

Base cards

220 – Alex Rodriguez (front and back)

14 – Luis Gonzalez (front only)
49 – Lance Johnson (front only)

169 – Ryan Christenson (front only)
220 – Dan Wilson (front only)

Inserts and parallels

235 – Copper Parallel – Rusty Greer (front and back)

Complete pack contents

Deion Sanders
67 – Dave Burba
82 – Jeff Conine
86 – Tim Costo
117 – Ken Griffey Jr.
148 – Gregg Jefferies
218 – Paul O’Neill
224 – Mike Pagliarulo
251 – Tim Salmon
290 – Turk Wendell
306 – Top Performers of 1991 – Wins Leaders
307 – Silver Signature – Top Performers of 1991 – Strikeout Leader

Mike Piazza
1 – Rookie Class Rich Becker
14 – Rookie Class Marc Newfield
109 – Bernard Gilkey
113 – Jim Gott
120 – Juan Guzman (x2)
180 – Scott Lydy
236 – Pat Rapp
244 – Mel Rojas
289 – Bill Wegman
86 – Silver Signature – Tim Costo
73 – Gold Signature – Cris Carpenter

Barry Bonds
4 – Rookie Class Carlos Delgado
54 – Mike Blowers
67 – Dave Burba
102 – Darrin Fletcher
134 – Roberto Hernandez
142 – David Hulse
206 – Blas Minor
209 – Raul Mondesi
296 – Bob Wickman
302 – Dave Winfield
320 – Checklist Nolan Ryan
84 – Silver Signature – Scott Cooper

Comments

There’s not much to add to this post.  The images pretty much speak for themselves.  I’m normally not a fan of white borders on cards, but these seems to work OK.  For a bottom level set for the budget collector, these cards are alright.  They are nothing fancy, but of course nobody should expect them to be.  Nothing wrong with that for this set.

These cards didn’t fare too well since their printing nearly 20 years ago.  They stuck together like crazy.  A recent 1993 Upper Deck pack did the exact same thing on me, but these packs were quite a bit worse.  Maybe there was something about Upper Deck’s cards that made them very prone to sticking.  It’s something to consider if you plan on breaking a box of this stuff and hope to find really nice cards.  Regardless, you can’t exactly blame Upper Deck because their cards don’t store for two decades in packs.

One pleasant surprise was the Gold Signature card.  That is a 1:36 pack pull.  Pretty good.

Other 1994 Collector’s Choice 1 pack rips or box breaks

Pack Rip (Mike Piazza) by A Pack To Be Named Later

Pack Rip (Jumbo Deion Sanders) by Cardboard Collection

Box Break (retail) by Fan Stuff

Part of a box break by Nachos Grande

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Pack – 1994 Topps 2

Beckett Set Notes (from set page)

“These 792 standard-size cards were issued in two series of 396. Two types of factory sets were also issued. One features the 792 basic cards, ten Topps Gold, three Black Gold and three Finest Pre-Production cards for a total of 808. The other factory set (Bakers Dozen) includes the 792 basic cards, ten Topps Gold, three Black Gold, nine 1995 Topps Pre-Production cards and a sample pack of three special Topps cards for a total of 817. The standard cards feature glossy color player photos with white borders on the fronts. The player’s name is in white cursive lettering at the bottom left, with the team name and player’s position printed on a team color-coded bar. There is an inner multicolored border along the left side that extends obliquely across the bottom. The horizontal backs carry an action shot of the player with biography, statistics and highlights. Subsets include Draft Picks (201-210/739-762), All-Stars (384-394) and Stat Twins (601-609). Rookie Cards include Billy Wagner.”

Pack Contents

12 cards

Cost

$0.40 (part of a large group of packs picked up at a show)

Description

The Series 2 packs are blue, and the Series 1 packs (my previous pack post) are red.

Insert / Parallel List (taken from pack)

Parallel – Topps Gold – 1:1
Parallel – Topps Black Gold – 1:72
Insert – Redemption card for 11 Black Gold cards – 1:180
Insert – Redemption card for 22 Black Gold cards – 1:720

Cards

529 – Steve Scarsone (front and back)

542 – Chris Sabo (front and back) [The great Reds player who was tough as nails and known as Spuds after the stupid Budweiser mascot.  I was bummed out when Sabo and his ruined knees were allowed to go to Baltimore.]

650 – Andy VanSlyke (front and back) [VanSlyke was a stud back in the day.  I grew up in NE Kentucky with a mix of Reds and Pirates fans.  I couldn’t stand VanSlyke.]

777 – Coming Attractions – Chipper and Klesko (front and back)

List of all cards in pack

533 – Roger Mason
542 – Chris Sabo
552 – Bill Krueger
567 – Mike Perez
625 – Charlie Hough
650 – Andy Van Slyke
680 – Ruben Sierra
710 – Orestes Destrade
714 – Tim Spehr
729 – Steve Scarsone
774 – Coming Attractions (Seattle Mariners)
777 – Coming Attractions (Atlanta Braves)

Comments

This pack, although a different series in the set, did not add much to the Series I pack I ripped last week.  I did like getting the Sabo card.  That guy was worshiped by Reds fans.  After having such a lousy Reds team for all the 80s, fans just about exploded when Sabo won rookie awards at the end of the decade.  Knee problems caused him to bounce around the majors before finishing with the Reds in 1996.

Other 1994 Topps Series 2 pack rips or box breaks

Pack Rip by 25 Years of Baseball

Box Break by foul bunt

Box Break by Lifetime Topps project

Pack – 1994 Topps 1

Beckett Set Notes (from set page)

“These 792 standard-size cards were issued in two series of 396. Two types of factory sets were also issued. One features the 792 basic cards, ten Topps Gold, three Black Gold and three Finest Pre-Production cards for a total of 808. The other factory set (Bakers Dozen) includes the 792 basic cards, ten Topps Gold, three Black Gold, nine 1995 Topps Pre-Production cards and a sample pack of three special Topps cards for a total of 817. The standard cards feature glossy color player photos with white borders on the fronts. The player’s name is in white cursive lettering at the bottom left, with the team name and player’s position printed on a team color-coded bar. There is an inner multicolored border along the left side that extends obliquely across the bottom. The horizontal backs carry an action shot of the player with biography, statistics and highlights. Subsets include Draft Picks (201-210/739-762), All-Stars (384-394) and Stat Twins (601-609). Rookie Cards include Billy Wagner.”

Pack Contents

12 cards

Cost

$0.40 (part of a large group of packs picked up at a show)

Description

The Series 1 packs are red, and the Series 2 packs are blue.

Insert / Parallel List (taken from pack)

Parallel – Topps Gold – 1:1
Parallel – Topps Black Gold – 1:72
Insert – Redemption card for 11 Black Gold cards – 1:180
Insert – Redemption card for 22 Black Gold cards – 1:720

Cards

90 – Robin Ventura (front and back)

345 – Kevin Brown (front and back)

152 – Future Star Ray McDavid (front and back)

207 – Draft Pick Charles Peterson (front and back)

260 – Topps Gold Julio Franco
315 – Topps Gold Ken Hill

List of all cards in pack

87 – Jim Gott
90 – Robin Ventura
128 – George Tsamis
152 – Ryan McDavid – Future Star
188 – Mike Bordick
207 – Charles Peterson – Draft Pick
260 – Julio Franco (Gold Parallel)
315 – Ken Hill (Gold Parallel)
345 – Kevin Brown
361 – Rob Butler
377 – Bernard Gilkey
378 – Tony Fossas

Comments

In 1994 I was completely out of the card collecting scene, so there are several years of cards out there that I don’t recognize.  This is one of them.  I have seen these cards on eBay, but they don’t immediately register the way a 1978 Topps card does.

I have to admit that these cards do not exactly impress me.  They have a very simple design.  The layout does allow for a nice big picture.  The Kevin Brown card is a bit different.  I had forgotten that he started with the Rangers.

It is too easy to say that this is just a boring set from Topps.  I am sure that in 1994 people were at least a little excited about it.  Still, this set doesn’t excite me much.  I did get two Gold cards.  That was a little cool.

Other 1994 Topps Series 1 pack rips or box breaks

Pack Rip by 25 Years of Baseball

Box Break by Lifetime Topps project